Pecola's Best Friend

In the last chapter of The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, Pecola holds a conversation with her imaginary friend. At this point in time, Pecola has completely lost her mind and can no longer function in society. She does not interact with other people as the horrors of her past have taken over her life. Pecola invents her imaginary friend to fulfill several purposes: to be her companion, to comfort her, and to be completely subjective to Pecola’s will. As Pecola has lost her ability to connect with the outside world, she conjures her imaginary friend to prevent loneliness. Pecola tells her friend, “You are my very best friend. Why didn’t I know you before?” (Morrison 196). Her imaginary friend replies with “You didn’t need me before…I mean…you were so unhappy before. I guess you didn’t notice me before” (Morrison 196). The imaginary friend comes from the sanest part of Pecola’s mind and almost acts as Pecola’s voice of sanity. It appears as if the imaginary friend is aware that Pecola is insane but tries to conceal this fact from the girl. More evidence of this thought is when the imaginary friend states, “Oh God. You are crazy” (Morrison 194), and when Pecola objects, takes back what she said with, “I didn’t mean it that way” (Morrison 194). The imaginary friend also brings up Pecola’s rape experience in conversation multiple times. The conscious Pecola tries to silence her imaginary friend whenever this occurs, which indicates that Pecola perhaps wishes to discuss her experience subconsciously but is too horrified to actually speak about it. Pecola’s imaginary friend acts as Pecola’s sanity: fleeting and invisible to the outside world.