Toni Morrison’s novel, ‘The Bluest Eyes,’ is set in the early 1940s and tells the story of a young girl, Pecola, and her family. Throughout the novel, colors are used to convey different meanings and symbols.
One significant use of color is when Pecola wishes for blue eyes. This can be interpreted as her longing for acceptance and to fit in with society. The blueness of eyes is often associated with purity and innocence, something that Pecola desperately wants but doesn’t have.
Another instance of color being used symbolically is when Claudia sees her brother, Cholly, after many years. She notices that his skin has gone from a light brown to a deep black. This can be interpreted as Cholly’s self-hatred and how he has internalized the racism against black people. The darkness of his skin represents the darkness of his soul.
Color is used throughout ‘The Bluest Eyes’ to convey different meanings and symbols, adding to the richness of the novel.
Pauline saw the beauty of life in the hues of her childhood on the South. Her most cherished memories were of purple berries, yellow lemonade, and “that streak of green them june bugs made on the trees that night we left down home. All those colors were in me.” Pauline and Cholly relocated North to Ohio to start their marriage together, leaving behind the bright tints of the South. Pauline hoped to rediscover those lovely hues when she married Cholly.
After the move, Pauline begins to see the world around her in different colors. She starts to see the ugliness in life and the world around her. This new perspective is a direct result of the colorblindness that she acquired from living in a world without any color.
“It was like living in a world without color. Everything had an awful, gray sameness about it.”
Pauline’s view of the world changes when she has her daughter Pecola.
“I began to see things…with Paula’s eyes. And Paula saw things with mine.”
Pecola represents hope for Pauline and blue eyes become a symbol of beauty and purity.
“Blue was the only good color, the only color for eyes.”
The use of color in Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eyes” is an important symbol for the characters and their respective journeys. The colors that Pauline saw as a child represented beauty, happiness, and love. However, after moving to Ohio, she begins to see the world in a different light. The colors are no longer bright and happy, but instead represent ugliness and despair.
For a time, she could sense her colors, her beauty, in Cholly’s eyes. He released all of the hues of life that were locked up inside her soul. Everything about their early married life was painted in vivid colors. Until they relocated “up North,” everything was lovely, organized, and perfect in Pauline and Cholly’s world.
It was in the North that Pauline began to lose her colors. The world outside of her small southern town was a dreary, dark place. The only colors she could find were in the memories of her time with Cholly. As she lost more and more of herself, she became more and more dependent on Cholly. She needed him to release her colors, to make her feel like she belonged somewhere.
Eventually, Pauline’s dependency turned into control. She began to dictate every aspect of Cholly’s life, including what he could and could not wear. She wanted him to be a living embodiment of the colors that she saw in her memories.
This obsession with color eventually led to the downfall of their relationship. Near the end, Cholly refused to be controlled by Pauline any longer. He stopped releasing colors for her, and she was left with nothing.
In Toni Morrison’s ‘The Bluest Eyes’, the use of color is used to represent different aspects of the characters’ lives. For Pauline, colors are a way to connect with her past and find happiness. However, as she loses herself, she becomes more and more dependent on Cholly to release colors for her. This dependency eventually turns into control, which leads to the downfall of their relationship.
Cholly also uses color to express himself, but in a very different way. He sees color as a way to rebel against the dreary world that Pauline has trapped him in. By refusing to release colors for her, he is able to gain a bit of control over his life. In the end, both Pauline and Cholly are left with nothing but darkness.
Every thing altered when they moved to the Northern States. “I missed my people. I wasn’t used to all of these white folks…” Pauline’s life was duller and drearier. 2. Cholly’s attitude only got more “mean” and “greedy,” and he wanted to fight everyone all of the time 2 . He neglected his wife by not returning home because he found fulfillment from other people.
The Bluest Eyes is Toni Morrison’s novel about a young girl, Pecola Breedlove, who desires to have blue eyes. Pecola is constantly ridiculed by her community and peers due to the color of her eyes. She is often told that she is ugly because she does not have blue eyes like everyone else. Toni Morrison uses color as a symbol throughout the novel in order to represent different aspects of Pecola’s life.
One of the most significant uses of color in The Bluest Eyes occurs when Pecola visits her father in jail. Cholly has been incarcerated for sexually assaulting his own daughter. Pecola goes to visit him and he gives her a candy bar.
Pauline turned to movies as a source of solace. She would sit and watch the ideal “white” world of Hollywood on the big screen. Her hues may be found on the “silver screen.”
The Bluest Eyes is Toni Morrison’s first novel which was published in 1970. The story follows the life of Pecola Breedlove, a young black girl, and her family. Throughout the novel, there are many examples of how color is used to control and define characters.
One way color is used in the novel is to reflect characters’ inner states. For example, when Claudia is younger, she associates the color pink with happiness and love. This changes after she becomes aware of the racism and discrimination that exists in the world. The pink that once made her happy now makes her feel sick because it represents the lies that society tells about race and beauty.
In addition to reflecting characters’ inner states, color is also often used to represent the different worlds that characters inhabit. The world of white people is often associated with the color blue, while the world of black people is often associated with the color green. This is most obvious in the scene where Pecola visits Mrs. Yacowbski’s home. While Mrs. Yacowbski is baking, her kitchen is filled with the smells of chocolate, vanilla, and cinnamon. These smells are contrasted with the smell of boiled cabbage, which is representative of Pecola’s own home and the world she lives in.
