Morrison’s method of telling the horrible climax of the story was interesting. She chose to narrate the rape from Cholly’s perspective, which makes it somewhat less nauseating to the reader than if Pecola or the third person narrator was explaining the event. Because it is shown in a detached way, and from Cholly’s viewpoint, it is much less graphic and horrifying. “Guilt and impotence rose in a bilious duet. What could he do for her-ever? What give her? What say to her?”(161) His emotions, which were clouded at the time by how drunk he was, make for a far less cruel depiction that if Pecola’s emotional state was visited during the event. While the reader of course sympathizes with Pecola, and is disturbed by Cholly’s act, Morrison does not make it too hard for the reader. Morrison was trying to raise awareness about the desolation which young African American girls felt during that time in history, as she states in the afterward: “I focused, therefore on how something as grotesque as the demonization of an entire race could take route inside the most delicate member of society-In trying to dramatize the devastation that even casual racial contempt can cause, I chose a unique situation” (210).What I liked was that she brings this point home completely in her novel, but does not go too far in describing the horror of the rape. She reveals more about human suffering, and human experience, in drawing back this aspect, and as Maddie pointed out, we see the root of Cholly’s misguided issues in the flash back.

Elihue Whitcomb

I find it amazing how Tony Morrison manages to add yet another character to the story so close to its end and develop his character so fully in doing so. Elihue Micah Whitcomb is a man who is corrupt in many ways. He plays the part of a false psychic and a man of God, not to mention his "affections" towards little girls. But in a way, his character seems oddly redeemable. The reason being that he was the only person throughout the whole story who looked at Pecola for the first time and instantly felt the need to help this little girl. He admits to himself that she is ugly, but that makes the need to get rid of her problem more urgent. Another cruel twist is added to the story when he makes Pecola give the dog a poisoned piece of meet in order to kill it. But afterward, he promises her that God will reward her with her wish for blue eyes. Also, I find it amazing that this man can feel so justified in everything he does. The letter with God at the end suggests no fear of the higher power; he tells God that he is better than Him because of his willingness to help others who, he feels, God has already abandoned. The books states:

"I,I have caused a miracle. I gave her the eyes. I gave her the blue, blue, two blue eyes. Cobalt blue. A streak of it right out of your own blue heaven. No one else will see her blue eyes. But she will. And she will live happily ever after. I, I have found it meet and right to do. Now you are jealous. You are jealous of me."

Morrison adds another level of depth to the story and forces you to ask yourself what you think is right and wrong in a situation like this.

Pecola's need for love is apparent throughout the novel. However, the other characters refuse to love her because of their own faults, but blame it on Pecola's flaws. The final pages of the novel provide the realization that Pecola served to make other characters feel better by being the flawwed, imperfect, faulted character. The other characters looked down upon Pecola, using her to boost their self esteem. The reason that Pecola was shown as ugly was that she did not feel beautiful. The idea that being white was the only way to be beautiful discouraged Pecola to the point where she pleaded for blue eyes from Soaphead. Pecola's low self esteem and unrealstic idea of beauty hindered her quality of life, but allowed the rest of the characters to feel better about their own lives.

Perceptions

When Pecola’s parents fight, she wishes to be invisible. She simply does not want to be anywhere near any sort of malice. Pecola believes that because she has ugly eyes, she can only see ugly things. As the story progresses, Pecola believes that because her eyes are ugly, people can only see her as ugly and worthless. An excellent example is found on page 48. The general store clerk feels that Pecola is not worthy of his respect or even acknowledgement since not only is she a young girl, but Pecola is a young, ugly, black girl.

“Slowly… he looks at her. Somewhere between retina and object, between vision and view, his eyes draw back, hesitate, and hover. At some fixed point in time and space he senses that he need not waste the effort of a glance. He does not see her, because for him there is nothing to see.”

Pecola wants blue eyes so that she can be pretty and be recognized by the world as an actual human being. She could just have easily wished for lighter skin. Gaining lighter skin is just as impossible, and in those times being white generally means being beautiful. But Pecola not only wanted to be seen differently, but she wanted to see the world differently. Pecola believed that if she had eyes like a white girl, then she would be treated like a white girl and see the world from a white girl’s perspective. She would not have to be subjected to her parent’s abusive behaviors, degraded, or want for pretty materialistic things. In order to gain her new perspective, Pecola must lose her current perspective on the world. At the end of the novel, Pecola does gain a new perspective; however, she loses the essence that is Pecola. By changing her view on life, Pecola loses herself and her connection with reality.

