FREE The Bluest Eye Essay (original) (raw)

In the novel The Bluest Eye written by Toni Morrison, the protagonist was Pecola Breedlove and the antagonist was her father, Cholly Breedlove. Although Cholly and Pecola were father and daughter, they did not share the usual bond that is associated with similar relationships. Cholly hated himself because of the color of his skin. His "blackness" was what supposedly made him ugly, which made him in turn, produce ugly children. Cholly and Pecola had no self-esteem because they were "ugly", which only served to tear them apart. Because of Cholly's color and the troubles he endured as a young child, he took all his sadness out on Pecola, which was why both he and Pecola opposed one another. Cholly created many problems for Pecola because he used her as his scapegoat. Pecola faced much emotional distress because of Cholly's perverse actions. One night when Cholly returned home completely drunk, he saw his daughter Pecola, young and helpless standing by the sink. Because he was emotionally unstable and drunk, Cholly raped his daughter. Not only did Cholly force emotional distress on Pecola, but he also caused physical pain. Cholly very often would beat Pecola, her brother, and her mother but was never involved in a situation such as incest. The worst action that Cholly took against Pecola, was the night he raped her and impregnated her. He wanted to feel alive again, and feel loved by his wife. So to give him the feeling of self-worth, he raped his only daughter and left her to be ashamed and scared with a child growing inside of her. Cholly forced Pecola to deal with an obstacle that no 12-year-old child should deal with: having to carry her father's baby. The author explained at the end of the story that Pecola walked around the streets flapping her arms as if she was a bird that could not fly. Pecola went mad by manufacturing an imaginary friend who became her only conversational partner.

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 - 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,...

6. 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. ...

7. 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...

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 e...

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