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| Racist depictions of African Americans in everyday-life |
From the horrific rape scene to Pecola’s feeling of abandonment, Morrison explores the dark reality of racism and idealized beauty. At the beginning of the book, we see that Pecola dreams for blue eyes—a symbol of acceptance from the world. We see that not only did beauty mean love, but also establishes a strict racial hierarchy.
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| The "science" of racial hierarchy |
Young girls take notice that even in the classroom, racism determines who has “power”. Their classmate, Maureen, is a half-white student who receives attention from teachers and other boys in her class. This idea of power is seen in almost every aspect of Pecola Pauline and Frieda’s lives. The narrator says, “Along with the idea of romantic love, she was introduced to another- physical beauty. Probably the most destructive idea of human thought (123). The girls' idea of beauty is obscured because of the world they are exposed to. In fact, "She regarded love as possessive mating, and romance as the goal of the spirit" (122). Now this is partially true, without love, we are alone. But the problem is, the girls associate love with physical beauty--more specifically, white beauty.
The novel explains that beauty is far more impactful than meets the eye. In order to examine its implications, we view the story through sympathetic imagination. The narration gives us a first hand view at racism in the household and how it affects even the most innocent beings-children. Bump explains, “What is the thing? I would suggest that ultimately it is judging by appearance, and that Morrison focuses on ugliness to enable white readers to feel something of what it is like to be judged by racial hierarchies of skin color and the master and family narratives that reinforce them” (368). Obviously, none of us can fathom can feeling of rape or the abandonment like Pecola. But, Morrison shows just what pain racism can bring upon society. Going back to the beginning of the book, an excerpt talks about a house, modeled by the Dick and Jane stories. This story reminds us what people associated “whiteness” with during the post Great Depression era. “Blackness”, however, was associated with “Abandonment may be the central emotion even in what readers simply accept as the happy “white middle class myth” of the family introduced in first words of The Bluest Eye. (391). This racial hierarchy was a powerful tool determining who had the right to power. Eugenics, the study of racial distinction based on the body, was a popular concept for many years. In fact, the University of Texas had its own department on Eugenics studies. Although eugenics quite appalling today, many academics and scientists believed that this study required legitimate research.
The novel explains that beauty is far more impactful than meets the eye. In order to examine its implications, we view the story through sympathetic imagination. The narration gives us a first hand view at racism in the household and how it affects even the most innocent beings-children. Bump explains, “What is the thing? I would suggest that ultimately it is judging by appearance, and that Morrison focuses on ugliness to enable white readers to feel something of what it is like to be judged by racial hierarchies of skin color and the master and family narratives that reinforce them” (368). Obviously, none of us can fathom can feeling of rape or the abandonment like Pecola. But, Morrison shows just what pain racism can bring upon society. Going back to the beginning of the book, an excerpt talks about a house, modeled by the Dick and Jane stories. This story reminds us what people associated “whiteness” with during the post Great Depression era. “Blackness”, however, was associated with “Abandonment may be the central emotion even in what readers simply accept as the happy “white middle class myth” of the family introduced in first words of The Bluest Eye. (391). This racial hierarchy was a powerful tool determining who had the right to power. Eugenics, the study of racial distinction based on the body, was a popular concept for many years. In fact, the University of Texas had its own department on Eugenics studies. Although eugenics quite appalling today, many academics and scientists believed that this study required legitimate research.
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| Many universities had eugenics departments dedicated to racist research. |
Written in the 1960s, Bluest Eye coincided with the “Black is Beautiful” movement. During times of social reconstruction, Morrison depicts the early origins of the beauty/race dichotomy. Pecola dreams for blue eyes until finally, she reaches a point of insanity. Pecola truly believes she possess blue eyes, in other words, ultimate beauty. She explains, “If there is somebody with bluer eyes than mine, then maybe there is somebody with bluest eyes. The bluest eyes in the world” (203). Pecola, the epitome of innocence, yearns for the eyes of a white girl. This horror of her yearning is “exceeded only by the evil of fulfillment” (204).
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| Black is beautiful: Eliminating standards of beauty |
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