Comparison of two races in the 40's through Toni Morrison's "The BluestEye", looking at Pecola's gradual descent to madness as a result of circumstances of the time.
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 6 sources, 2002, $ 45.95
Abstract This paper focuses on racial discrimination in Toni Morrison's The BluestEye. There are comparisons of white and black races in different areas, such as family dynamics, economics, etc. The author also discusses on the individual's search for self-identity.
From the Paper:
"Racial discrimination had a great impact on characters, plot, and themes in Toni Morrison's "The BluestEye". Morrison illustrates the effects of prejudice on teen-aged girls throughout an exceptionally segregated period. The parable is weaved through the many woes of a hardworking, African-American family. Pecola Breedlove, the main character, registers the differences between race-separated classes, but longs for just one luxury that is primarily associated with whites; blue eyes. Through this scenario, Morrison explores the effects of the image paradigm held by whites on the self-esteem of the average African-American teen."
Abstract This paper gives a synopsis and analysis of Toni Morrison's novel entitled "The BluestEyes." The novel takes place in the town where Morrison grew up during the first half of the 20th century, when the area still brimmed with racism and social inequity. Although the book may have centered initially on the theme of incest, the reviewer sees it as tackling the social, economic and cultural issues of the time. The story is described as the journey of Pecola Breedlove into self-hatred and insanity which was caused by the misplaced standards of society. The reviewer concludes that Morrison's novel incorporates the theme of perception and how each of us has our own view of reality. The view of reality may be a result of what the media or what society dictates.
From the Paper "The book's story is set in the early 1940s - at the end of the Great Depression - and the MacTeer family lives in Lorain, Ohio (the same place where the author grew up). Nine-year-old Claudia and ten-year-old Frieda MacTeer live with their parents, who are more concerned with putting bread on the table rather than bestowing love and affection to the two young girls. There is an initial recollection by Claudia MacTeer about the year's events regarding the rape of her best friend Pecola Breedlove and the death of Pecola's baby. One glaring moment during that year which Claudia remembers is that no marigolds bloomed and she presumes that this was because of Pecola' father, Cholly Breedlove, rapes her, and it is fate bringing no growth to the marigolds."
Abstract This paper discusses Tony Morrison's book "BluestEye". This paper is an analysis of the different kinds of suffering and considers what each character identifies as his or her own particular pain. The paper clarifies the role played by Picolla in the pain or healing of each character.
Tags: LITERATURE / AMERICAN LITERATURE, bluesteyemorrison
Abstract When it first burst onto the literary scene in 1970, Toni Morrison's "The BluestEye" became an immediate sensation that brought to light the quiet desperation of many African-Americans living in the twentieth-century United States. With that in mind, this paper examines the issues of beauty, sexuality and male perversion that inform Morrison's text. In so doing, the paper examines the curious relationship between sex and beauty in the novel as well what it means for the tragic character of Pecola. Additionally, the paper looks at what racially-charged models of beauty mean for young African-American women and how the ugly idea that beauty could only be beautiful if it was/is white impacts Pecola's life in ways that are ultimately devastating.
Abstract This writer of this paper discusses Toni Morrison's first novel 'The BluestEye', which was published in 1970 and was the first link in a long chain of novels all focusing on the pressing issues of white dominance and its impact on the psyche of black people in the United States. Though racial hatred and discrimination is not as intense now as it must have been in the writer's childhood, this story has been developed and told in such a manner that it arouses sympathy for the black child. This paper examines Morrison's writing style, which the writer of this paper admires, yet contends that the author is too often obsessed with the plight and suffering of her community which tend to make her books often very distressing and disturbing. This paper explores the plot of the novel which revolves around the young child Pecola, who belonged to the Breedlove family while the narrator, Claudia MacTeer, a young girl from MacTeer family observes life around her and presents it as she views it. Morrison is considered master storyteller and "The BluestEye" is a classic example of her genius.
Table of Contents:
Abstract
Research Outline
Research: "The BluestEye"
References
From the Paper "The book is essentially about colonization's impact on a child's psyche. Morrison was of one of those black writers who believed that the best way to fight discrimination and segregation was through psychological training. In the bluest eye for example, she focuses on the reactions of many black Americans to the white culture and concludes that black are oppressed not only because of intense racism but because of the perceptions regarding white skin color that perceived within the black community. Malin Walther Pereira writes, "Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, published in 1970, focuses intently on the colonizing effects of white female beauty on a black girl and her community. In her 1993 Afterword to the novel, Morrison explicitly ties the issue of beauty in The Bluest Eye to the politics of racial beauty and identity in the 1960s. She writes: "the reclamation of racial beauty in the sixties stirred these thoughts [about beauty], made me think about the necessity for the claim."
