The Bluest Eye Commentary

Maurice Del Rio

Y3BA

Extract from Page 14

• Claudia expresses her anger through the plastic white doll, having the “desire to dismember it”.

Linguistic Devices: List of 3• “all the world had agreed that a blue-eyed,

yellow-haired, pink-skinned doll was what every girl child treasured” – list of three, allowing the readers to visually picture the perfect doll as if it was an actual white human being. Using different colours of blue, yellow and pink shows the stereotypes of a “perfect” white girl during those times. By using the word “treasured” shows that this is thought to be the most beautiful features of a perfect girl which every child wants to look like

Vocabulary • “I had only one desire: to dismember it” – the word

“desire” shows Claudia is desperate in finding out why white girls are labeled as ‘perfect’. The word “dismember” is negative connotations showing her violent nature. This displays a cathartic experience, dismembering the doll because she knows that she cannot do it to al the real white girls. “Dismembering” the dolls shows Claudia’s physical manifestation

• Oxymoron “the sweet and plaintive cry” – an oxymoron is used with the words sweet and plaintive. Sweet is a soothing word and portrays positive imagery although plaintive describes a mournful person. This is done to show the sweetness of the doll is more plaintive in Claudia’s eyes.

Alliteration • “I fingered the face, wondering at the single-stroke

eyebrows” – alliteration is being used with the letter “f” making it sound more aggressive and violent towards the doll. The word “fingered” shows Claudia is examining the doll, allowing us the image her determination in ripping the doll apart

• “to discover the dearness, to find the beauty, the desirability that had escaped me” – alliteration is used by Toni Morrison to make it seem Claudia is very desperate and willing in knowing why the white girls acquire “treasured” beauty.

Simile• “teeth stuck like two piano keys between red

bowline lips” – a simile is being used to make the scene seem more horrid. Normally, teeth on a “perfect” doll is pretty and perfect although in this scene, it is shown that it looks more like piano keys. This displays a parallel structure and metaphoric imagery allowing the readers to understand that Claudia doesn’t find white girls pretty

Onomatopoeia • “Ahhhh, take off the head” – shows the

writers use of onomatopoeia. We can see Claudia shouts with agony, expressing her anger externally as well as internally. This expressive emotion allows the readers to fully understand she is very immature and has the perspective of a young child. By saying “take off the head”, also shows she’s bewildering towards the doll acting as if it was a real human.

Structure

• “poked the glassy blue eyeballs, twisted the yellow hair” – as mentioned before, colours of stereotypes on white people having blonde hair and blue eyes are being mentioned although negative actions are done like “poked” and “twisted” allowing us to see Claudia’s animalistic nature.

• This displays a parallel structure, since vocabulary words of beauty and colour are being used in the same sentence with negative words. The structure shows the writers use of metaphoric language and irony.

Language

• The language used by Toni Morrison is very child-like and violent. This displays Claudia as a immature girl who has yet to find out the harsh reality of the world. Words such as “fingered” or “poked” add to the fact she is only a young girl. Knowing the dolls aren’t real, Claudia still acts as if they are actually white human beings.