Geraldine's Dysmorphia
Geraldine's obsession for staying clean and well kept can be seen as a type of dysmorphia. She is so fixated on maintaining her family’s appearance so that she will appear less black that she denies her son of friendships and in a sense boyhood. Her image of the black community is skewed based off physical appearance, and believes that appearance justifies superiority in the colored community.
Although she seems to lack the loving niche for her son, Geraldine has an enormous adoration for her blue-eyed black cat. "He was black all over, deep silky black and his eyes, pointing down toward his nose, were blueish green. The light made them shine like blue ice" (Morrison 91). Morrison uses strong descriptive words to channel into the cats blue …show more content…
eyes. This suggests that Geraldine favors her cat because of his eye color, which resemble those of a white person.
The next character that is introduced is Soaphead Church. Soaphead is another example of how the characters in The Bluest Eye yearn to be as white as possible. Early in his introduction we learn that Soaphead is half black and half white. He does not acknowledge his colored side and finds the fact that he his white as a reason that makes him more superior to everyone else around him. Soaphead is so obsessed with “Whiteness” and “cleanliness” it basically deforms his life and makes him delusional as he is constantly impressed with how white he appears. Soaphead shows signs of Body Dysmorphic Disorder because he has abolished the idea that he is colored and isolates himself from other colored people his own age. His constant disbelief in being colored has lead to his loneliness, and since he does not believe he is like the rest of the colored folks in Loraine Ohio, he has convinced himself that he is a miracle worker, and indeed sent to earth as a blessing from God.
Morrison uses Soaphead's character into an ironic parody. Morrison uses Soaphead's confidence as a way to express his true dislike for himself. By making Soaphead seem like he is a man of God, Morrison is really indicating that he is a bad person. We see this when Soaphead meets Pecola, who is an innocent young girl lacking self love. "Here was an ugly little girl asking for beauty. . . A little black girl who wanted to rise up out of the pit of her blackness and see the world with blue eyes. His outrage grew and felt like power. For the first time he honestly wished he could work miracles." (Morrison 21) .Soaphead takes pity on Pecola when he sees the extent of her self-loathing. Here he notices her blackness and grows with his own superiority because he see's his whiteness as overpowering and influential to her. It shows the readers Soaphead's own racial self-hatred, and it also provides insight on why he would want to help Pecola become whiter.
Last but not least we see the effects of internalized racism causing severe Body Dysmorphic Disorder when it comes to Pecola Breedlove.
In an article titled “BODY DYSMORPHIC DISORDER IN THE BLUEST EYE” by Liana Beian, Beian states “Society functions as the source of physical and psychological evil and, through the example of Pecola, represents the ultimate, destructive consequences of evil.”(Beian 131). This statement has merit because it pertains to Pecola and the demise of her character because Pecola's self hate stems from other peoples perception of her, based off of her looks. Beian goes on to say that “Not being white is, in Pecola’s case, the pretext for her being bullied and subject to manifestations of racism. Pecola’s existence is illustrative of the fact that the set of values called beauty generally implies prejudice and damage done to individuals.”(Beian 132). We know that Pecola has already been labeled "ugly" because she is a Breedlove, but there are other aspects of Pecola's lack of self-love that lead to the growth of her Body Dysmorphic …show more content…
Disorder.
After drinking milk at the MacTeer's and becoming obsessed with the idea of having big blue eyes like Shirley Temple, Pecola convinces herself that the only way to become beautiful is to change her eye color from brown to blue.
Each night, without fail, she prayed for blue eyes. Fervently, for a year she had prayed. Although somewhat discouraged, she was not without hope. To have something as wonderful as that happen would take a long, long time. Thrown, in this way, into the binding conviction that only a miracle could relieve her, she would never know her beauty. She would see only what there was to see: the eyes of other people. (Morrison 35).
This is the beginning of the demise of Pecola. Morrison uses Pecola to demonstrate self- hate and shows that she has developed body dysmorphic disorder as she starts to become obsessed with receiving blue eyes. Pecola's standard of beauty reflects the standards of the society she lives in, this means Pecola's yearn to have blue eyes shows the lack of appreciation for her own beauty just like the other characters in the novel. Beian calls this "Psychogenic excoriation, a characteristic of BDD sufferers" and states that it "is analogous to Pecola’s almost fanatical desire to have blue eyes, to become her dream actress, to become something that she will never be: the materialization of her inner ideal of beauty which is not something naturally belonging to her but is an ideal imposed by society." (Beian 135). Beian's article speaks about body dysmorphic disorder proves how Pecola, who suffers from the disorder herself is in search of the illusion of blue eyes for the rest of the novel, because she is dissatisfied with the way she looks.
