The Bluest Eye Racism Analysis - 1336 Words

In The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison depicts racism all throughout the novel. Discrimination is very heavy in the 1940s, and the protagonist Pecola Breedlove experiences that. Pecola is a lower-class black girl who is constantly picked on for not only her looks, but her uncontrollable family situation. Maureen Peal is a new girl that arrives at Pecola’s school, and she is an upper-class, wealthy black girl. When Maureen goes out for ice cream with Pecola, Frieda, and Claudia, the girls talk about menstruation, and Maureen accuses Pecola if she has ever seen her father naked. Pecola denies the accusation, and conflict arises between the girls. Maureen shouts, â€Å"‘I am cute! And you are ugly! Black and ugly black e mos. I am cute!’† (Morrison 73).†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"‘I can’t go to school no more. And I thought maybe you could help me.’ ‘Help you how? Tell me. Don’t be frightened.’ ‘My eyes.â€℠¢ ‘What about your eyes?’ ‘I want them blue.’ †¦ Here was an ugly little girl asking for beauty† (174). Conversation is exchanged between Soaphead Church and Pecola about the longing of blue eyes. Soaphead Church gets angry because he can not help Pecola. The blue eyes symbolize beauty, and Pecola associates that with being loved and accepted. She believes that if she possesses blue eyes, people will disregard she is black, and the cruelty in her life will be replaced with respect and affection. This hopeless desire ultimately leads Pecola to complete madness.To summarize, beauty is a crucial piece of the racism that is displayed in the novel, and affects many different characters. Secondly, sexism is very apparent through the female characters throughout the novel. In the time period of the novel, women are in the minority, and their jobs consist of doing housework, either for a white family or their own family. Pauline’s life is describe d as staying at home and taking care of the house. Pauline’s mother gets a job taking care of a white family. Pauling is now the oldest girl at home, and this defaults her to being the housekeeper. Morrison writes, â€Å"†¦ Pauline, now the oldest girl at home, took over the care for the house. She kept the fence in repair, pulling the pointed stakes erect, securing them with bits of wire, collected eggs,Show MoreRelatedConfronting Social Identities in Society Essay1580 Words   |  7 Pagesexists in the world today, which includes but do not limited to self identity and racism. However, they somehow go unnoticed because at times people conform to what society thinks is the way to live. In my opinion, people believe they should act or feel a certain way because of what is broadcast on television, featured in magazines, and even brought into the limelight by celebrities. 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