What Is Pecola's Idea Of Identity In The Bluest Eye

In the novel, The Bluest Eye, author Toni Morrison introduces readers to the life of Pecola Breedlove, a young African American female who lives a pitiable existence and wishes more than anything that her eyes were blue because in her mind, girls with blue eyes are loved, admired, have a better life and don’t have to endure the hardships that she faces daily. Morrison utilizes a combination of the reminiscing narrative of Claudia, a now adult friend of Pecola’s when they were children, and trips back in time that impart a bit of character history so that readers can draw their own conclusions about events that transpired in a certain person’s life which may have bearing on their present actions, reactions and thought processes. One of the instances of the author’s use of racial aspects to define Pecola’s idea of beauty is a cup that she continually uses to
Yacobowski, an immigrant store owner, Morrison uses an aspect of not only racism, but also ethnic and gender differences to define feelings and further character identity. When Pecola enters the store to buy candy, her presence is all but ignored by the proprietor. As Morrison puts it, “…he looks towards her….somewhere between vision and view….his eyes draw back….he senses that he need not waste the effort of a glance….he does not see her, because for him there is nothing to see (Morrison, 1970)”. Mr. Yakobowski cannot see Pecola because as Morrison explains, in addition to being not possible, his actually seeing her is equally undesirable and unnecessary. He does not recognize her humanity. He doesn’t want to risk even touching her to retrieve the money for the candy from her outstretched palm. Pecola doesn’t recognize the character flaw in Mr. Yacobowski. She only recognizes the flaw in herself, a shame that dissipates only when she eats the candy and imagines she is also eating the blue eyes of Mary Jane, the little girl the candy is named after and whose face graces the