Different Color Eyes Essay

I am writing my critical reaction journal based on my readings in regards to a two writings titled, “Seeing More Than Black and White” by Elizabeth Martinez (1998) in “Race, Class, and Gender: An Anthology,” [edited by] Margaret L Andersen; Patricia Hill Collins, 2013, (8th Edition ed., pp. 85-90) and “Color-Blind Privilege” by Charles A. Gallagher (2003) in “Race, Class, and Gender: An Anthology,” [edited by] Margaret L Andersen; Patricia Hill Collins, 2013, (8th Edition ed., pp. 91-95).

It was a short drive to the hotel, and the scenery was pretty cool, but I was really waiting for arrival time. I couldn't wait to see the hotel, and I had no clue what to expect. I eyes drifted out the window at all the tall trees on the hilly landscape. The trees filled the hill, and there was on sight of the forest floor. Birds of all sizes flew in and out of the forest, keeping a person looking at them and their home forever. But then the landscape began to change.

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

When children come into the world they are not born hating anyone, in fact they are born completely helpless and dependent on another person to care for them. Children are also dependent on others to learn. They come into this world needing to feel protected and loved, so why do we teach them to hate? Why not instead teach them to love? There are many things that will need to change in our society to dismantle racism; however it will need to start with our children. My paper will show who is oppressed, who is oppressing, and will compare and contrast what has happened in history, and to where we will need to start to end racism.

The Bluest Eye tells a tragic story of a young girl named Pecola who desperately wishes for beautiful blue eyes. Pecola believes that the only way she will ever be beautiful is if she has blue eyes. This story takes place in the 1970’s, a time where African Americans were second class citizens in society. They were often exploited and dehumanized because of the way they looked, and this will leave a long lasting effect. Americans would often think that the only way to be beautiful is to have white characteristics like pale skin, blue eyes, and to be very feminine. Racism in the 1970 and in the setting of the Bluest Eye caused self hatred in the black community. The effects of self hatred and racism in the

The rain kept on hitting the top of my car as I drove down the old road, like how a woodpecker pecks holes into trees looking for bugs. The town of Tahlequah had really changed since I saw it last about 40 years ago. There were paved roads now and a bigger school. The small shops I remembered were now big Sears and Target stores. Busy people walked on sidewalks trying not to get rained on, and cars drove on, with so many miles to go. As I got farther out and the buildings started to trickle out into countryside, I noticed a new sound that rose above all the rest.

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.

The Different Shades of Beauty What is beauty? Is it determined by your body structure? Is it assessed by your skin color? Women of African American descent struggle with concepts of beauty based on complexion- dark skin or light skin. Colorism is discrimination against people based on skin color and it affects the African American women with regards to self-esteem and self-acceptance.

Living in a society where being colorblind is now a trend, it is hard for most individuals to believe that racism still exits, and still taunts minorities through laws. Although transitioning away from slavery and the civil rights movement has assisted African Americans’ in longer being suppressed in society— another obstacle of suppression is a live, and runs through the criminal justice system. In this paper you will see how and why drug laws were created and its effects, how law inequality is supported by racial discrimination; criminal justice policies and its leading to the rise of incarceration rates, the promotion of the Rockefeller drug law by African Americans’, and Clinton’s reaction toward the 1994 law.

My eye color is a reflection of myself; a piece of art created with my mother’s grass green eyes and her work ethic, my brother’s blue-green eyes and his passion, and my father’s blue eyes and his problem-solving abilities. I still think that I ‘m what I make of myself; more than just the DNA my parents have passed on to me. My blue eyes are a sign of the passion I have for the things I do. I have a desire to do well in school that pushes me to try my best, the same yearning I have to make other people happy and get them involved in the things that make me excited about life. So when I look into the mirror now, I see not only bright blue eyes reflecting my family, but also someone who tries to make the best out of life and isn’t afraid to put others first. This causes my eyes to be their own kind of blue, a kind of blue that words can’t describe, a blue that is brighter than the sky on a sunny day and vaster than the open ocean, the unique kind of blue that if you want to see you will have to see

For decades there has been an ongoing discussion on society’s standards of beauty and what makes someone beautiful. In Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye she challenges white standards of beauty. Just like today, the society in Loraine, Ohio establishes a standard of beauty, and this beauty is defined as being as close to white as possible, having blonde hair, blue eyes, and a “Jack and Jill” family. Most of the characters in The Bluest Eye attempt to conform to society’s standards (complicating this idea) and believe if they can achieve at least one of the aspects of beauty their life will be better and they will be treated in higher regards. Through the female characters of Pecola, Claudia, Maureen, Geraldine, and Rosemary it is prevalent that there is a spectrum of beauty and the person who is closest to this standard, white skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes, is considered pretty and is respected by society, while a person who is not close to this standard is considered ugly and is treated poorly by society. By ascribing to society’s expectations of beauty, Geraldine extends the role of white supremacy and undermines her own self-worth.

The grass was soft and green, reserved for those who wanted to lie down or sit. A sweet aroma of flowers overflowed near by like s shinning light, but was hidden by the untrimmed bushes and wildly growing trees. Up above me was the beautiful, high noon blue sky spotted with fluffy, white clouds and airplanes flying by. I emerged into the parking lot and stopped happily as a squirrel under a tree. Hesitating to proceed anywhere further I took a few

It’s 7:30am, I step outside onto my apartment balcony. Cars are zooming down the over crowded streets, staunch buildings towering over me blocking the greeny lush hills far away. People rapidly walking down the sidewalk. In front of my eyes are shimmery silver and navy colours reflecting from the sky high buildings, they stand out more than the joyous light blue sky itself. Sounding in my ears are cars angrily roaring every 5 seconds, people barking at taxis to stop, an earth shaking sound that’s mixed with sound of a hurricane that’s just the aeroplane taking off from the city airport. The mouth watering smell of the local bakery down the road lingers through my nose, I can taste those freshly baked scones in my mouth from here.

     Toni Morrison the first black woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, was born Chloe Anthony Wofford on February 18, 1931 in Lorain, Ohio. She was the second of four children to George and Ramah Wofford. Her parents moved to Ohio from the South to escape racism and to find better opportunities in the North.

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