How Is The Bluest Eye A Victim Of Society
The characters of The Bluest Eye suffer from the racial standards of society, stating that blacks are superior to whites. Society corrupted the lives of blacks and whites alike, where whites believed that they were superior to blacks, therefore causing whites to treat black people inferiorly. In turn, the victims of this behavior were impacted severely, as they started to believe that they were ugly and unacceptable, because of their skin color. Therefore, they strived to be white, in order to be accepted by society. Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye shows that a person's definition of beauty shapes the way they perceive the world through the lives of Pecola, Maureen, Mrs. Breedlove, Cholly, Geraldine, and Soaphead Church.
American culture promotes …show more content…
Cholly is a victim of society, as he was “abandoned in a junk heap by his mother, rejected for a crap game by his father” (160) and humiliated by white officers who forced him to have sex with Darlene in front of them. Cholly failed to ever receive love from others. Therefore, he fails to give love back to his family. Therefore, he becomes a victimizer, when he feels his failure reflect in his everyday life, as he had “no idea of how to raise children, and having never watched any parent raise himself, he could not comprehend what such a relationship should be” (160). This is why Cholly ends up raping Pecola, because he does not understand how she could love him, after he does nothing for her: “What could he do for her – ever?” (161). Therefore, he becomes a victimizer, when his guilt and impotence overcomes him, as he sees himself as “small, black, and helpless” (150). Cholly is unable to hate the white men, because they are socially and legally more powerful than him, so he converts his self-hated onto others, causing him to hurt Pecola. His self hatred is ironically reflected in his name, Breedlove, as he is unable to love, and only able to perform the act of breeding, in this case, with his daughter. Therefore, the stillborn child from the rape is a symbol of self-hatred that breeds only more of the
American culture promotes …show more content…
Cholly is a victim of society, as he was “abandoned in a junk heap by his mother, rejected for a crap game by his father” (160) and humiliated by white officers who forced him to have sex with Darlene in front of them. Cholly failed to ever receive love from others. Therefore, he fails to give love back to his family. Therefore, he becomes a victimizer, when he feels his failure reflect in his everyday life, as he had “no idea of how to raise children, and having never watched any parent raise himself, he could not comprehend what such a relationship should be” (160). This is why Cholly ends up raping Pecola, because he does not understand how she could love him, after he does nothing for her: “What could he do for her – ever?” (161). Therefore, he becomes a victimizer, when his guilt and impotence overcomes him, as he sees himself as “small, black, and helpless” (150). Cholly is unable to hate the white men, because they are socially and legally more powerful than him, so he converts his self-hated onto others, causing him to hurt Pecola. His self hatred is ironically reflected in his name, Breedlove, as he is unable to love, and only able to perform the act of breeding, in this case, with his daughter. Therefore, the stillborn child from the rape is a symbol of self-hatred that breeds only more of the