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Use Of Social Norms In The Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison

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In the novel, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, the author Toni Morrison uses the characters and their actions to portray social norms. Her writing challenges the very essence of what beauty is through the main characters Pecola, Cholly, Pauline Breedlove, Freida, Claudia, and Mrs.MacTeer. The main character Pecola is thought of by many as ugly and this idea influences her own actions, thoughts, and feelings. The author uses the standards of beauty motif to demonstrate the concept that everyone is criticized and a person’s support system determines how different people deal with it. Additionally, some readers may explore their own biases as they read the book. Beauty is presented as an abstract concept; an imaginary idea that means something different to every person. At …show more content…

“She was a long time with the milk, and gazed fondly at the silhouette of Shirley’s dimpled face. Freida and she had a loving conversation about how cu-ute Shirley Temples was. I couldn’t join them in their adoration because I hated Shirley (Morrison 19).” Readers quickly observe that Frieda wants to see and absorb the concept of beauty. Claudia, on the other hand, thinks that Shirley is just a social norm, not actually something that represents beauty and she does not understand why beauty has to take the form of someone like Shirley Temple. As the book goes on, Claudia and Freida explore what beauty is in their eyes. Claudia receives dolls from her relatives. She proceeds to destroy (dissects) them, in order to determine why beauty is deemed to be the pale face with blue eyes versus features that are similar to her own (Morrison 21). The social

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