The Bluest Eye Parenting

The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison is a story that has two main contrasting families throughout the book. The MacTeer family who is wholesome, sticks together and protects one another. They are an example of normal and kind especially during the time period this story takes place. Then we have the Breedlove family, they are almost the complete opposite of their counter parts MacTeer’s. The father, Cholly Breedlove is mostly drunk and devoid of any concept of parenting, partially because of his horrible unforgettable past. The Mother, Pauline Breedlove and wife of Cholly, is both abusive to her children and constantly battling with Cholly. Their daughter Pecola Breedlove, who is often at the forefront of the book if not considered the main character,
One of the many themes is time vs psychology and the identity of these characters is related. A certain transmission of code and the care of parents on kids is also an intersecting theme on their identities throughout the text. When examining the text, I thought why doesn’t Pecola share the same fate as her counterpart Claudia? It is because she cannot. The text demands this through the use of institutional Racism and the family life Pecola is presented with. Even though she is just a twelve-year-old her, life is nothing but pain and terror that is reinforced by Cholly and Pauline. She is trapped by her gender and age. When I first read this I thought that her family line was doomed or poised to suffer. Near the end of the text I see that Pecola ended up getting her blue eyes and an imaginary friend to see them. She received what she always wished for and made reality her own at the cost of her sanity. In a way, her parents did something similar. When we are given an inside look at Pauline’s life in the