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The Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison | Summary| Analysis

ByNaz khaliq

Mar 13, 2020
The Bluest Eye

Toni Morrison is one of the most famous writers. Here is the summary and analysis of The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. She got the Nobel prize for her great contribution to English literature

  • The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison is a novel published in 1970.
  • It is the first novel by Toni Morrison.
  • It is set in 1941.
  • Many attempts were made to ban it because of its controversial topics.
  • Claudia MacTeer and Frieda MacTeer are sisters.
  • Cholly Breedlove, Pauline Breedlove, Samuel Breedlove, and Pecola Breedlove is family.

Pecola Breedlove: The Bluest Eye revolves around her and she is the protagonist and daughter of Pauline and Cholly.

Characters of The Bluest Eye

Difference between both MacTeer and Breedlove family in The Bluest Eye:

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison focuses on the family relationship of the Black community and the inferiority complex develop because of the social standards. The difference between Breedlove and MacTeer family is that the Breedlove family is perplexed, confused about their identity and no union between them. While MacTeer family makes their children confident. While the Breedlove family blames racism for their problems, MacTeer family has made their children strong so racism does not affect them much.

It means that if the atmosphere inside the house is strong, then it is easy to fight and survive outside. While if a family has no union and they are unable to solve their problems then they cannot survive outside.

Mr and Mrs Breedlove are a troubled couple and for this reason, Pauline Breedlove finds an escape in her own imaginary world. Claudia MacTeer who is a narrator of this novel she sees around that whatever is in white colour, people consider it beautiful and look at it with love. However, she rejects this notion while Pecola Breedlove believes that white is beautiful and sees white people as always right. She is unable to cope with it and believes that blue eyes are beautiful.

Discrimination, Traumatic childhood and element of violence:

In The Bluest Eye, Pecola mother Pauline since her childhood sees white people as the epitome of beauty and intelligence. she thinks that if they would white, they will be more successful but because they are black, this is the reason they are unhappy. She starts working as a maid in the white people’s houses and takes care of them more than their own. She loves their children more than her own children.

Pecola’s father’s childhood was traumatic and he also had a bad experience with white people. He later married Pauline. He attacked his own daughter and raped her. But Pauline later beat Pecola and said nothing to her husband.

Pecola gets pregnant, Claudia and Ferida wish that the child will survive. However, the child is not survived. Here they make a wish with the flower of Marigold that if it will bloom the child will survive, neither the flower bloom nor the child survives.

The Bluest Eye not only shows the difference between the white and Black communities, but it also highlights different types of families in the Black community in which Pecola’s family is the most damaged one.

Geraldine who belongs to the upper class thinks that whatever the differences and discrimination towards black people, she is above all of this. She is more sophisticated and different from other people.

Soaphead Church proclaims himself that he is a psychic and he hates humans’ touch. He considers them impure and inferior and he has only interest in little girls. Pecola goes to him and asks him to wish for her blue eyes. He tricks her and gives her poison to give to a dog. He manipulates Pecola that if the dog will behave strangely she will get blue eyes. Dog dies and Pecola becomes delusional that she got blue eyes.

Pecola witnesses around her that white is beautiful so she wishes for that. She thinks that all the mistreatment she gets is because of the black colour.

Not only discrimination is there, but violence is also another essential element of the novel. Pecola’s father faced violence and abuse in his childhood and he felt violated and disgraced. The cat that Louis the son of Geraldine beat and later smashed on the window is another example of violence. Pecola was raped by her father this is also a type of violence and abuse.

This novel is set also during that time when Black women were struggling to get their rights. They were marginalized firstly as women and secondly as Black and we call this double marginalization.

Read More about English Literature:

Beloved by Toni Morrison (Summary)

The Yellow Wall paper by Charlotte Perkin Gilman (Summary)

If I were a Man by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (Summary)

Turned , A Short Story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (Summary)

Role of Men in Charlotte Perkins Gilman Shortstories

Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie (Summary)

The Rolling Thunder by Doug Boyd (Summary)

Francis Bacon as a Prose Writer

(Check out Literature Category for all important Literature questions)

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