Tags: literature, racism, african-american, black, perception, america
Abstract This paper analyzes Toni Morrison's novel "The BluestEye". The writer explains how this book doesn't belittle the characteristics of its individuals, nor does it place judgment on their actions; rather, the book emphasizes the influence of past suffering and circumstances - exploring how things came to be instead of why they came to be. The writer suggests that "The BluestEye" is a quintessential demonstration of the inflexibility of the world. The writer further discusses how Morrison keeps herself from blaming the plight of characters like Cholly and Pecola on any one person or action. The writer concludes that the characters' sufferings construct themselves from a mesh of negative events that were woven together by circumstances; circumstances that were created from Morrison's world - a world that seems more inclined to create misery than it does to create joy.
From the Paper "The universe of The Bluest Eye is the bigot; it is the spawn of prejudice, the breeder of hate and racism; it shrivels the seeds of flowers just as easily as it shrivels a human baby. Morrison constructs a world hostile to human life, one that sets up humanity to suffer by endorsement of the cruel and perversion of the beautiful.
Pauline's dream is beautiful. She dreams of a male protector, an ethereal and heavenly thing that will wash away her worries and lift her up into happiness. He is a "Presence, an all-embracing tenderness with strength and a promise of rest....She had only to lay her head on his chest and he would lead her away...forever" (113). This dream seems fulfilled when Cholly happens upon her on the side of the road one day, but this chance encounter is a cruel ploy of circumstance."
Abstract This paper examines Toni Morrison's "The BluestEye" in the context of how race, class and gender intersect as systems of domination and subjugation. Morrison emphasizes the theme of racial discrimination, which intertwines with the issues of gender and class in the oppression of women under capitalist patriarchy. In many respects, therefore, "The BluestEye" complements Marxist feminism, since it adds the dimension of racism to the realities of how classism and sexism marginalize women in society at large.
Abstract This paper explains that, in the novel "The BluestEye", Toni Morrison expresses the helplessness of the girls, who face racial discrimination and hate white culture but imitate it anyway because the white culture is considered good and beautiful and the black culture is considered bad and ugly. The author points out that Morrison in her own life was not from the poor class but rather from the African-American middle class, like the McTeers. The paper relates that the rape of Pecola by her father is not autobiographical but may have been based on things Morrison could have seen or believed possible, within the poorer parts of the African-American community in her own childhood in the 1940s.
From the Paper "The main characters in the story are three girls, Claudia and Frieda McTeer (sisters in a black family), and Pecola Breedlove, a poor girl who is staying with the McTeers because of abuse at her house. One of the first traumatic things happens in this book is when Pecola gets her first period. This is a normal thing, but it is traumatic for Pecola because she never heard about it at home. So Pecola thinks she is bleeding to death. Mainly as far as the future parts of the book, this means if she is raped again she could have a baby (forshadowing). Later in the book, after Pecola goes back home, she is raped again by her father, gets pregnant, and later goes mad. This shows how black girls in this environment never have a chance, even in their own houses. "
Abstract This paper explains that Toni Morrison's novel "The BluestEye" illuminates a culture in which beauty is seen as having fair complexion thus leaving darker people to be viewed as inferior and sometimes inhuman. The author points out that it is a common belief among Morrison's characters that external beauty is valuable because it inspires beautiful and compassionate behavior in others. Such misguided beliefs lead several characters in the novel to be negligent toward themselves and others. The paper relates that varying results transpire from the inabilities of Pecola, Maureen, and Geraldine to each individually recognize the unfairness of the cultural biases in which they are immersed.
From the Paper "Maureen Peale also allows herself to submit to the biases of her culture; in her case, however, Maureen is one who benefits from the discrimination that takes place. Morrison describes Maureen as a fair-skinned colored girl with light eyes. Though not necessarily a beautiful girl, her complexion is praised by the children at school. The boys do not want to fight in front of her, and the girls somewhat fear her power. Morrison writes about an incident in which Maureen argues with Claudia and Frieda. Claudia accuses Maureen of being boy-crazy, and in her defense Maureen snaps, "I am cute! And you ugly! Black and ugly"."
Abstract This paper explores Toni Morrison's technique of humanizing her characters in the novel "The BluestEye" about a young African American girl, Pecola. With themes of racism, incest and child abuse, the author explains Morrison's literary techniques of not dehumanizing the characters that dehumanize Pecola in order for the reader to understand their hatred for Pecola.
