Black Hole Sun The characters within The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, all attempt to conform to a standard of beauty in some way. This standard of beauty is established by the society in which they live, and then supported by members of the community. Beauty is also linked with respect and happiness. Both people who reach the standard of beauty, and those who try, are never really satisfied with who they are. This never-ending race to become beautiful has devastating effects on their relationships and their own self-esteem. Geraldine, a respected woman living in the community, does conform to the standard of beauty, and she feels that anyone else is greatly inferior. So as to retain the beauty, Geraldine loses her culture and her …show more content…
This obsession of retaining the standard of beauty also separates the women from their family. In Geraldine's case, the husband married her because of her pervasive cleanliness, and does not expect anything more. The relationship between the couple is very machinelike and without feeling. The effects on the child are even more profound. From on early age, Junior is taught that he is better then the other children, that playing with them is beneath him. Not only does this create extreme feelings of superiority within Junior, it also isolates him from the other children. Although he wants to have fun, he is not allowed because he would no longer be clean. Without a relationship between his pears, Junior can only have one with his mother, but he is failed in this sense also. Geraldine feels that it is her duty to bring up a clean and moral child, but she does not feel that she must have any bond with him. In truth, any emotions between Geraldine and Junior are almost nonexistent. The relationship deteriorates to such a degree, that Geraldine feels more love towards her cat, a clean and proud creature, than she does towards her son. In reaching the standard of beauty, Geraldine is actually abandoning that which makes her unique. She is, in essence, washing herself of her culture and her identity, and becoming a faceless member of society. By becoming "beautiful", Geraldine is actually
Toni Morrison, the author of The Bluest Eye, centers her novel around two things: beauty and wealth in their relation to race and a brutal rape of a young girl by her father. Morrison explores and exposes these themes in relation to the underlying factors of black society: racism and sexism. Every character has a problem to deal with and it involves racism and/or sexism. Whether the characters are the victim or the aggressor, they can do nothing about their problem or condition, especially when concerning gender and race. Morrison's characters are clearly at the mercy of preconceived notions maintained by society. Because of these preconceived notions, the racism found in The Bluest Eye is not whites against blacks. Morrison writes about
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison takes place in Ohio in the 1940s. The novel is written from the perspective of African Americans and how they view themselves. Focusing on identity, Morrison uses rhetorical devices such as imagery, dictation, and symbolism to help stress her point of view on identity. In the novel the author argues that society influences an individual's perception on beauty, which she supports through characters like Pecola and Mrs. Breedlove. Furthermore, the novel explains how society shapes an individual's character by instilling beauty expectations. Morrison is effective in relaying her message about the various impacts that society has on an individual's character through imagery, diction, and symbolism by showing that
Throughout Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye, she captures, with vivid insight, the plight of a young African American girl and what she would be subjected to in a media contrived society that places its ideal of beauty on the e quintessential blue-eyed, blonde woman. The idea of what is beautiful has been stereotyped in the mass media since the beginning and creates a mental and emotional damage to self and soul. This oppression to the soul creates a socio-economic displacement causing a cycle of dysfunction and abuses. Morrison takes us through the agonizing story of just such a young girl, Pecola Breedlove, and her aching desire to have what is considered beautiful - blue eyes. Racial stereotypes of beauty contrived and nourished by
The Bluest Eye, written by Toni Morrison, demonstrates the internal struggles that plagued the African American working class due to the socioeconomic conditions during the early 1940s. These external pressures shaped the lifestyles of the characters both in their internal struggles and their physical surroundings. Pauline Breedlove unknowingly displays her own internal conflicts through the way in which she keeps her own home. Additionally, she further demonstrates her battle with acceptance and her obsession with beauty in the way she cares for the home of the Fishers. Another character, Geraldine, keeps her home clean with an obsessive determination. However,
Throughout all of history there has been an ideal beauty that most have tried to obtain. But what if that beauty was impossible to grasp because something was holding one back. There was nothing one could do to be ‘beautiful’. Growing up and being convinced that one was ugly, useless, and dirty. For Pecola Breedlove, this state of longing was reality. Blue eyes, blonde hair, and pale white skin was the definition of beauty. Pecola was a black girl with the dream to be beautiful. Toni Morrison takes the reader into the life of a young girl through Morrison’s exceptional novel, The Bluest Eye. The novel displays the battles that Pecola struggles with each and every day. Morrison takes the reader through the themes of whiteness and beauty,
The mother/daughter relationship between Mrs. MacTeer and her two daughters, Claudia and Frieda, is loving and strong. They are taught their own self-worth through their mother’s strength and example, although this love isn’t fully appreciated by the girls until they are older. During Claudia’s illness, she is treated with a mixture of concern and anger. Although Claudia is scolded and her mother complains of cleaning her vomit, at the same time her mother is nursing her, giving her medicine, and checking on her throughout the night. Claudia discovers later that her mother’s anger is not directed at her, but at the world, as she must raise her black family in a world ruled by white culture. She protects her children and equips them for survival in a hostile environment.
