Narae - The Bluest Eye

The Bluest Eye

characters:

pecola- a protagonist. Eleven year-old African American girl who believes having the blue eye and blond hair is the only standard of beauty
she feels ugly and hate her-self. She thinks because she is black, everyone disrepects her. She has been abused by her own father.

claudia- Her family take care of Pecola. She is the youngest of the McTeer family and very strong minded girl. She fights against the standard of white beauty.

frieda- sister of claudia and also lives with pecola. Frieda is more knowledgeable about the adult world.

cholly- a violent father of pecola. He rapes his own child.

pauline- a mother of pecola who also feels she is ugly.

mrs. mcteer- a mother of claudia. Even though she yells at her children, she loves them very much.

Maureen- A light-skinned, wealthy black girl who is new at the local school.

main idea:

Standard of beauty- Tony Morrison depicts in "The Bluest Eye" the significance of the white beauty standards that deform the lives of African Americans. She illustrates how African Americans felt so ugly of themselves compared to the "beautiful" whites. She conveys the implicit message that whiteness is superior than any other race. Pecola is very attracted and adores the Shirley Temple cup, which she very much longs for her blue eyes. The consensus that light-skinned Maureen is cuter than the other black girls, the idealization of white beauty. Pauline, a mother of Pecola also feels that being black is ugly. She prefers the little white girl she works for over her daughter. Adult women, having learned to hate the blackness of their own bodies, take this hatred out on their children.
Pauline shares the idea that Pecola is ugly. Pecola feels if she was beautiful and had blue eyes, everyone will lover her and respect her and that her father wouldn't have raped her.

the blue eyes -To Pecola, blue eyes convey the beauty and happiness that she associates with the white, middle-class world. They also come to symbolize her own blindness of the beauty of her own race.

question:

THe bluest eye depicts both racism and sexism in the story. Which is a greater threat?

*prof Lee, sorry for the late course blog. Just so you know, I had a blast in the class and I have learned so much. Thank you.
Have a wonderful holiday season and hope to see you next semester.