In the novel The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison explores the issue of beauty and what it means to be considered beautiful. The characters in the novel are all affected by this concept in different ways, with some striving to attain beauty while others reject it entirely. The idea of beauty is complex and ever-changing, and Morrison probes into its many layers through her characters’ experiences.
For many of the characters in The Bluest Eye, being beautiful is equated with being happy and successful. They believe that if they can just become more attractive, their lives will improve. This is most clearly seen in Pecola Breedlove, who believes that if she could just have blue eyes, she would be happy. The unattainability of this goal drives her mad.
Other characters in the novel view beauty in a different way. Claudia, for example, understands that beauty is not just about what’s on the outside. She knows that there is more to it than that, and she values inner beauty over outer beauty. This is evident when she tells Pecola that “love makes you do crazy things” and that “loving somebody ain’t nothing but wanting to eat them up.”
Ultimately, The Bluest Eye is a story about the power of beauty and the ways in which it can affect people’s lives. Morrison shows us both the good and the bad that can come from striving for beauty. The characters who are most affected by it are those who allow it to control them completely. The novel is a reminder that beauty is not everything, and that there is more to life than just looking good.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, according to a popular saying. This implies that every person is beautiful in his or her own way depending on how others see them. For Pecola Breedlove, this was an unpleasant notion. Pecola is a 11-year-old African-American girl from Toni Morrison’s book The Bluest Eye. Throughout most of her brief lifetime, Pecola suffers because to her physical features, and she never really got to understand what it meant to be truly attractive.
The novel The Bluest Eye explores the different themes surrounding beauty. The most prominent theme is that beauty is not just skin deep. The novel also touches on the topics of self-hatred, internalized racism, and family dynamics. The Bluest Eye is a story about the search for beauty and the tragedy that can come with wanting to be something that you are not.
One of the main ways that this theme is explored is through the character of Pecola Breedlove. Pecola was born with very dark skin and she has extremely curly hair. She also has a big nose and thick lips. Throughout her life, Pecola is ridiculed by others because of her appearance. The other characters in the novel often refer to her as ugly and they make fun of her.
This makes Pecola feel as though she is not worthy of love or respect. She starts to believe that if she could just change her appearance, then she would be happy. Pecola becomes obsessed with the idea of having blue eyes. The bluest eye is considered to be the most beautiful color and Pecola feels like she needs to have blue eyes in order to be beautiful. This fixation on beauty leads Pecola down a dark path.
Despite being ridiculed because of her appearance, Pecola does not give up on her dream of being beautiful. In fact, she becomes even more determined to achieve it. This is most clearly seen when Pecolas father rapes her.
Pecola wishes to have blue eyes in order to appear like the white women who were thought to be ideal. These characteristics also included blue eyes and blonde hair. We still have our standards of beauty today. Caucasians may still regard physical perfection as involving blue eyes, blonde hair, and a slim body. Other ethnic groups have their own ideas of what constitutes beauty. In African-American culture, being thick is considered attractive. There are several references to Caucasian females and girls that Pecola admired in her writings.
The novel The Bluest Eye shows how the ideal of beauty can play a big role in someone’s life, and how it can be damaging. The novel also addresses the issue of colorism, which is prejudice or discrimination against people who have a darker skin tone. The characters in The Bluest Eye are all affected by colorism in one way or another.
The theme of beauty is important in The Bluest Eye because it is something that affects everyone, regardless of race. The ideal of beauty is something that is constantly being marketed to us, and we are always trying to live up to these standards. The Bluest Eye shows how damaging this can be.
The first was Shirley Temple. Shirley Temple, a prominent young actress in the 1930s and 1940s, was most recognized for her curly blonde hair and blue eyes. Pecola showed an interest in the Shirley Temple cups as soon as she moved in with the MacTeer family. Morrison writes, She gazed fondly at the outline of Shirley Temples dented face (19). Because Pecola drank so much milk, Mrs. MacTeer became concerned about their supply. The tiny girl on Mary Jane candy wrappers is another example of idealized beauty.
The girl has blonde hair and blue eyes, and is racially ambiguous. The ideal of beauty that is portrayed in these examples is one that is white and blonde. One of the most significant instances of the theme of beauty in The Bluest Eye occurs when Pecola prays for blue eyes. Morrison writes, She wanted to be beautiful so bad she could taste it. And she thought God could do anything (163). Pecolas desire for blue eyes stems from her belief that they are a sign of beauty and goodness.
The fact that she associates blue eyes with these qualities reinforces the dominant standard of beauty in America at the time. The novel makes it clear that this standard is not attainable for everyone, particularly black women. This contributes to the character’s feelings of self-hatred and inadequacy. The Bluest Eye challenges the reader to question the definition of beauty, and to consider who decides what is beautiful.