The Bluest Eye has garnered literary recognition for its exploration of contentious themes experienced by an African American child residing in a predominantly white community. These themes, including incest and rape, have also led to the book being subjected to censorship. The majority of The Bluest Eye is narrated by Claudia Macerate, an African American girl. However, a significant emphasis is placed on Pectoral Overlooked, another young African American girl. Pectoral’s mother consistently inflicts cruelty upon her family, serving as a constant reminder of the inferior treatment they receive due to their ethnicity.
Piccolo’s father, Coolly, excessively drinks and later rapes his daughter in the novel. Despite both of their challenging lives, “Pectoral, like Pauline, [yearn] to be seen as beautiful, they long for the blue eyes of the most admired child in the 1sass: Shirley Temple” (Bump). Morrison remembers a young friend in elementary school who expressed a desire to have blue eyes. Morrison explains, The Bluest Eye was my attempt to address that; to explain why she did not have, and might never have, the same experience as someone with blue eyes, and also why he wished for such a drastic alteration” (The Bluest 77).
Morrison’s goal in writing The Blues Eye was to bring attention to the existence of socially accepted standards of beauty. These issues encompassed racism, abuse, family problems, and the hardships faced by marginalized communities. During the 1980s, it was not widely recognized that minorities could possess beauty. In her book, Morrison recounts, “I destroyed white baby dolls. But more unsettling was when these same impulses were directed towards little white girls” (22).
The text emphasizes that the narrator harbors a strong dislike for little white girls due to their idealized societal status. Rather than seeing her own beauty, she judges herself based on the appearance of others. The quote from Morrison’s novel highlights how Pectoral spends long hours in front of a mirror, desperately trying to understand what makes her so unattractive and why she is ignored or despised at school by both teachers and classmates. This further illustrates Pectoral’s belief in her own ugliness. However, the truth is that she is actually beautiful, although she fails to recognize it.
According to Dorothy Lee (84), every novel by the author showcases her keen understanding of psychological motivation, particularly focusing on the experiences of African American women and humanity in general. In simpler terms, each novel explores how individuals perceive themselves. This is also why The Bluest Eye is recognized for its literary value. In all of Morning’s works, she consistently highlights the challenges both in the mind and body faced by characters within a particular society.
The text emphasizes the significance of the protagonist’s African American heritage in relation to her physical struggles. It mentions a quote by Jacqueline Weaver that highlights the impossibility of changing the color of one’s eyes, even if attempts are made to alter other physical attributes. This quote aligns with the widely accepted image of the perfect girl, characterized by blonde hair and blue eyes. However, the irony lies in the title of the story, “The Bluest Eye,” which challenges this conventional description and adds to its literary merit.
The reason Morrison chose to write about a true real-life situation in the North during the 1960s was because she is critical of various aspects of the Civil Rights Movement. This allows her to draw from her many experiences and infuse her pieces with personal emotions. Following the publication of The Bluest Eye, Morrison emphasized in numerous interviews the message of “Black is Beautiful” that she aimed to convey. (The Bluest 77).
Morrison effectively highlights the societal issues faced by African Americans, highlighting the theme of acceptance. This is demonstrated right from the first page of the reading. Initially, she presents the text in a standard format with proper capitalization and punctuation. In contrast, lower down on the same page, she uses the same text but without capitalization or punctuation. Additionally, there is no spacing between the words. Thus, Morrison creatively showcases the challenges African Americans face in society: “Here is the house. It is green and white.”
It has a red door. It is very pretty. Here is the family. Mother, Father, Dick, and Jane live in the green-and-white house. Here is the house it is green and white it as a red door it is very pretty here is the family mother father dick and Jane live in the green-and-white house Hereisthehouseitisgreenandwhiteithasareddooritisveryprettyhereisthefamily motherfatherdickandjaneliveinthegreenandwhitehouse (Morrison 5-6) By doing this she is demonstrating the destruction of the “normative” model of the American Dream into a jumble of letters on a page. The Bluest 78). This goes back to the theme of the perfect white neighborhood, which should stand out to a society where people don’t fit in. This is sometimes referred to the American Dream. This same point is continued in the novel in many ways. For example, “Morrison remembers that when The Bluest Eye was first published in 1970, its reception was like the life of her young protagonist: ‘dismissed, trivialize, misread’” (Schultz). When Toni Morrison wrote her book, she wrote it in a manner off little girl growing up in a white society.
This book carries historical significance as it discusses the challenges faced by individuals while trying to blend in with their communities. For people globally grappling with this issue, this book can act as an inspiring source, demonstrating that they have the ability to triumph over their hardships. The book contains various statements that emphasize how the main character, Pectoral, feels disconnected from her society. According to Winnfield (79), “Moreover, Pectoral’s exclusion and devaluation resulting from her race further intensify her sense of insignificance.”
Despite its reputation for addressing important issues and inspiring marginalized communities, The Bluest Eye contains explicit sexual content. One passage reads, “I stretch my legs open, and he is on top of me. Too heavy to hold, and too light not to. He puts his thing in me” (Morrison 130). As readers progress through the book, it becomes evident that this is not the protagonist’s first experience with rape, which contributes to its controversial status and bans in various locations. Furthermore, critics argue that the book’s language is too intense for younger audiences.
Many places, including California, Colorado, Michigan, and Indiana, ban this book due to its vulgar content (Titus). It contains explicit descriptions of incest, rape, and sexual acts. For example, Piccolo’s father rapes her and she becomes pregnant as a result. Later, it is revealed that the baby dies and Pectoral is informed that the marigolds die because of her father impregnating her. The text implies that the absence of marigolds in fall 1941 is related to these events.
Initially, we thought Pectoral’s pregnancy with her father’s child was the reason for the marigolds not growing. However, a closer look would have revealed that it wasn’t just our seeds that failed to sprout – nobody’s did (Morrison 7). Ultimately, this explanation is false. It is evident that they tricked her into believing the marigolds didn’t grow due to the unyielding Earth. Once again, everyone was trying to make Pectoral feel guilty.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison sparked controversy in 2004 when it faced challenges at Kern High School due to its sexually explicit content. However, despite the complaints, the book was ultimately not removed from the curriculum. In 2006, Littleton also banned The Bluest Eye for similar reasons (Titus). The novel has been subject to extensive analysis and critique by numerous scholars and reviewers. Some argue that it provides an authentic portrayal of the African American experience, while others assert that it is a work of fiction filled with inaccuracies. Nevertheless, upon examining both perspectives, there are points of agreement in this ongoing debate.
