Race And Beauty in Toni Morrisons Novel The Bluest Eye...

Throughout Toni Morrisons 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†¦show more content†¦Matus also notes: Profoundly interpersonal, the experience of shame is also therefore social and cultural. Shame is the result of feeling deficient, whether in relation to a parent, an admired friend, or a more powerful social group (39). We can easily see the effect of this stereotyping in the diminishment of self with Pecolas desire for blue eyes just to be considered beautiful enough to love. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;A negative self-concept fostered by societal beliefs creates a profound sense of self-loathing for those who dont fit into a certain standard, which can transcend to the belief that familial connections are also guilty of the same abhorrence of not fitting into societal stereotyping. The inherent belief that one is not worthy and they come from a bloodline also unworthy diminishes the mind of any positive thinking and forms a person ready for abuse and disregard. In Trudier Harris view, quot;The cycle, vicious in its repetitiveness, is one that is too ingrained to be brokenquot; (47). Harris also points out the oppression faced by a young girl like Pecola: ...Morrison explores in the novel [and] centers upon the standard of beauty by which white women are judged in this country. They are taught that their blonde hair, blue eyes, and creamy skins are not only wonderful, butShow MoreRelatedThe Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison2069 Words   |  9 Pagesdictate to the standards of beauty. In her novel, ‘The Bluest Eye’, Toni Morrison draws upon symbolism, narrative voice, setting and ideals of the time to expose the effects these standards had on the different characters. With the juxtaposition of Claudia MacTeer and Pecola Breedlove, who naively conforms to the barrier of social classes, we are able to understand how African American’s in 1940’s America, specifically Ohio, had to adapt to the white ideals/standards of beauty, which subsequently causedRead MoreRacism in Toni Morrisons The Bluest Eye Essay1955 Words   |  8 Pagespossess. However, renowned author Toni Morrison sheds light on the sheltered and unspoke n truth that everyone—to some extent—is racist. â€Å"Home† is a reflective essay in which Morrison explains that her triumphs against racist ideologies are evident throughout her various novels (â€Å"Home† 3). In Morrison’s first novel,  The Bluest Eye, instead of establishing a home where race does not matter—a home which she dreams of in her essay—she creates just the opposite (3). In this novel, by using direct characterizationsRead MoreRacism And Discrimination On African Americans1210 Words   |  5 Pagessymbolism.2 In The Bluest Eye, an extremely important symbol is blue eyes (Crayton 73). Blue eyes are used to symbolize racially based beauty standards and the power associated with whiteness (â€Å"Bluest† LitCharts). In the novel, society believes that if a person does not have white skin, he or she is not beautiful. Pecola Breedlove falls victim to this widespread belief and longs to possess blue eyes. In her worl d, blue eyes are far more than a simple eye color. They are beauty. They are power. TheyRead MoreThe Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison Essay1314 Words   |  6 PagesThe Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, encompasses the themes of youth, gender, and race. The African American Civil Rights Movement had recently ended at the time the novel was written. In the book, Morrison utilizes a first-person story to convey her views on racial inequality. The protagonist and her friends find themselves in moments where they are filled with embarrassment and have a wish to flee such events. Since they are female African Americans, they are humiliated in society. One of Morrison’sRead MoreSelf-Hatred and the Aesthetics of Beauty in The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison1287 Words   |  6 Pagesand the Aesthetics of Beauty in The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Topic: Discuss the issues of self-hatred and the aesthetics of beauty in The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. What role do they play in the novel and how do they relate to its theme? Self-hatred leads to self-destruction†¦ Self-hatred is something that can thoroughly destroy an individual. As it was fictitiously evidenced in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, it can lead an individual to insanity. Toni Morrison raises the ideaRead More Morrisons Bluest Eye Essay: The American Way1698 Words   |  7 PagesThe Bluest Eye: The American Way  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   Ownership, class structures, and consumerism go hand in hand. Morrison illustrates this throughout the novel and in the characters identities. Many of the characters identify themselves based on material possessions: the simple ownership of a car, the use of consumer products, and property ownership. Although African Americans may take these things for granted now, in the early 1900s this would be considered a major accomplishment. There isRead MoreStruggling through the Great Depression in Toni Morrisons The Bluest Eye1347 Words   |  5 PagesToni Morrison was born Chloe Anthony Wofford in 1931 in Lorain, Ohio. Morrison grew up with a love of literature and received her undergraduate degree from Howard University. She received a master’s degree from Cornell University, she taught at Texas Southern University and then at Howard, in Washington, D.C., where she met Harold Morrison, an designer from Jamaica. The marriage lasted six years, and Morrison gave birth to two sons. She and her husband separated while she was pregnant with her secondRead MoreThe Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison956 Words   |  4 PagesHistory of Slavery Influenced the Characters of The Bluest Eye Unlike so many pieces of American literature that involve and examine the history of slavery and the years of intensely-entrenched racism that ensued, the overall plot of the novel, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, does not necessarily involve slavery directly, but rather examines the aftermath by delving into African-American self-hatred. Nearly all of the main characters in The Bluest Eye who are African American are dominated by the endlessRead MoreToni Morrison: the Bluest Eye and Sula Essay2313 Words   |  10 Pagesthe oral tradition to carry the values the group considered significant. Transition by the word of mouth took the place of pamphlets, poems, and novels. Themes such as the quest for freedom, the nature of evil, and the powerful verses the powerless became the themes of African- American literature. In a book called Fiction and Folklore: the novels of Toni Morrision author Trudier Harris explains that Early folk beliefs were so powerful a force in the lives of slave s that their masters sought to co-optRead Morestudy on toni morrison Essay2402 Words   |  10 Pagesï » ¿A Study On Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye Ying-Hua,Liao Introduction Toni Morrison was the winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature. She is a prominent contemporary American writer devoted to the black literary and cultural movement. Her achievements and dedication to the promotion of black culture have established her distinguished status in American literature. Many critics applaud Toni Morrison’s artistic talent and contribution to American literature. Darwin T. Turner, for example