Pecola's Obsession with Blue Eyes

Pecola's obsession with blue eyes is evident from the start of the novel. When she first arrives at MacTeer's house, they notice that she will do absolutely anything to drink out of this Shirley Temple cup, wishing to somehow gain Shirley Temple's beauty by drinking out of that cup. Claudia, Pecola's foil, on the other hand, does not understand the fascination with light skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes and hates Shirley Temple. Throughout the novel Pecola's own desire to have blue eyes becomes increasingly obvious when the Breedlove family is introduced. When Pauline and Sammy attack Cholly, Pecola wishes to disappear and squeezes her eyes shut, slowly feeling her body disappearing. Unfortunately for her, she does not disappear, "Almost done, almost. Only her tight, tight eyes were left. They were always left" (45). To her, the fact that she can never get her eyes to disappear is a complete disappointment, especially since she does not see the point in disappearing the rest of her body, but not her eyes because "they were everything" (45). She feels that if she has blue eyes her life will completely change and that everytone will see her in a different light.

Much, much later in the story she still wishes to have blue eyes, especially after Cholly has raped her, so she goes to Soaphead Church to have him grant her wish. Soaphead tells her that she will have blue eyes if she feeds rotten meat to his dog and the dog reacts to it. The dog dies after consuming the meat and Soaphead prays that Pecola, while he knows will not actually get blue eyes, will believe that she has them. Pecola does truly believe that she has blue eyes, and her obsession with them blinds her from seeing the truth. She thinks that everyone will not look her in the eyes because her eyes are more blue than theirs, but in reality, they cannot look at her because she was raped by her own father. She steadfastly believes and says, "Just because I got blue eyes, bluer than theirs, they're prejudiced" (197). She also looks to her new friend to reassure her that her eyes are "bluer" than everyone else's.

What I found extremely interesting about the fact that Pecola eventually gets "blue eyes" is that with these eyes she becomes blind and almost ignorant to the people around her, especially their reactions to her. She believes that everyone is shunning her, not talking to her, not making eye contact with her, and not complimenting her eyes, because they are jealous of her blue eyes, that are more blue than everyone else's. What I found interesting about it was the irony of the situation. Many blind people have blue eyes, and Pecola, when she gets blue eyes, becomes blind. While she is not literally blind, she is blind to everything I have already mentioned, as well as to the fact that she does not actually have blue eyes, and that her life is not actually that much improved with them.

I liked Morrison's use of flashbacks from the lives of Pecola's parents, particularly Cholly. It's particularly interesting because throughout the whole novel up to that point, the reader (or I at least) had viewed Cholly as some awful, odious drunkard who did such inexcusably horrible and sick things, i.e. impregnated his own 11-year-old daughter. Yet, this chapter presents a different image: that of young, insecure, ashamed Cholly who is humiliated and degraded by white police officers while he is having sex for the first time, and rejected by his father, after having embarked on a journey to find him. The first humiliating instance, and then the pitiful anticlimax, change the reader's attitude toward Cholly. For me, it was a mix of pity and compassion, when earlier on in the novel I couldn't imagine feeling anything but disgust for him. I liked this chapter because it gave me a perspective on why Cholly is the way he is. The traumatic event associated with "muscadine and flashlight on his behind" gave him a hatred toward women-- he developed a profound hatred for Darlene because it was easier to hate "the one who had created the situation and bore witness to his failure, his impotence" (151) then the white men, because the latter hatred would destroy him. (This is similar to Claudia's inability to hate white girls-- her hatred was translated into love and adoration) This disgust and hatred toward women, especially those helpless and pitiful, is evident, in a way, when he rapes Pecola. Similarly, the influence of his lonely childhood and lack of stable family, or family at all, is described: "Had he not been alone in the world since he was thirteen, knowing only a dying old woman who felt responsible for him, but whose age, sex, and interests were so remote from his own, he might have felt a stable connection between himself and the children." That is not to say that his actions-- beating his wife, setting the house on fire, raping his daughter, and being a horrible father and husband in general-- are justified by his childhood experiences, but just that it's evident that events and aspects of his life have contributed to his disfunctional, warped conception of family and duty.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, is about an eleven year old girl, Pecola,

who is abused by almost everyone in her life. Every day she encounters

racism, not just from the white people, but also from the African American

people. In her eyes, her skin is too dark, and the color of her skin

makes her inferior to everyone else. The color of her skin makes her

think that she is ugly. She feels that she can overcome this if she can

get blue eyes. Pecola thinks that if she can be like the blue eyed Shirley

Temple, everyone will love her. Pecola wishes to have blue eyes because

she feels they will make her loved and accepted by the people in her

life.



Pecola is abused almost by everyone in her life. One day, she goes to

Geraldine's house. Geraldine is a middle-class African American woman.

Junior, Geraldine's son, harasses Pecola by throwing his cat around and

eventually kills it. When Geraldine walks in, she says, "Get out. You

nasty little black bitch. Get out of my house"(93). Geraldine thinks

that her son does not kill the cat. She trust him more than Pecola. Pecola

thinks that Geraldine called her "nasty" because of her appearance,

dark skin. Also, calling an eleven year old girl a "bitch" is like killing

committee a crime. A little girl does not really know what that word

means, but she know it's horrible. Being called a "black beach", by

an African American person hurts even more than being called by a white

person because they are the same race. They go through the same types

of things because of their skin color. They are suppose to support each

other. This makes Pecola feel more ashamed of herself and want to change

her appearance to be accepted and trusted by Geraldine's .



