It is the mother’s vulnerability to the racial standards of beauty that is transmitted to the daughter and ultimately leads to her victimization. In fact, the reason of Pauline’s vulnerability to the racially prejudiced notions of beauty lies in her relationship with her own mother. The relationship between Pecola Breedlove, the protagonist, and her mother, Pauline Breedlove, is ironically characterized by lack of love, and emotional attachment, indifference, frustration and cruelty. Set in a small town in Ohio, during the Depression, The Bluest Eye is the story of eleven year old Pecola Breedlove, who, victimized by the racist society, yearns for blue eyes, which, she believes, will make her worthy of love, happiness and acceptance in the
The coloured people are always viewed as folks who should endure violence and pain even at home. Toni Morrison illuminates on the sufferings of black females in a white society in The Bluest Eye. This novel “…shows racism’s damaging effects on the black community at large and on black families” (Kubitschek, 27). In The Bluest Eye, Pecola Breedlove realizes the supremacy of white society and longs to have the features of white females. She prays God to give the bluest eye in the world.
Racism and gender have always been an issue in society, A Raisin in the Sun is an important piece of American history during that time period. The famous play shows the audience the life it was like to live as a black female, and shows the struggles that the Young family faced being the first African American family to move into a white neighborhood. This play is considered a
The Bluest Eye: Beauty People often say that “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” in The Bluest Eye this takes a new meaning. The Bluest Eye is Toni Morrison 's first novel published in 1970. Set in the author 's hometown in Lorrain, Ohio, it narrates the story of a black little girl named Pecola Breedlove. Pecola prays for blue eyes like the ones her idol Shirley Temple has, because that way she will be beautiful and loved. Throughout the novel Toni Morrison takes us on Pecola 's journey to self-destruction because she lives in world that doesn 't find her beautiful or even worth to be looked at.
It stays this way through the first half of the book, and then it switches into a conversation of letters between Celie and Nettie. When Nettie’s point of view is added into the picture, the importance of the different point of views come to light. Celie, is an uneducated black woman, - unlike Nettie - as she couldn’t finish school due to becoming pregnant with her father’s child. Her lack of education is evident in her spelling and grammar. For example, Celie writes to Nettie “So me and Shug dress up in our new blue flower pants that match and big floppy Easter hats that match too, cept her roses red, mine yellow, and us clam in the Packard and glide over there.” (Walker 178) and it’s clear that she is not able to write as well as an educated person would.
In The Bluest Eye, written by Toni Morrison is about a young African American girl named Pecola, and a time were many people grew up with racism and many difficulties during the 1940’s because they were African American. Throughout the novel, it demonstrates that white societies have a better living, and higher beauty standard in which the media illustrates through television and books. This causes many conflicts towards African Americans because they are unable to find the true meaning of beauty. The author Toni Morrison, stresses plot, setting, characterization, or theme when writing a work of fiction like The Bluest Eye. In the novel The Bluest Eye, defining beauty affects many characters’ and supports the theme seen throughout the novel because it reflects their self-esteem due to the media’s perception of beauty.
Black women have been undergoing class, race, social oppression and found voiceless against the odds of the society. This paper aims at bringing out the trials and troubles faced by women characters in the novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Women urge to own a self identity. This search for self is not an easy task especially when it comes to a Black Women. It axiomatically becomes a great matter of struggle.
Conclusion For the black mother, motherhood learns exactly what is entailed in the acceptance of responsibility for a new life. The taking on new responsibility will accept of suffering, sacrifice and a lot of love. The present paper is a discussion of the sufferings have been the most suppressing challenges in the lives of African American women as depicted in two great novels, The Color Purple and Meridian by Alice Walker. Alice Walker is one of the most influential figures in the American literature. Her writings are widely influential among the Western culture to see the black female as mankind nor women.
A pessimistic story covers up the good with the bad. Since Twyla and Roberta were first introduced in the beginning of Recitatif, It was clear that prejudice was major theme due to Twyla 's comment “my mother won’t like you putting me in her.” Although the race of the two girls is never truly revealed, Morrison suggests that one is black and one is white. This is identified as a pessimistic story because throughout the girl 's relationship, loving moments such as the interactions between mothers and their reunion in Howard Johnson 's is covered by racial hate. During the time they stayed at the shelter, they were protected from the racial division between the black and white community, and ultimately found nothing wrong with their relationship. As the two are exposed to reality once they leave the shelter, race wedges between the girls and causes them to drift apart.
The novel opens with an opening letter where we discover that Celie the main character was savagely raped by her step father. Such a bold beginning lets us know that Celie 's life is anything but ordinary. The sanctity of the family unit so important to the American way of life is destroyed. The shocking details of rape as Celie writes are sad but a factual everyday occurrence. Celie understands that as a Black woman she is seen as worthless having a meaningless existence.There is no other way of life.