We see how Pecola's acclaimed ugliness allows her peers to mistreat her even though they are all the same race. They see her as less of a human because her social and economic standings, which are blamed because of her blackness or “ugliness”:
A group of boys was circling and holding at bay a victim, Pecola Breedlove. Bay Boy, Woodrow Cain, Buddy Wilson, Junie Bug … Heady with the smell of their own musk, thrilled by the easy power of a majority, they gaily harassed her. “Black e mo. Black e mo. Yadaddsleepsnekked. Black e mo black e mo ya dadd sleeps nekked. Black e mo ...”…That they themselves were black, or that their own father had similarly relaxed habits was irrelevant. It was their contempt for their own blackness that gave the first insult its teeth…. (Morrison 50)
Morrison uses the boys taunting as a metaphor for how Pecola feels the world sees her. The boys are aggressive and close in on Pecola making her feel the psychological effects of body dysmorphic disorder which are feeling vulnerable, insecure and hated all due to how one looks. The boys heckling Pecola provides evidence that proved that if Pecola can not be accepted by her similar looking peers, she will never be loved by anyone else. This leads to self-hate and the destruction of Pecola's self esteem causing her to want to change even more.
In the last chapter of The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, Pecola appears in front of her mirror and has a conversation with her best and imaginary friend. It is apparent that Pecola has become insane, and that the conversation she holds with her imaginary friend is really the expression of her internal and external thoughts because she has isolated herself from society who does not accept her. She convinces herself that she has developed blue eyes and is positive that she will have a better life now that she looks different. Pecola tells her friend, “You are my very best friend. Why didn’t I know you before?” (Morrison 196). Her imaginary friend replies with “You didn’t need me before…I mean…you were so unhappy before. I guess you didn’t notice me before” (Morrison 196). We learn that Pecola can no longer function in society and that her mother has moved her to the other side of town where she spends her days admiring her blue eyes from the mirror.
At full length, Toni Morrison explores the theme of racism, and how it effects each character's mental health and well being, eventually leading to Body Dysmorphic Disorder. The novel begins by introducing the MacTeer's, a middle class family whose mother expects her daughters to portray themselves as clean and tidy to resemble the white family that she works for. Mrs. MacTeer introduces readers to the idea that cleanliness “whitewashes” the black citizens of Loraine Ohio, making them more superior than the other black folks in town. We see how concerned Mrs. MacTeer is with her family’s presentation and argue that her obsession with cleanliness and becoming more like white people leads to self loathing and the urge to change her family’s appearance, much like the traits a person with Body Dysmorphic Disorder has.
Throughout the novel, Morrison uses the voices of Claudia and Frieda, who both differ in their self-acceptance as they develop through the novel. Frieda becomes fond of white actress Shirley Temple and wishes to be more like her, when in fact she is her polar opposite. Nobody stops Frieda from thinking she should try and look more like Shirley Temple, In fact it is encouraged because she is seen looking idealistic to society. Claudia on the other hand wants nothing to do with the beauty standards of society, and does not accept the oppressing and racist demands of society. Claudia's behavior can be argued as a type of body dysmorphic disorder because she does not want to appear beautiful, desirable or approachable in the eyes of society.
Later on in the novel, Morrison introduces the readers to the Breedlove family, who is doomed from ever being socially accepted by society because they are seen as poor, black and ugly. The Breedlove's are believed to know that they are ugly, and accept that they will never be anything more than below standard in the eyes of society. Pecola Breedlove falls short to society’s racist standard of beauty and eventually goes insane, believing that her eyes have changed from brown to blue.
In order to provide proper examples of the standard of beauty, Morrison introduces characters like Maureen Peale, Soaphead Church and Geraldine.
Morrison uses these figures who show how they are admired for their cleanliness and whiteness. These characters parallel Pecola, Cholly, Pauline, Claudia, Frieda and Mrs. MacTeer, who are all reflections of “blackness” which is perceived as dirty and undesirable. These characters all show how everyone in the community is a victim of racism and in return set out to change themselves, developing body dysmorphic disorder. These characters all wish to change their physical appearance and look and act more like the mixed race characters, only to gain acceptance from their community. Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye tells the story how racism and societies standard of beauty leads to body dysmorphic disorder and the demise of a village when they fall to the pressures of what is accepted by
society.
