FREE The bluest eye Essay (original) (raw)

"Long hours she sat looking in the mirror, trying to discover the secret of the ugliness," (pg.45) what would drive a girl of such a young age to be so consumed with a seemingly adult problem? Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye is the story of young black girl growing up in a small town in Ohio, during the 1940's. Pecola Breedlove's self-loathing nature and eventual descent into madness is a product of the constant negative reinforcement that she received from her surroundings. These influences manifest themselves through those closest to her; her Mother, her Father and her peers. .
The greatest influence on a young girl is that of her mother. A girl's mother is her first female role model, and often times the most crucial one to the development of the girl's personality. Pecola Breedlove is no different; she takes after her mother's love of white culture, and resulting hatred of themselves. Pecola's mother, Pauline Breedlove, sees no beauty in herself or in anything else in her life: her home, her marriage, or her daughter. She despises her own home, but loves the white household in which she works. She's in an abusive marriage, but she reconciles this by believing that love and happiness is reserved for the beautiful people, the white people. And she hates her daughter for the same reason she hates herself, her ugly black skin. This hatred and neglect of Pecola by her mother is evident in the scene that takes place in the opening chapter of the book, where Pecola is found to be "ministratin" by Claudia and Frieda. Pecola did not have a clue what was happening to her and the reason for this is obvious, her mother did not care enough about her to teach a basic life lesson. Later on in the novel, her mother calls Pecola a "nasty little black bitch", not only is this harsh language for a mother to use with a child but the usage of "black" shows Pauline's hatred of her own skin.

1. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Her first novel, "The Bluest Eye," was published in 1970. ... In 1965 she started writing 'The Bluest Eye." ... " The characters in the bluest eye show exactly why such a movement was needed. ... Pecola Breedlove is the central figure in "The Bluest Eye." ... "The Bluest Eye" focuses on Pecola Breedlove, a lonely adolescent black girl in the late 1940's. ...

2. The Bluest Eye

Bluest Eye Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye is about the life of the Breedlove family who resides in Lorain, Ohio, in the late 1930s. ... She wants the bluest eye. ... Instead of conventional chapters and sections, The Bluest Eye is broken up into seasons, fall, winter, spring, and summer. ... The name of the novel, "The Bluest Eye," is meant to get the reader thinking about how much value is placed on blue-eyed little girls. ... There are two major metaphors in The Bluest Eye, one of marigolds and one of dandelions. ...

3. Intro - The Bluest Eye

Toni Morisson's novel The Bluest Eye is about the life of the Breedlove family who resides in Lorain, Ohio, in the late 1930s. ... She wants the bluest eye. ... The narrative structure of The Bluest Eye is important in revealing just how pervasive and destructive social racism is. ... Instead of conventional chapters and sections, The Bluest Eye is broken up into seasons, fall, winter, spring, and summer. ... The name of the novel, "The Bluest Eye," is meant to get the reader thinking about how much value is placed on blue-eyed little girls. ...

4. The Bluest Eye

The Bluest Eye, written in 1940 by Toni Morrison, is constructed to reveal a very powerful point that applies not only to the book, but also to many societies of the present day. ... The ideas and views present in The Bluest Eye are related to beauty and what makes one beautiful. ... In the opening of The Bluest Eye, the passage from the Dick and Jane story, becomes a representation of an ideal white person's life. ... Eye imagery fills the scene, as the shopkeeper cannot "see" Pecola. ... She becomes the society that would accept her as beautiful with the bluest eyes. ...

5. The Bluest Eye

Fighting, drinking, seducing Abusive, impulsive, vulnerable Charles (Cholly) Breedlove In the novel The Bluest Eye written by Toni Morrison, the protagonist was Pecola Breedlove and the antagonist was her father, Cholly Breedlove. ... The Bluest Eye. ...

6. The Bluest Eye - Literary Analysis

The variety of passionately displayed themes, interactions, and events presented in The Bluest Eye provide an understanding of Toni Morrison's inner thoughts and beliefs which were highly impacted by her various life experiences. ... In The Bluest Eye, Morrison thoroughly uses her previous experiences in aid to create the feeling of hardship and the melancholy tone of the novel. ... The Bluest Eye was Morrison's first novel. ... Moses expresses the fact that in traditional blues songs, the singer is the subject, however, in The Bluest Eye, Claudia tells Pecola's story instead,...

7. The Bluest Eye Summary

In the Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison uses abuse and hardship to show the tragic consequences that come from racism. ... The Bluest Eye shows ways in which white beauty standards hurt the lives of black girls and women. ... The characters in the Bluest Eye are faced both directly and indirectly by racism. ... Three characters from The Bluest Eye that I will be describing are Pecola , Claudia and Pauline. ... Toni Morrison shows us what racism produces in the Bluest Eye. ...

8. The Bluest Eye

The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye tells the sad story of Pecola Breedlove, a poor prepubescent black girl, who wants to be loved and cared for by her family and society. ... She idolizes images of blond haired, blue-eyed white girls like Shirley Temple. ... Her mother, Pauline, reinforces this belief by dedicating her life to this rich white family and doting over their blond, blue-eyed little girl, while at the same time completely ignoring her own little girl. ... The child is stillborn and Pecola goes insane withdrawing into a fantasy world where she has the bluest...

9. The Bluest Eye

The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye tells the sad story of Pecola Breedlove, a poor prepubescent black girl, who wants to be loved and cared for by her family and society. ... She idolizes images of blond haired, blue-eyed white girls like Shirley Temple. ... Her mother, Pauline, reinforces this belief by dedicating her life to this rich white family and doting over their blond, blue-eyed little girl, while at the same time completely ignoring her own little girl. ... The child is stillborn and Pecola goes insane withdrawing into a fantasy world where she has the bluest e...

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