Her family treated her the same way. Pecola's dad raped her. Mrs. Breedlove,

her mother, did not pay attention to her. One day, Pecola decides to

visit her mom at work. Mrs. Breedlove was a nanny for this white girl.

Pecola accidentally knocks over a blueberry pie. Mrs. Breedlove says,

" Crazy fool... my floor, mess... look what you... work...get on out. Hush, baby,

hush. Come her. Oh, lord, look at your dress. Don't cry no more"(109).

After Pecola drops the pie, she burns her hands. Geraldine does not care

about her daughters hands. She cares about the floor that she will have

to clean. But, she hears this little white girl with blue eye and blonde

hair cry, so she gets upset. The most important thing for a little girl

is to feel like her mom loves and cares about her. Pecola thinks that

her mom does not love her because she does not have blonde hair and blue

eye.



Pecola is treated the same way in school by not only white kids her age,

but by African American kids, as well. She is always made fun of and

teased about her appearance. The narrator says, "she also knew that when

one of the girls at school wanted to be particularly insulting to a boy,

or wanted to get immediate response from a boy, she could say 'Bobby

loves Pecola Breedlove'. It has occurred to Pecola some time ago that

if her eyes, those eyes that held the pictures, and knew the sights-if

those eyes of hers were different, that is to say, beautiful, she would

be different. If she looked beautiful maybe Cholly would be different,

and Mrs. Breedlove too"(46). This quote sums up what Pecola has been

going through. She is constantly used as an insult to people. Which is

horrible because Pecola must feel like she is worse than everyone else.

Also, she is talking about how she thinks that if her eyes were different

her life would be different too. She thinks that Cholly and her mother

would treat her differently. This is very unfair because Pecola's parents

are not supposed to treat her by according to her appearance.



Pecola is constantly abused by everyone in her life. Growing up in a

society that values blue eyes and blonde hair, she thinks that she is

mistreated and abused by everyone because she does not have those things.

Growing up, she is always called bad things like, "nasty black bitch".

Her mom does not pay at much attention to her. She cares more about the

little with white girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. Girls use her

name when they want to insult boys. Pecola wishes to have blue eyes because

she feels they will make her loved and accepted by the people in her

life. Everyone is told not to judge people by their appearance, but I

think Pecola is abused and mistreated because of her appearance. Everyone

in her life mistreating her, makes her believe that it was her fault.

That is why she thinks that if she will have blue eyes this will all

change.

Racism in The Bluest Eye

Morrison's Message

I agree with Chickie's comments about Claudia's new perspectives at the end of the novel. She sees how it was not just Pecola or even Pecola's immediate family who destroyed her; the entire community was to blame. I see the final pages of the novel as a challenge to readers presented by the author. Morrison encourages people to rise above the racism and discrimination that are inherent to society because, as the novel illustrates, it destroys so many young souls. In the afterword, Morrison discusses how The Bluest Eye was inspired by the story of a girl she knew in her childhood. A little girls she went to elementary school with commented to her that she wished she had blue eyes. Later in her life, Morrison saw this girl's reasons for wanting them: "Implicit in her desire was racial self-loathing. And twenty years later I was still wondering about how one learns that" (Morrison 210). She was haunted by the girl she know in grade school and wrote the novel to show how significantly the unconscious prejudices of society can impact the lives of those who are hurt by it. Pecola's story is a cry to society to nurture all of its youth rather than just those who are "pretty."

One quote on page 46 of "The Bluest Eye" particularly sparked my curiosity: "It had occurred to Pecola some time ago that if her eyes, those eyes that held pictures, and knew the sights-- if those eyes of hers were different, that is to say, beautiful, she herself would be different." To me, this once again reinforces and emphasizes the state of her mind as a young child. While Mrs. Breedlove and Cholly fight violently and predictably, Pecola is stuck trying to find a way to endure the pain. Somehow, she believes that if she herself had blue eyes, she wouldn't be in this situation to begin with. Those girls with pretty eyes don't suffer; they lead completely blissful lives in their own perfect world. Essentially, Toni Morrison emphasizes that Pecola isn't beautiful, only because she herself doesn't believe she is beautiful. Beauty comes from within.

