Unlike To Kill a Mockingbird‚ in which an African-American is persecuted by whites simply on the basis of skin color‚ The Bluest Eye presents a more complicated portrayal of racism. The characters do experience direct oppression‚ but more routinely they are subject to an internalized set of values that creates its own cycle of victimization within families and the neighborhood. The black community in the novel has accepted white standards of beauty‚ judging Maureen’s light skin to be attractive and Pecola’s
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The Bluest Eye depicts the social conditions and psychology of black citizens in post-World War II United States. This excerpt‚ situated in the Autumn part of the book‚ introduces the reader to a family‚ the Breedloves‚ part of whom is the protagonist‚ Pecola. The point of view is omniscient‚ enabling the author to describe the family‚ their house and state of mind. This extract has several layers of meaning : it depicts the physical‚ then moral conditions of the Breedloves‚ but also sheds light
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Pure Hatred Towards an Inanimate Object In Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye‚ the speaker’s disdain for the doll is made evident through the drastic changes in tone throughout the piece‚ and the speaker’s use of sentences with many clauses to draw attention to key points. The tone of the piece‚ revealed through the connotations of abstract diction‚ mirrors the speaker’s thoughts towards the doll. The tone of the piece starts pleasant‚ containing words with positive connotations such as “special” and
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The three main characters in “The Bluest Eye”‚ are three young black girls. One of the three notices the white media‚ from Shirley shirley temple to the Mary Janes’ candy wrappers‚ that surrounds them. She gets irritated and angry that the only good roles models she has ever known are white. Kids of color
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Alienation in The Bluest Eye Alienation. A withdrawing or separation of a person or a person’s affections from an object or position of former attachment (Merriam Webster). Society has ways of alienating people for multiple reasons such as their race‚ gender‚ class‚ or beliefs. In The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison‚ the character Pecola was alienated not only by society‚ but by her family as well. Pecola’s alienation was due to the fact that she was raped by her father and carried his baby. This reveals
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understand why others find white people to be beautiful; she wants to understand why no one sees black as beautiful. Claudia is comfortable in her own skin‚ she accepts who she is‚ a black girl‚ and she doesn’t have a problem with it. Although Claudia does not feel inferior towards white people and their looks‚ she is jealous when Maureen‚ a white student from class says‚ “I am cute! And you ugly! Black and ugly black e mos. I am cute!” (53) When Maureen tells Claudia this she is jealous that Maureen is seen
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The Bluest Eye: A Great American Novel A Great American novel is one that helps the reader understand the values‚ issues‚ and beliefs most central to a culture and helps the reader know what it means to be an American. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison deserves to be recognized as a great American novel because of the universal themes portrayed throughout‚ the memorable characters‚ and the impactful storyline and language that moves the reader. On the first page of the novel‚ three sentences down
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African Americans‚ more often called blacks‚ were viewed in society as the defective‚ secondary race and it negatively impacted the lives of millions of African Americans living in America. The concept of racism is extremely prevalent in the novel The Bluest Eye‚ by Toni Morrison‚ and provides the characters in the story justification for many of their thoughts‚ actions‚ and problems. The main character‚ Pecola‚ is an eleven year old girl growing up with low self-esteem due to her abusive parents‚
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THE BLUEST EYE The Bluest Eye is a brilliantly written novel revealing the fictional trauma of an eleven-year-old black girl named Pecola Breedlove. This story takes place in the town of Lorain‚ Ohio during the 1940’s. It is told from the perspective of a young girl named Claudia MacTeer. She and her sister‚ Frieda‚ become witness to the terrible plights Pecola is unintentionally put through. Pecola chooses to hide from her disabling life behind her clouded dream of possessing the ever so cherished
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The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison is a story that has two main contrasting families throughout the book. The MacTeer family who is wholesome‚ sticks together and protects one another. They are an example of normal and kind especially during the time period this story takes place. Then we have the Breedlove family‚ they are almost the complete opposite of their counter parts MacTeer’s. The father‚ Cholly Breedlove is mostly drunk and devoid of any concept of parenting‚ partially because of his horrible
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