People Essay, Research Paper

In the book the Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison redefines American History and the place of Afro-American culture within it. She reveals the microcosm of that of Afro-American cultures, to the Macrocosm of all that of societies cultures. She reveals the definition of beauty and the societal prejudices that are prevalent today.

It is evident throughout the book that beauty is one of the major themes that is prevalent. Morrison is revealing what stereotypic look society portrays as beautiful. The idealistic views on what beautiful is when there is no such thing as only certain people being beautiful; the ones with blue eyes and blond hair. Pecola continues to struggle with how she looks on the outside because she is broken down inside. Because her pride is all stepped over, she feels worthless and inferior. Pecola believes once she accumulates those blue eyes, she can be accepted by society and loved just like Shirley Temple. Morrison uses Pecola as a character that wants blue eyes to become beautiful because society doesn’t say being something different is equally qualified as beautiful. Who is to judge ones beauty negatively when one has no concrete definition for beauty? Morrison is revealing that one culture may believe someone is beautiful, but another culture may believe that same person possesses no beauty at all. She is questioning society in what it stands for and ultimately saying everyone is beautiful in someone’s eyes, not just one race is a predominant one. So what does that person classify as? Can beauty be justified?

One of the main issues Morrison gets at is societal prejudices that are prevalent even today. Being a shade darker or looking different, make people ( in this case Afro-Americans) seem to think they’re inferior, to once again what society thinks is acceptable. Morrison uses the Breedloves and Macteer family as an example, to portray the likeness of morals and their style of living, in that of all families including other races. Morrison reveals the Breedloves as a dysfunctional family due to the alcoholism, verbal, and physical abuse that is present in their lives. The Macteer family on the other hand, are a more functional family that work hard and care for each other. Now, what is a typical Afro-American family like? Morrison does this to prove that there is no only black way of living separate from that of white people. She is trying to prove that there are white families that are dysfunctional and functional just as of blacks.