Claudia's New Perspective

In the last few pages, Claudia is caught in her own consciousness. She feels confused and unsure of her actions. As she sees Pecola running around seeming to be unstable, she is given a chance to step back and observe herself and the others of the town. By this she notices that Pecola is made out to be the laugh of the town, a mockery of sorts. Everyone in town looks to compare themselves to Pecola especially because it makes them feel more beautiful. Before she even realizes that she is doing it, Claudia too compares herself to Pecola purely to boast her self-esteem. In observing Pecola, Claudia learns about herself as well as the society in which she lives. To them as well as Claudia, Pecola is a tool; she is a means to an end and the end is feeling better about whom they are and their appearance. Through this realization Claudia finds a new kind of love; a new love that goes beyond physical appearance and farther than skin deep. Love is what you make it to be, it is never fully understood or capable of being controlled. However, Claudia has a choice in how she shows and sees love as well as what kind of love she wants in her life. "Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe” (Morrison 206). Claudia realizes Pecola's baby did not nice because the flowers she planted weren’t rooted firmly enough, but farther the ground in which they were nurtured was not fertile enough. Pecola and her baby were affected by the love they were surrounded by. Just like the town did not supply the support it should have to Pecola and her baby, the flower was never given a chance to grow because it was denied what it needed to thrive.

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.

Mr. Henry's Departure

About halfway through the novel, on page 99, Mr. Henry touches Frieda's breasts and is driven from the household by Claudia and Frieda's mom and dad:

"...when Daddy saw him come up on the porch, he threw our old tricycle at his head and knocked him off the porch."
"Did he die?"
"Naw. He got up and started singing 'Nearer My God to Thee.' [a well-known hymn often sung at funerals] Then Moma hit him with a broom and told him to kee the Lord's name out of his mouth, but he wouldn't stop , and Daddy was cussing, and everybody was screaming."
"Oh, shoot, I always miss stuff."

This scene is a good example of comic relief in a tragic story. "Oh, shoot, I always miss stuff" would be hilarious if we weren't aware that there was no one to drive Pecola's father away. The parallelism is clear; the mixed emotions of comic relief and pain create a complex texture that is distinctive.

Claudia

Something that immediately struck me as I re-read the first few pages of The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison was Claudia's amazing level of awareness of the world around her. She uses this awareness to quickly form her own beliefs and she adheres to them strongly. One such belief is that to those older than her and her sister, she is nothing more than a child who makes mistakes and a burden. Contrary to what these adults might think, Claudia is not such a simple child. She happens to be an intelligent, though at times naive person who has her own unique opinions. For example, at only nine years old she has a very strong opposition to the ideals that others place in the beautiful dolls she absolutely despises. As she states in the story, "I had only one desire: to dismember it. To see of what it was made, to discover the dearness, to the find the beauty, the desirability that had escaped me, but apparently only me... all the world had agreed that a blue-eyed, yellow-haired, pink-skinned doll was what every girl-child treasured" (Morrison 20). Claudia is observant, and even though she has much to understand about the world, she has a certain wisdom about her that makes her quite an interesting character.

Claudia

I found Claudia’s mature awareness of being powerless interesting in the beginning of The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Although she is immature and naïve about some things, she is smart enough to recognize that she has no say in adult matters. She knows she is just a child and adults do not care about her opinion; “Had any adult with the power to fulfill my desires taken me seriously, they would have known that I did not want to have anything to own, or to possess any object. I wanted rather to feel on Christmas day” (Morrison 21). This is a very grown-up thought process that some people never reach. Claudia’s maturity is also seen in her knowledge of being put “outdoors”; “There is a difference between being put out and being put outdoors. If you are put out, you go somewhere else; if you are outdoors, there is no place to go” (Morrison 17). This is a very complex idea for a child to understand. Claudia is definitely a regular kid in many ways, but she is conscious of her place in society not only as a child, but as a young black female.

Child's Perspective

The first thing that struck me about the Bluest Eye was the use of children’s perspectives in the novel. In the beginning segment before the book, it is so new and different how Morrison wrote a summery paragraph with really basic sentences and concepts and then repeated it twice with less spacing each time. I took this to represent the adult perception of how children write and think, and how they are often underestimated. As the rest of the book so far seems to be told from a child’s perspective, it seems like Morrison is out to prove the assumption wrong, which is made so interesting with Claudia as the speaker. I think the paradox of the narrator’s perspective creates this interesting. She offers incredible insight, yet admits to not fully grasping the things she’s commentating on. “The edge, the curl, the thrust of their emotions is always clear to Frieda and me. We do not, cannot, know the meaning of all their words, for we are nine and ten years old. So we watch their faces, their hands, their feet, and listen for truth in timbre.” (Morrison, 15). Claudia’s knowledge increases as she grows throughout the book, yet this paradox has remained as far as I’ve read, and it lends a very different aspect to the entire story.

