The Bluest Eye

Type :

School essay

Pages :

2 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

10/22/2007

Category :

Philosophy & literature

Sub category :

Literature

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Summary :

Introduction
The character of Pecola Breedlove
Pecola's life
The most significant reinforcement of Pecola's belief
Examples of her love of the white children
Conclusion
Bibliography

Abstract

In "The bluest eye," Toni Morrison explores racial tension in the town of Lorain, Ohio, immediately following the Great Depression. The novel follows the lives of a number of African Americans, including Claudia MacTeer, the narrator, Pecola Breedlove, the main character, and Pauline Breedlove, Pecola's mother. The central theme of the novel is the pervasive idea of white culture as the standard of beauty, and the subsequent belief that black culture is ugly and undesirable, and the way that this belief influences the lives of the three characters. Both Pecola and Pauline have completely accepted the idea of whiteness as the standard of beauty to the point where they see themselves as being ugly and undesirable, and aspire to become white: Pecola desires to have blue eyes and Pauline wishes to look like the white celebrities she sees in the movies. On the other hand, Claudia resists the message that she is ugly and does not succumb to the self-loathing that is prevalent among the town's African American population.