All Nonfiction
- Bullying
- Books
- Academic
- Author Interviews
- Celebrity interviews
- College Articles
- College Essays
- Educator of the Year
- Heroes
- Interviews
- Memoir
- Personal Experience
- Sports
- Travel & Culture
All Opinions
- Bullying
- Current Events / Politics
- Discrimination
- Drugs / Alcohol / Smoking
- Entertainment / Celebrities
- Environment
- Love / Relationships
- Movies / Music / TV
- Pop Culture / Trends
- School / College
- Social Issues / Civics
- Spirituality / Religion
- Sports / Hobbies
All Hot Topics
- Bullying
- Community Service
- Environment
- Health
- Letters to the Editor
- Pride & Prejudice
- What Matters
- Back
Summer Guide
- Program Links
- Program Reviews
- Back
College Guide
- College Links
- College Reviews
- College Essays
- College Articles
- Back
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Have you ever felt totally and completely undesired? Such uncomfortable feelings nothing compared to the emotions of Pecola, the main character of Toni Morrison's book, The Bluest Eye. Filled with graphic and descriptive scenes, the book captivates the reader with scenes of controversial topics including rape and incest.
The Bluest Eye takes place in Lorain, Ohio after the Great Depression and follows the life of a young, African American girl, Pecola, who struggles with life. She experiences traumatic events which develop in thoughts of self hatred, make her thoughts of herself exist as ugly.
The book has the recurring theme of the world's perception of beauty. Society affects what people think about themselves. The quest for beauty chases Pecola to believe that she is an undesirable, an outcast. The narrator states, "It had occurred to Pecola some time ago that if her... eyes were different... she herself would be different" (46) an indication of Pecola's inner belief that the worth of a person depends on their acceptable or unacceptable physical appearance. The statement directly shows Pecola wants to have blue eyes because if Pecola does, she thinks the rest of society will have a different, positive view on her when all that would really be changing is her appearance. In reality that is Pecola's last bit of hope of being seen as normal by everyone else. In the book, Pecola states, "We were lesser. Nicer, brighter, but lesser" (74) indicating her lower self worth.
Parts of the story are shocking, catching the reader off guard especially the scenes of rape, family fights, and molestation. However sections of the novel proved slow and difficult to read but in the end, the overall novel was satisfying and memorable.
The Bluest Eye lives as a book filled with surprises. Although the plot dragged on at times, The Bluest Eye still reveals important messages relatable to the reader. I would recommend the book to mature teenagers and adults because of the descriptive scenes and higher reading level
Similar Articles
JOIN THE DISCUSSION
This article has 0 comments.