Pecola

While reading the novel I noticed Pecola's resistance to growing up. She seems to want to remain a quiet child forever instead of learning to speak for herself and become a young adult. An example of this is when Frieda and Claudia's mother is complaining about the missing milk. Although Pecola did drink all the milk, it was not out of greediness or thirst; "We knew she was fond of the Shirley Temple cup and took every oppurtunity to drink milk out of it just to handle and see sweet Shirley's face" (Morrison 23). Here Pecola drinks the milk so she can admire and enjoy a cup, she does not understand at the time what she is doing, in her naive frame of mind she is doing nothing wrong. In my opinion, Pecola's wrecked homelife and childhood leads to her resistence of giving up her youth. As a young child, she does not have to understand and realize the horrors from her home, instead it is acceptable for her ignore this through daydreams and play. I believe Pecola is clinging to her childish side because through acting as a child she is able to block out the reality of her life.

Interaction with Adults

I found the way that Claudia and Frieda see adults extremely interesting. They look at adults as if they are another species, one that they do not understand and cannot fully communicate with. The two girls obviously study the interactions of adults frequently, due to their analysis of how adults speak to each other, and the fact that in that time period, children were seen and not heard. Claudia also says that, "The edge, the curl, the thrust of their emotions is always clear to Frieda and me" (Morrison 15), which shows the extensive study of adults that Claudia and Frieda have completed, seeing as they can sense the emotions of adults despite what they're saying. Claudia expresses the fact that she does not understand adults when she says, "We do not, cannot, know the meanings of all their words, for we are nine and ten years old" (Morrison 15). She believes that due to her age, she cannot understand what adults are saying, simply beacuse she is not one of them yet. I think that it will be interesting to see how the relationships between Claudia and adults evolve over the course of the novel and if she begins to understand what they are saying as much as what they are feeling.

Sibling Conflicts Between Claudia and Freida

Claudia and Freida represent the stereotypical sibling rivalry in the novel The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison. The sisters are the only children of the family and are constantly with each other. Naturally, their adjacent lifestyles often causes tension between the girls. Freida is the older sister who takes the role as the braver, more experienced sibling. She attempts to control the actions of her little sister, who is aware of Freida's bossiness. Claudia refers to Freida as, "All authority and zest" (Morrison 28). Freida assumes the role of the leader of the two and expects Claudia to follow her commands. Freida patronizes Claudia and attempts to lower the latter's self-esteem: "You don't have to, dummy. Look" (Morrison 28). Freida is the typical American older sister and commits the conventional actions regularly. Although the daughters do not have the strongest relationship, they are willing to come together during necessary times. For example, when Pecola stays with their family, the girls do not bicker and put all their effort into pleasing Pecola: "Freida and I had stopped fighting with each other and concentrated on our guest" (Morrison 18-19). Their sudden unionship indicates that the girls have the potential of becoming great allies in difficult times. I predict that they will come together to support each other during conflicts later in the novel.

Growth and Development

The theme of growth and development is evident throughout the beginning of the novel so far. The second chapter begins with comparing Pecola's development as a mother with the marigolds growing that year: " We thought, at the time, that it was because Pecola was having her father's baby that the marigolds did not grow," (Morrison 5). Along with this growth for Pecula, on page 27 she devolops into a woman. Although I believe the story will center aroung Claudia's development, Pecola's will be very important. She is the girl who begins the fascination of the perfect blonde hair blue eyed girl: "Freida and she had a loving conversation about how cu-ute Shirley Temple was," (Morrison 19). As the novel begins ot unfold, the obsession of the Shirley Temple-like girl will most likely grow and cause conflict among the characters Pecola, Freida, and Claudia since they do not yet see their beauty.

Symbolism?

Thanks to the fact that I have the chronic tendency to judge books by their covers, some of what struck me about the prologue of the book was the fact that there is no actual description of Jane in the opening passage, only “She has a red dress. She wants to play;” it is never actually stated that Jane is white, but this fact is implied by the context (Morrison 5). On the cover of my edition, there is a picture of Claudia—wearing a red dress. Although I am not sure what the world thought of such things as Dick and Jane stories and “blue-eyed, yellow-haired, pink-skinned doll(s),” in the 1970s when this book was published, in the 2000s these are symbols for the stiff subjugation of women and minorities in the United States between the 1900s and the 1960s (Morrison 20). Also, if "Jane" is supposed to represent Claudia in this story, then perhaps "Dick" could be Frieda, "Mother" could be Mrs. MacTeer, and "Father" might be Mr. Henry or someone that hasn't been introduced yet.

I noticed that someone said they thought this would be an archetypical journey of self-discovery for Claudia, and I agree. “Outdoors was the end of something, an irrevocable, physical fact, defining and complimenting our metaphysical condition,” Claudia says; to me this suggests a threshold into the world around her from the safe little world of the home that she has known, and her growing awareness of the journey she must take into the unknown (Morrison 17). Through the first few pages, there is a sense of anticipation, or waiting for something to begin. They are waiting for the arrival of Mr. Henry, Claudia and Frieda are waiting to grow up, and there is a distinct sense of foreboding in the line, “Even after what came later, there was no bitterness in our memory of him” (Morrison 16).

