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.