When it came to the child’s perspective one of the third graders became defensive about his father. Jane Elliot stated, “Blue-eyed people were smart and Brown-eyed people were stupid.” The child defended his father and saying, “no my father isn’t stupid.” She then convinced him by reminding him that his father had kicked him recently but that the blue eyed children with fathers had not kicked them. There was also a student of color who felt that white people don’t understand what it is like for colored people to be discriminated on a day to day basis.…
The theme of the story, “The Bluest Eye” written by Toni Morrison, demonstrates the connection between the self-esteem of African-American people (beauty and ugliness), racism and hate. The reason why this theme is discussed was because, we can go back to the origins of African-Americans, it relates to the African diaspora, Jim Crow era, and how people negatively look at blacks today in society, and white supremacy destroyed black imaginary. But before this goes on furthermore, the audience needs to understand the importance of the dominant society which strongly removed the identity of African-American. Claudia and Maureen play perfect roles during the story. They show…
One reason critics praise Toni Morrison’s, The Bluest Eye is because of the way the novel accurately portrays the way society views itself and others (Hoffman). She precisely shows in her work, that mankind is flawed in this aspect. Similar to that, Toni Morrison asks the novel’s readers “to think about perspectives of all types” (Hoffman). With the book’s inclusion of racism and self loathing the author wants the readers to connect with the protagonist, on an emotional basis, and try to first-hand understand Pecola’s perspective. Perhaps the most significant reason critics cite in favor of the novel not being banned is the story’s potential to incite analyzations about self-esteem and body image (Lalami). Readers and educators alike could read the book in detail, and have discussions about the author’s…
* Pecola Breedlove: She is an eleven year old black girl who believes she is ugly. She wishes for blue eyes to make her feel beautiful which is granted at the cost of her sanity.…
The character Pecola idolizes the young actress Shirley Temple and believes that if she had blue eyes the hardships in her life will be ended and she will be respected and even showered with affection, and lighter-skinned Maureen is seen as cuter than the dark-skinned girls. The black mothers in this novel, such as Pauline Breedlove and Geraldine, understand the general consensus is that white is superior, and seem to take their hatred for this out on Pecola, with Geraldine blaming Pecola for killing her cat because she is a “nasty black bitch,” when it was actually her son Junior. The only character who appears to disagree with this racism is Claudia and Frieda MacTeer. Claudia believes that Pecola’s baby will be beautiful despite being black. However, several times, it is implied that racial self-loathing the characters face is brought on by maturation, and Claudia will soon face the issue…
Thoughts of her skin and family consume Emma Lou, even at her high school graduation. She is the only "Negro pupil in the entire school,"[1] and this fact is made even more obvious by the white graduation robes the graduates wear, to the dismay of Emma Lou. The only thing Emma Lou can concern herself with is the color of her skin. Her graduation ceremony takes a back seat to thoughts about her skin.…
To me this quote represents how Claudia anticipates the events that the book will give us the reader’s attention to, most notably Pecola’s pregnancy. She remembers that she and Frieda pointed fingers at each other for failing to grow the plants one summer, but now she thinks if the earth itself was a danger to them, a more radical possibility. I believe this quote represents the levels of Pecola’s desire, she does not want blue eyes because they apply to the standards the whites have applied, but because she wishes to obtain different sights and pictures, as if changing eye color will change reality. She feels that changing her eye color will change her perspective of life/ the way she is viewed.…
Beauty standards set by society for black women fuels into their insecurities and drives them towards self-hatred. From the start, Pecola’s community, classmates, teachers and parent’s drill into her head that she is unattractive. Pecola Breedlove comes to admit she is ugly as she starts obsessing over the idea of having the bluest eyes to make her attractive. Pecola full-heartedly believes that blue eyes are a necessity for beauty and if she were to by some means acquire them, all of her problems in life would disappear. “Why, look at pretty-eyed Pecola. We mustn't do bad things in front of those pretty eyes” (46). Pecola assumes blue eyes are the key to gaining admiration from her community and love from her family. While Pecola Breedlove is constantly reminded of everything she is: ugly, poor, and black; her innocence is also stolen from her as she is figuratively raped by society and literally raped by her father.…
In The Bluest Eye, the main character Pecola is a young girl, who lives in Lorain, Ohio during the 1940s. She grows up in a very abusive household, where she is verbally, physically and sexually abused by her mother and father. Specifically, her father rapes her and impregnates her. Pecola is also constantly ridiculed by her community and her family for being ugly. This same community has established certain standards for beauty. In order to be considered beautiful, an individual had to conform to the standards set forth by popular icons of the time period like Shirley Temple and Ginger Rogers. It was most desirable to have white skin, blond hair and blue eyes. Pecola did not fit this ideal, so she desperately prayed for blue eyes, in the hope that she could become beautiful and be accepted by society. Unfortunately, Pecola was unable to acquire blue eyes. True to her human nature, Pecola tried to improve her life but failed.…
To have value is to be important, useful, and worth something. The way society and alienates Pecola reveals that they hold no value for her. She has been told her whole life that she is ugly, her own mother even said, “But I knowed she was ugly. Head full of pretty hair, but Lord she was ugly” (126). Pecola is alienated from everyone because she is “ugly”. She has been called ugly so much that she now believes she is. If society held any value for Pecola they would not call her ugly; they would boost her up, not bring her down. The black community has been alienated from the whites and has come to believe that whites are superior to them. The Black community idolizes the white community and they believe that the wealthier someone is, the closer to white they are. The black community, trying to be more “white”, then turns around and alienates Pecola because she is the lowest black there is. The Black community views her as less because she is what they call “ugly”. She is “ugly” because of everything that has gone on in her life, and as the novel progresses so does her “ugliness”, along with her alienation from society.…
In this short story by ZZ Packer “Brownies” there are two main characters. They are Arnetta and Laurel also known as “Snot”. Racism plays a huge role in this short story. The racial prejudice and hostility shown in the story appears to be the product of historical circumstances combined with the current reality of racial segregation. This short story compares two stories that have a similar meaning which is, one does not know where another is coming from at first glance. Two it takes time to get to know people deeply.…
Racism has been a very prominent issue most commonly between black and white people. Although it is the most acknowledged; it is not the only example of race discrimination. Race discrimination occurs among other ethnicities and backgrounds of people. Sometimes race discrimination can transpire because of people’s point of views on certain things, such as religion, color, age, or even gender. In the stories, “The Wife of His Youth” and “Desiree’s Baby” racism and some other forms of discrimination are present, but surprisingly it isn’t one race opposing another. It is black on black racism, or more specifically “colorism;” this is discrimination based on skin color (Nittle 1).…
Many ancient, significant structures still exist today. For example, the Roman Colosseum, built between 70 and 72 AD, still stands today. It is a very important building as it symbolizes the past glory, of the city, known for its architecture and gladiator games. Its architectural engineering is one of the main components, that has helped it survive and live out its legacy. Under the reign of Emperor Vespasian, the construction was completed by 80 AD. The Colosseum quickly became a symbol and an important part of Roman life.…
Weapons of mass destruction include biological, chemical, and nuclear. I will analyze the history of these three aspects of weapons of mass destruction, and give my opinion of the future threat of these weapons.…
This research proposal intends to analyze the fundamental changes in the Hindu Succession Act (HSA), 1956 and examine whether it actually gave women in Hindu Joint Families an equal right to property as compared to the male counterparts. The proposal basically tries to examine the sections which are most crucial for inheritance when it comes to female heirs and other female members of the family and look for defects (if any) in these sections. Also this paper looks into the concept of ‘Streedhan’ and how HSA brought fundamental changes in it and Women’s estate.…