What Caught My Eye

I am particularly interested to discover how Claudia's relationship with adults, especially wer mother, affects her character development. Their relationship is similar to the one I have with my mother: somewhat abusive and degrading in the open, but secretly compassionate and loving. I will definately be keeping my eye open for parallels between Claudia and myself. ALso, Claudia's comment on page 12, "But was it really like that? As painful as i remember?" struck me. I often have pondered this question on sleepless nights, and I am begining to wonder if this question arose from Claudia's relationship with her mother. It is interesting that a character would note such a fact, as usally the narrator's word is absolute truth. In Claudia's case, she is questioning her memories and undermining her reliability as a narrator.

Claudia and Race

From the beginning of The Bluest Eye, I became very interested Claudia’s conflict with race. Her disinterest with the white baby dolls and hatred for Shirley Temple struck me as way to display her discomfort with her own race. I also found it interesting how the adults urged Claudia to play with the white dolls because they assumed that it “represented what they thought was [her] fondest wish” (Morrison 20). when in reality Claudia would only tear the dolls to pieces Later Claudia remarks that when adults see a white child, they treat them much more gently than they treat a black child. Claudia asks, “What made people look at them and say ‘Awwwww,’ but not for me?” (Morrison 22). It is very evident that Claudia’s hatred towards the white dolls and the white girls originates from jealousy of how the white girls are treated. Claudia also stated that her feelings towards the dolls converted from “pristine sadism to fabricated hatred, to fraudulent love” (Morrison 23) so I am interested to see how the race relations will play out for the rest of the novel.

Claudia

In the beginning of The Bluest Eye, I am so intrigued by the personality of the character Claudia. She is very observant and down to earth. Even though she is a child, I feel as if I can relate to her especially because of the relationship she finds between adults and kids: "Adults do not talk to us - they give us directions" (Morrison 10). While she seems immature because of certain things such as hating Shirley Temple for dancing with Bojangles, it is also apparent that she is compassionate even for being so young. When she and her sister Frieda stopped fighting trying to keep Pecola from "feeling outdoors," (Morrison 19) her maturity is shown. The whole understanding of the "outdoors" amazes me. Claudia comprehends the reality of these situations even at such a young age. To add onto my interest, there is also her fascination with destroying dolls. On a deeper level however, she says "But I did know that nobody ever asked me what I wanted for Christmas" (Morrison 21). From this comment I, as a reader, am able to infer again that she does have many more feelings inside that allow her to see the world more wisely than she is expected to.

Child and Adult Behavior

Continuing on the topic of the children being more of an adult than the actual adults, a particular scene demonstrated this aspect to me. The relationship between Frieda and Pecola is interesting to me because it is as if she is her mother-figure or mentor. For example, when Pecola reaches her time going into womanhood, Frieda immediately responds. Although she refers to the cycle as "ministratin'," she knows what to do to help. Pecola asks if she is going to die and Frieda says, "Noooo. You won't die. It just means you can have a baby!" (Morrison 28). With this answer, it is evident that Frieda reacted as an adult in trying to help Pecola. It is ironic, however, how Mama reacted. An observer, Rosemary, told Mama that the girls were playing nasty and Mama quickly beats Frieda. It is child-like how Mama immediately blames her daughter and does not even fully examine the scene before she whips her. It is as if Frieda is being punished by her intelligence and maturity. It will be interesting to see if Pecola continues to look to Frieda for guidance, knowing that she is advisable.

Claudia and Pecola's Perceptions

So far in reading this, I've noticed similarities and differences in the way Claudia and Pecola perceive and respond to the world, especially society's standards. Both girls' views are marked by false conceptions and a degree of naivete. For example, Claudia, accustomed to hearing her mother's songs of hard times, forms "a conviction that pain was not only endurable, it was sweet." She associates the singing with happiness, as it is a break from the fussing and accusing, and therefore does not get a realistic conception of "hard times, bad times, and somebody-done-gone-and-left-me times" (Morrison 25).

Pecola naively believes that having blue eyes would be some miracle-- a remedy to all of the problems in her life. Her conviction is that is she had beautiful eyes, she would be beautiful and experience beautiful, happy things rather than scarring, depressing things that are her reality. Furthermore, if she had beautiful eyes, people would act differently towards her: "Why, look at pretty-eyed Pecola. We mustn't do bad things in front of those pretty eyes" (Morrison 46). I find interesting that, although her logic seems absurd and childish, it presents a hint of truth. If she had blue eyes (and was white rather than black) then, realistically, she would experience better sights and people would probably notice her-- and with adoration rather than the mild distaste she is accustomed to.

The girls react similarly to society's standards of beauty. They both fail to completely understand it, yet respond with frustration and anger, that turns into shame and is ultimately covered up by longing and adoration. What I mean by this is, for example, Claudia's hate for the baby doll she receives. It's appeal is lost on her; she fails to see its beauty, and destroys it in order to find something lovable. She comes to hate the doll. Yet, her hatred for the doll, which translates into a hatred for actually living white girls, gives way to a shame: "my shame floundered about for refuge. The best hiding place was love. Thus the conversion from pristine sadism to fabricated hatred, to fraudulent love" (Morrison 23).