From the Paper "In her novel, The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison admits that she did not want to dehumanize the characters that dehumanize Pecola. She succeeds because she presents us with characters that are real without being overdone. She also succeeds because she does not point a finger at any one individual (or race, for that matter) for Pecola's suffering. It is a collective soul that destroys Pecola and we see these characters best when they are painted with true colors. They are not completely good or evil and we must look at them warts and all. Only then can we begin to understand their hatred for Pecola."
Abstract This paper examines how Toni Morrison, in "The BluestEye", makes reference to the need to be accepted into the white social structure by a young black girl. It looks at how she presents a paradox in the fact that it is not possible and that, by wishing for something that she is not, she ignores the things of value that are part of her identity. It shows how Morrison, in her use of paradox, makes the point that blacks have had to re-define their own social community or go mad in the process; she does this through the adolescent protagonist, Pecola, and the symbolism of blue eyes as representing a more acceptable ?other", both social and as an individual identity.
From the Paper "Without the support of identification with her own, Black, community, Pecola becomes extremely vulnerable to the traumas of being beaten and rejected by her mother, raped by her father and then losing the baby. Pecola, like her mother and the rest of the Black community, has internalized the standard of whiteness that defines the world in which they live: she plays with White dolls, she admires and attempts to emulate the White movie stars and even finds comfort in her belief in a White God with Blue Eyes. The disassociation with personal identity is eventually replaced with an identity associated with an inanimate object. There is a sense of repetition in the feeling of the familiar that Freud called 'doubling' and identified with the drive toward death or a desire to regain the past."
Abstract The paper examines the character of Pecola Breedlove, an unloved and mistreated African-American girl in Toni Morrison's "The BluestEye". The paper describes how she becomes enthralled by the blue eyes and white skin of former child movie star Shirley Temple. The paper portrays the magical whiteness and social power of Maureen Peal, the image Morrison uses of feminine beauty. The paper looks at Pauline Breedlove, Pecola's mother and her unkind view of Pecola. The paper points out that the failure to show love to a child can have a negative effect on that person for the rest of his/her life.
Outline:
Introduction
Body of Paper
Conclusion
From the Paper "Morrison's characters help tell her story through their actions and their words. For example, the character Pecola Breedlove is an African American girl that everyone says is very ugly, which is unfair and makes Pecola feel bad about herself. So Pecola tries to escape her difficult situation and in doing so she reaches out to symbols of something to look up to, something to aspire to. In the process of doing this she becomes mesmerized and even enthralled by the blue eyes and white skin of former child movie star Shirley Temple. Everywhere she looks, "white skin and blue eyes are taken as signs of beauty," writes Keith E. Byerman in the book Modern Critical Views: Toni Morrison."
Tags: black, white, Pecola, Breedlove, Shirley, Temple, whiteness, power
Abstract Toni Morrison's first novel ,"The BluestEye" ,which was published in 1970, was the first link in a long chain of novels all focusing on pressing issues of white dominance and its impact of psyche of black people in the United States. The paper shows that although racial hatred and discrimination are as not as intense now as they must have been in writer's childhood, still the story has been developed and told in such a manner that it arouses sympathy for the black child.
From the Paper "Toni Morrison, the 1993 Nobel Laureate, has always been a champion of African American rights and like some other famous black writers in the field of literature; she too based her writings on personal experiences and observations. In most of her novels, the writer has tried to highlight the plight of black Americans in the days of her childhood when racial segregation and discrimination were intense and devastating. In "The Bluest eye", which was her first novel, the writer has addressed many important issues, some of which are still valid today. Apart from racial discrimination and hatred, the writer has delved deeper into other subjects too including meaning of beauty and the role of black community in its inferior status."
Abstract This analysis of Toni Morrison's "The BluestEye" looks at why Claudia survives to be healthy and strong but not Pecola. It looks at why Morrison chose to focus on the characters of Pecola and Claudia and the skills that Claudia possesses that enable her to survive.
From the Paper "Toni Morrison is the author I chose because she is very popular and is recommended by Oprah Winfrey's book club which has provided me with suggestions for other authors I ended up admiring and learning from.."
Abstract This paper compares gendered violence in two ethnic stories: Toni Morrison's novel "The BluestEyes" about African-Americans, and Hisaye Yamamoto's short story "The Brown House" about Japanese-Americans. It argues that silence about such violence perpetuates it.
From the Paper " Gendered violence refers to a process or system in which violence is directed against members of one gender by those of another. More specifically the term is used to refer to the various ways in which women are abused by men .."
Tags: Toni, Morrison, The BluestEye , Yamamota's, The Brown House, gender, and, violence