Although she seems to lack the loving niche for her son, Geraldine has an enormous adoration for her blue-eyed black cat. "He was black all over, deep silky black and his eyes, pointing down toward his nose, were blueish green. The light made them shine like blue ice" (Morrison 91). Morrison uses strong descriptive words to channel into the cats blue …show more content…
eyes. This suggests that Geraldine favors her cat because of his eye color, which resemble those of a white person.
The next character that is introduced is Soaphead Church. Soaphead is another example of how the characters in The Bluest Eye yearn to be as white as possible. Early in his introduction we learn that Soaphead is half black and half white. He does not acknowledge his colored side and finds the fact that he his white as a reason that makes him more superior to everyone else around him. Soaphead is so obsessed with “Whiteness” and “cleanliness” it basically deforms his life and makes him delusional as he is constantly impressed with how white he appears. Soaphead shows signs of Body Dysmorphic Disorder because he has abolished the idea that he is colored and isolates himself from other colored people his own age. His constant disbelief in being colored has lead to his loneliness, and since he does not believe he is like the rest of the colored folks in Loraine Ohio, he has convinced himself that he is a miracle worker, and indeed sent to earth as a blessing from God.
Morrison uses Soaphead's character into an ironic parody. Morrison uses Soaphead's confidence as a way to express his true dislike for himself. By making Soaphead seem like he is a man of God, Morrison is really indicating that he is a bad person. We see this when Soaphead meets Pecola, who is an innocent young girl lacking self love. "Here was an ugly little girl asking for beauty. . . A little black girl who wanted to rise up out of the pit of her blackness and see the world with blue eyes. His outrage grew and felt like power. For the first time he honestly wished he could work miracles." (Morrison 21) .Soaphead takes pity on Pecola when he sees the extent of her self-loathing. Here he notices her blackness and grows with his own superiority because he see's his whiteness as overpowering and influential to her. It shows the readers Soaphead's own racial self-hatred, and it also provides insight on why he would want to help Pecola become whiter.
Last but not least we see the effects of internalized racism causing severe Body Dysmorphic Disorder when it comes to Pecola Breedlove.
In an article titled “BODY DYSMORPHIC DISORDER IN THE BLUEST EYE” by Liana Beian, Beian states “Society functions as the source of physical and psychological evil and, through the example of Pecola, represents the ultimate, destructive consequences of evil.”(Beian 131). This statement has merit because it pertains to Pecola and the demise of her character because Pecola's self hate stems from other peoples perception of her, based off of her looks. Beian goes on to say that “Not being white is, in Pecola’s case, the pretext for her being bullied and subject to manifestations of racism. Pecola’s existence is illustrative of the fact that the set of values called beauty generally implies prejudice and damage done to individuals.”(Beian 132). We know that Pecola has already been labeled "ugly" because she is a Breedlove, but there are other aspects of Pecola's lack of self-love that lead to the growth of her Body Dysmorphic …show more content…
Disorder.
After drinking milk at the MacTeer's and becoming obsessed with the idea of having big blue eyes like Shirley Temple, Pecola convinces herself that the only way to become beautiful is to change her eye color from brown to blue.
Each night, without fail, she prayed for blue eyes. Fervently, for a year she had prayed. Although somewhat discouraged, she was not without hope. To have something as wonderful as that happen would take a long, long time. Thrown, in this way, into the binding conviction that only a miracle could relieve her, she would never know her beauty. She would see only what there was to see: the eyes of other people. (Morrison 35).
This is the beginning of the demise of Pecola. Morrison uses Pecola to demonstrate self- hate and shows that she has developed body dysmorphic disorder as she starts to become obsessed with receiving blue eyes. Pecola's standard of beauty reflects the standards of the society she lives in, this means Pecola's yearn to have blue eyes shows the lack of appreciation for her own beauty just like the other characters in the novel. Beian calls this "Psychogenic excoriation, a characteristic of BDD sufferers" and states that it "is analogous to Pecola’s almost fanatical desire to have blue eyes, to become her dream actress, to become something that she will never be: the materialization of her inner ideal of beauty which is not something naturally belonging to her but is an ideal imposed by society." (Beian 135). Beian's article speaks about body dysmorphic disorder proves how Pecola, who suffers from the disorder herself is in search of the illusion of blue eyes for the rest of the novel, because she is dissatisfied with the way she looks.