Pecola's reaction to this ideal is less angry (in general, she seems to be less fiery than Claudia, who often expresses violent urges). She comes to see her color as an ugliness, which she uses as a veil to hide behind. Her conception of ugliness is closely linked with her longing for beautiful eyes. She feels that her eyes are ugly because she has seen so much ugly, so much that is horrifying and upsetting. So she tries to see the beauty in inanimate objects, such as the cracks in the sidewalk and the dandelions that everyone hates: "They were the codes and touchstones of the world, capable of translation and possession" (Morrison 47). Yet, this is not enough to change her reality. Still, she is completely ignored by the man who is working at the candy shop. Their interaction, (on his part) is marked by "The total absence of human recognition-- the glazed seperateness" (Morrison 48). This reinforces her negative feeling; she believes he ignores her, with distaste, because of her blackness and ugliness. Pecola is angered by this, but the anger quickly becomes shame.

Elements of The Archetypal Journey in The Bluest Eye

As I started reading the novel, I recognized that this novel would be a story that exhibits elements of The Archetypal Journey. On page 1 I was struck by the phrase," We stare at here, wanting her bread, but no more than that wanting to poke the arrogance out of here yes and smash the pride of ownership that curls her chewing mouth." (Morrison 9). This creates a threshold for Claudia as she must face the struggle of being forced to witness Rosemary enjoying her bread, but fails to cross the threshold. As a reader, I was able to determine that the sight of Rosemary eating her bread, reveals Claudia's jealously, and desire to posses the pride exhibited in Rosemary's eyes. However, Claudia overcoming her struggle of starvation will provide her with the strength and power to break through the barriers of poverty, and gain a new sense of overwhelming prosperity, by crossing the threshold.

Nicole Battafarano

Of all the characters in The bluest Eye I find the character, Mr. Henry to be the most interesting so far. Mr. Henry seems to have an heir of mystery about him. According to the gossips he is sensible and a good, quiet worker (Morrison, 14). Yet the fact that he is nice to Claudia and her sister, acknowledging their presence and even playing a game with them, distinguishes him from the other adults in Claudia's life. His presence in the house relieves a burden for Claudia's family and it is obvious he is a welcome guest yet a comment made on page sixteen makes the reader question the true nature of his character which states: "We loved him. Even after what came later, there was no bitterness in our memory of him." (Morrison 16). This comment is a possible element of foreshadowing in the novel, leading the reader to believe that, though Mr. Henry seems pleasant and well-respected by those around him, there may be something dark waiting to be revealed. I am engaged by the mystery that surrounds this character and look forward to seeing how his presence will affect the plot of this novel.

I found that the beginning pages served to remind us of the way that children think and react to the actions of adults. Claudia was a young child and took her mother's every statement and gesture towards her very seriously, as most young children do. When Claudia was sick, she felt that her mother's frustration was caused by Claudia getting sick, when in reality it was caused by being busy keeping house and having a sick child. Claudia took a little while to warm up to Pecola, stating that: "When we discovered that she clearly did not want to dominate us, we liked her." This childish reaction to a new person in a situation is understandable for Claudia who felt that adults were distant beings that only communicated to children by demands. Even at a young age, Claudia displays a remarkable resentment for white people. Claudia dislikes many white ideals of beauty such as Shirley Temple, baby dolls, and even little white girls. It is apparent that Claudia may not fully understand why she hates these things.

Adults and Children in the Novel

The major divide between the adults and the children in the story shocked me, expecially between Claudia and Frieda and their mother. From the beginning of the book their seems to be no hint of understanding between the children and adults : " Adults do not talk to us-they give us directions. They issue orders without providing information. When we trip and fall down they glance at us; if we cut or bruise ourselves, they ask us are we crazy" ( Morrison 10). As seen from Claudia's point of view in the story , children do not have any clear understanding of what the adult world really is. I thought the comparison of an adult coversation to a dance was very intersting. Claudia states that Frieda and herself never understand the actual context of the adult's conversation but look for other cues : " Sometimes their words move in lofty spirals; other times they take strident leaps, and all of it is punctuated with warm-pulsed laughter... The edge, the curl, the thrust of their emotions is always clear"(Morrison 15).

Baby Doll

As I was reading the scene with the baby doll I found Frieda's reaction hysterical. She did not want the baby doll. In the beginnig scences the idea of childhood is essintially ignored. Frieda is not expected to act as child she is expected to act as a small adult. She is expected to have control over her illness when she is obviously too young to have that control. Frieda wants to live up to the expectations of the adults, as that is what they seem to want her to do. However, she then gets forced to learn how to act with a baby doll. She learns to act as if she is mothering it. This is again an action that makes Frieda expected to be a small adult not a child.

