The Bluest Eye

By Toni Morrison

Written in: New York: 1962–1965

First published in 1970

Setting:

Set in 1941 in Lorain, Ohio, Toni Morrison's novel centers on a particularly difficult year in the life of eleven year old Pecola Breedlove.  Pecola comes from a poor and poorly adjusted black family.  Pecola feels ugly and

unaccepted by the world around her, and longs for blue eyes—

Shirley Temple eyes—which she believes will

make her beautiful, happy and finally

accepted.

Why:

In the Afterword to The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison writes that the novel came out of a childhood conversation she could never forget.

She remembers a young black girl she knew who wanted blue eyes, and how, like Claudia MacTeer in the novel, this confession made her really angry.

Surrounded by the Black Is Beautiful movement of late 1960s African-American culture, Morrison decided to write a novel about how internalized racism affects young black girls in a range of ways – some petty and minute, some tragic and overwhelming.

Historical Context:

the effects of poverty felt by

so many families, especially poor black families during the Depression

the effects of racism and segregation

distortion of self-image encouraged by media depictions of beauty and happiness

the struggles of rural families who moved north to find work in industrial areas.

Yet Pecola's story encompasses much more: 

An Example of American Naturalism

Like other examples of the genre, the novel portrays a protagonist whose attempts at exercising free will are thwarted by forces beyond her control.

The barriers faced by the protagonist may be biological, psychological, or economic.

Practitioners of the genre include Richard Wright, Upton Sinclair, Stephen Crane, and John Steinbeck.

Critical Reception:

Due to its unflinching portrayal of incest, prostitution, domestic violence, child molestation, and racism, there have been numerous attempts to ban the book from libraries and schools across the United States, some of them successful.

Warning: Adult content ahead!

Conflict

External conflict – Standards of beauty, racism, povert

leads to internal conflict

– Self-loathing

Themes: Whiteness as the Standard of Beauty

The Bluest Eye provides an extended depiction of the ways in which internalized white beauty standards deform the lives of black girls and women.

Consider the effects this has on the characters in novel, and the overall societal result of such a standard.

Themes: Seeing vs. Being Seen

What do black women in the novel ultimately have to sacrifice in order to see themselves as beautiful?

Pecola’s desire for blue eyes, while highly unrealistic, is based on one correct insight into her world: she believes that the cruelty she witnesses and experiences is connected to how she is seen. If she had beautiful blue eyes, Pecola imagines, people would not want to do ugly things in front of her or to her.

The Power of Stories

The Bluest Eye is not one story, but multiple, sometimes contradictory, interlocking stories. Characters tell stories to make sense of their lives, and these stories have tremendous power for both good and evil.

Consider each character’s motives

for telling their individual stories,

what it reveals about them and what they get out of telling the

story.

Themes: Sexual Initiation and Abuse

To a large degree, The Bluest Eye is about both the pleasures and the perils of sexual initiation. In the novel, parents carry much of the blame for their children’s often traumatic sexual coming-of-age. The prevalence of sexual violence in the novel suggests that racism is not the only thing that distorts black girlhoods.

Consider the connection between racism and sexism in

the novel as well as the role that parents play in

perpetuating views about race and

gender.

Themes: Satisfying Appetites vs. Suppressing Them

A number of characters in The Bluest Eye define their lives through a denial of their bodily needs. In contrast, when characters experience happiness, it is generally in viscerally physical terms. Consider what the novel suggests about human desire: How does one achieve true happiness and redemption?

Themes: is our life created by our choices or our situations?

Physical context Historical context Character context

Motifs: The Dick-and-Jane Narrative

The novel opens with a distorted narrative from a Dick-and-Jane reading primer. The chapter headings throughout the novel are excerpted from this primer. What is the significance of this reference? What inferences are embedded in the alteration of the primer? What is the inherent irony of this motif?

Motifs: The Seasons and Nature

The novel is divided into the four seasons. As you read each section, consider both societal associations and your individual associations with each season. Does the plot match societal expectations for each season? Do Pecola’s associations match your own? Why or why not?

Motifs: Whiteness and Color

Consider the duality of what whiteness represents in the novel. What do various colors represent? Are these soft or vibrant colors? What do these symbolic motifs suggest about race and happiness?

Motifs: Eyes and Vision

Eyes and vision (or lack thereof), both externally and internally, literally and metaphorically, are another important, recurring motif in this novel. What messages are conveyed to the characters, and in turn to the reader, by this motif?

Motifs: Dirtiness and Cleanliness

What are the cultural implications of each?

What is judged as dirty or clean?

What are the characters’ relationships with cleanliness and dirtiness?

What does this reveal about them, what they value and what they are seeking?

Symbols:

These symbols are embedded with layers of meaning, some which contain an intentional duality. Consider their developing meanings as we progress throughout the text.

– The House– The Bluest Eye(s)– Marigolds