We see how Pecola's acclaimed ugliness allows her peers to mistreat her even though they are all the same race. They see her as less of a human because her social and economic standings, which are blamed because of her blackness or “ugliness”:
A group of boys was circling and holding at bay a victim, Pecola Breedlove. Bay Boy, Woodrow Cain, Buddy Wilson, Junie Bug … Heady with the smell of their own musk, thrilled by the easy power of a majority, they gaily harassed her. “Black e mo. Black e mo. Yadaddsleepsnekked. Black e mo black e mo ya dadd sleeps nekked. Black e mo ...”…That they themselves were black, or that their own father had similarly relaxed habits was irrelevant. It was their contempt for their own blackness that gave the first insult its teeth…. (Morrison 50)
Morrison uses the boys taunting as a metaphor for how Pecola feels the world sees her. The boys are aggressive and close in on Pecola making her feel the psychological effects of body dysmorphic disorder which are feeling vulnerable, insecure and hated all due to how one looks. The boys heckling Pecola provides evidence that proved that if Pecola can not be accepted by her similar looking peers, she will never be loved by anyone else. This leads to self-hate and the destruction of Pecola's self esteem causing her to want to change even more.
In the last chapter of The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, Pecola appears in front of her mirror and has a conversation with her best and imaginary friend. It is apparent that Pecola has become insane, and that the conversation she holds with her imaginary friend is really the expression of her internal and external thoughts because she has isolated herself from society who does not accept her. She convinces herself that she has developed blue eyes and is positive that she will have a better life now that she looks different. Pecola tells her friend, “You are my very best friend. Why didn’t I know you before?” (Morrison 196). Her imaginary friend replies with “You didn’t need me before…I mean…you were so unhappy before. I guess you didn’t notice me before” (Morrison 196). We learn that Pecola can no longer function in society and that her mother has moved her to the other side of town where she spends her days admiring her blue eyes from the mirror.
At full length, Toni Morrison explores the theme of racism, and how it effects each character's mental health and well being, eventually leading to Body Dysmorphic Disorder. The novel begins by introducing the MacTeer's, a middle class family whose mother expects her daughters to portray themselves as clean and tidy to resemble the white family that she works for. Mrs. MacTeer introduces readers to the idea that cleanliness “whitewashes” the black citizens of Loraine Ohio, making them more superior than the other black folks in town. We see how concerned Mrs. MacTeer is with her family’s presentation and argue that her obsession with cleanliness and becoming more like white people leads to self loathing and the urge to change her family’s appearance, much like the traits a person with Body Dysmorphic Disorder has.
Throughout the novel, Morrison uses the voices of Claudia and Frieda, who both differ in their self-acceptance as they develop through the novel. Frieda becomes fond of white actress Shirley Temple and wishes to be more like her, when in fact she is her polar opposite. Nobody stops Frieda from thinking she should try and look more like Shirley Temple, In fact it is encouraged because she is seen looking idealistic to society. Claudia on the other hand wants nothing to do with the beauty standards of society, and does not accept the oppressing and racist demands of society. Claudia's behavior can be argued as a type of body dysmorphic disorder because she does not want to appear beautiful, desirable or approachable in the eyes of society.
Later on in the novel, Morrison introduces the readers to the Breedlove family, who is doomed from ever being socially accepted by society because they are seen as poor, black and ugly. The Breedlove's are believed to know that they are ugly, and accept that they will never be anything more than below standard in the eyes of society. Pecola Breedlove falls short to society’s racist standard of beauty and eventually goes insane, believing that her eyes have changed from brown to blue.
In order to provide proper examples of the standard of beauty, Morrison introduces characters like Maureen Peale, Soaphead Church and Geraldine.
Morrison uses these figures who show how they are admired for their cleanliness and whiteness. These characters parallel Pecola, Cholly, Pauline, Claudia, Frieda and Mrs. MacTeer, who are all reflections of “blackness” which is perceived as dirty and undesirable. These characters all show how everyone in the community is a victim of racism and in return set out to change themselves, developing body dysmorphic disorder. These characters all wish to change their physical appearance and look and act more like the mixed race characters, only to gain acceptance from their community. Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye tells the story how racism and societies standard of beauty leads to body dysmorphic disorder and the demise of a village when they fall to the pressures of what is accepted by
society.