Adults versus Children

I agree with Tierra in that in the beginning passages we begin to understand how the minds of children are affected by their surroundings and what the adults around them have to say. There is a sense of fear that seems to be provoked by the adults in Claudia's life in that she only wants to please them and will do anything in her power to do so, even if it means convincing herself that she can never again be sick: "By and by I will not get sick; I will refuse to." (12 Morrison) The strong aggression that the mother has toward Claudia is seen when she is angered at her for vomiting on the bedspread, something that a child cannot prevent. There is a sense that the adults in this society speak to children without ever really communicating with them in that " adults do not talk to us- they give us directions. they issue orders without providing information" (10 Morrison) The lack of consideration and high expectations of the adults evoke fear within the children that they must be in control of their every action, even their illnesses.

Comments on the Prologue

I must say that this is certainly one of the most interesting and unique prologues I have ever read. The first section, written in the style of an old elementary school primer, introduces the idea of social conventions and stereotypes. The repetition of the same words with decreasing punctuation and spacing shows how the words are just that: words, and nothing more. They have no meaning or substance in real life. However, the repetition also seems to imply that the words are memorized and given false meaning by the narrator. I get the impression that the ideas of stereotypes and social norms will be prevalent throughout the novel, and that the narrator might have taken the words from the primer and set them as a kind of ideal or standard against which all things are measured.
The prologue then continues, shifting to the voice of someone looking back upon her life, trying to make sense of the events that occurred and give them meaning and significance. A metaphor of marigolds and seeds is introduced along with what will most likely prove an important aspect of the novel: Pecola has been impregnated by her father. I appreciated the blunt and simple speaking style of the narrator. The sentence found at the end of the prologue was especially interesting: "There is really nothing more to say--except why. But since the why is difficult to handle, one must take refuge in how." I believe that this statement establishes the novel as a contemplative journey of discovery for both the reader and the narrator; as the narrator explains the story, both she and we will be searching for the meaning behind the events. Hopefully, by the end of the novel the why shall become clear to us and the narrator herself.

I was struck by the extended metaphor found in the first pages of the novel. The speaker comments that no marigolds grew in the fall of 1941. This theme of a lack of blooming is extended to people and their accomplishments. The speaker compares the marigold seeds to the potential that she and her sister had. However, they eventually "...admitted to ourselves that no green was going to spring from our seeds." The speaker goes on to discuss how at the time, she did not realize that this might not have been her fault; perhaps she was not given the tools she needed to be successful and "...the earth itself might have been unyielding." I was drawn to this image of growth and blossoming and will be interested to see if the theme is carried throughout the novel.

Prologue

To add to what Tierra said about the introduction to this novel, I feel that the way the sentences are written reflects that of a child. The sentences are very simple and it seems to be written for a child or from the perspective of a child. The passage becomes less and less significant as the paragraph is repeated because all of the words begin to run together. The words are connected, but lack meaning. The prologue continues with an overview of a few events that have already occurred. I believe that this section reflects an isolated feeling that was presented in the previous story. The narrator reflects that she was unable to connect the events that were taking place, such as the reason the plants were not growing in the fall of 1941. However, this section contrasts with the story about Jane because it includes beautiful imagery, depth, and meaning.

The Introduction of the Bluest Eye

To me, the way in which Toni Morrison begins the story of "The Bluest Eye" is crucial to understanding the purpose of the novel. “Here is the house. It is green and white. It has a red door. It is very pretty. Here is the family. Mother, Father, Dick, and Jane live in the green-and-white house. They are very happy…” (Morrison, 3). This passage is repeated three times: once with perfect punctuation and spacing; once more with no punctuation, but correct spacing; and lastly with no punctuation or spacing. This repetitive technique creates the effect of “brainwashing” the reader. Through this, we begin to understand how societal beliefs on how the family unit should be fashioned, what role an individual must fulfill, and especially what criteria must be fulfilled to be considered beautiful by others, affect the minds of those who are most vulnerable to these messages, young children. This introduction is mocking but also strongly admonishing.

The Bluest Eye explores the effects of racism on the most vulnerable members of society, children. On pages 19-20 Morrison writes: "It [Claudia's hatred for all the Shirley Temples of the world] had begun with Christmas and the gift of dolls. The big, the special, the loving gift was always a big, blue-eyed Baby Doll....I had only one desire to dismember it. To see of what it was made, to discover the dearness, to find the beauty, the desirability that had escaped me, but apparently only me."
I think Claudia's desire to dismember the blue-eyed Baby Doll represents in miniature Toni Morrison's intention to deconstruct the mystique of white models of beauty--beauty that Morrison regards as destructive. The whole novel invites readers to understand how seemingly harmless ideas and objects (like beauty and the Baby Doll) have a tremendous effect on young minds.