The desire to feel beautiful has never been more in demand, yet so impossible to achieve. In the book “The Bluest Eye”, the author, Toni Morrison, tells the story of two black families that live during the mid-1900’s. Even though slavery is a thing of the past, discrimination and racism are still a big issue at this time. Through the whole book, characters struggle to feel beautiful and battle the curse of being ugly because of their skin color. Throughout the book Pecola feels ugly and does not like who she is because of her back skin. She believes the only thing that can ever make her beautiful is if she got blue eyes. Frieda, Pecola, Claudia, and other black characters have been taught that the key to being beautiful is by having white skin. So by being black, this makes them automatically ugly. In the final chapter of the book, the need to feel beautiful drives Pecola so crazy that she imagines that she has blue eyes. She thinks that people don’t want to look at her because they are jealous of her beauty, but the truth is they don’t look at her because she is pregnant. From the time these black girls are little, the belief that beauty comes from the color of their skin has been hammered into their mind. Mrs. Breedlove and Geraldine are also affected by the standards of beauty and the impossible goal to look and be accepted by white people. Throughout “The Bluest Eye” Toni Morrison uses the motif of beauty to portray its negative effect on characters.
Rafaela, a beautiful, young girl, feels controlled by her husband, but sits inside doing nothing to change his undermining demeanor. Equally important, Rafaela 's husband is afraid of losing Rafaela 's beauty to the outside world and feels he has authoritative power over her to prevent this from occurring. Rafaela’s beauty intimidates her husband 's sense of power. Since her beauty threatens her husband, he locks her indoors to strip her from her freedom and show his dominance over her. The quote states that Rafaela leans out her window a lot, which creates the thought that she wants to go outside and explore the world. Rafaela’s husband is afraid of losing her because her beauty is so powerful that he uses male power to restrain her. Rafaela can ultimately deny her husband 's orders and go outside, but she chooses to cower to his authority by staying inside. Similar to Rafaela, Esperanza’s grandmother was an independent woman, strong and proud: “Until my great-grandfather threw a sack over her head and carried her off. Just like that, as if she were a fancy chandelier...She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was
In the story culture plays a key role in shaping the lives of all the characters. The culture of the novel seems similar to present day, western world culture where women use there looks and sensual movements to attract and be adored by men. On the flip side the men show off there masculinity and use sweet words in an attempt to charm woman. The characters Olimpico and Gloria, Macabea’s co-worker, fit this description as a couple, causing it be ever more apparent that Macabea falls short of society‘s definition of femininity. Internally she wants Olimpico to like her, she wants to
The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, depicts characters desperately seeking to attain love through a predetermined standard of beauty established and substantiated by society. Morrison intertwines the histories of several characters portraying the delusions of the ‘perfect’ family and what motivates their quest for love and beauty. Ultimately, this pursuit for love and beauty has overwhelming effects on their relationships and their identity.
Junior is affected by the failure of his mother to parent well. Instead she worries about appearance, cleanliness, and her cat which brings separation between her and Junior. Because he is angry and hurt by this, he abuses his mother’s cat who receives all the affection he would like to have from Geraldine.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison narrates the lives of two families, the MacTeer family and the Breedlove family. The novel digs into the themes of love, envy, and weakness, while maintaining a thick and interesting plotline. These themes are conveyed thoroughly through Morrison’s literary style. Toni Morrison’s powerful writing and structural techniques add depth to the novel, enhancing certain emotions while developing a riveting plot.
Racism in The Bluest Eye "There is really nothing more to say--except why. But since why is difficult to handle, one must take refuge in how." When bad things happen to us, the first thing we ask ourselves is "why"? Most of the time however, the answer to "why" is not readily available to us, and sometimes there is not an answer at all.
In The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison shows that one’s family determines a character’s feeling of self-worth. According to Morrison, the world is teaching little black girls that they are not beautiful and unworthy of love. The world teaches this by depicting white people and objects that resemble them, as symbols of beauty. In this world, to be worthy of love you must be beautiful. Morrison shows that if a little black girl believes what the world is telling her, her self-esteem can develop low self-esteem and they may yearn to be white. Even in the absence of economic and racial privilege, Morrison suggests that a little black girl can look to her family to build up her self-esteem. For Morrison, having a family is
We see a woman ready to go into the battle of the sexes whom the Baron (her opponent) already regards as a threat. Specifically, her beauty is a threat in that it empowers Belinda and means he may have to compete with other men for her affection. The idea of a woman holding power of any sort over a man attacks the male ego or at least threatens the Baron's ego. He is