The Bluest Eyes: Effects of Racism on Sexual Lives of Characters in the Bluest Eye
Margorie Clemente
November 8th, 2012
English 2705
Topic #3
Effects of Racism on Sexual Lives of Characters in The Bluest Eye
In Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, we are introduced to the adverse circumstances that surround the characters involving sex. We are asked to recognize that the major male characters—Cholly Breedlove, Mr. Henry, and Soaphead Church—are all attracted to young girls and the majority of these young girls are all victims in a short scholarly essay “The Bluest Eye Theme of Sex”. Cholly rapes his daughter Pecola, Mr. Henry fondles Claudia’s sister Frieda, and Soaphead acts on his eroticized thoughts towards children, especially little girls. This connection helps illuminate one of the more subtle facets in this novel: racism—particularly “white ways” and early experiences with sex are what deeply influence the sexual practices of the characters in the novel and eventually destroy their family units and lives.
One of the first examples of “white ways” we are introduced to in The Bluest Eye is a scene where a neighbor of Claudia and Frieda tells them that they cannot walk into the Greek hotel lobby. This is Claudia’s reaction:
“We stare at her, wanting her bread, but more than that wanting to poke the arrogance out of her eyes and smash the pride of ownership that curls her chewing mouth. When she comes out of the car we will beat her up, make red marks on her white skin, and she will cry and ask us do we want her to pull her pants down. We will say no. We don’t know what we should feel or do if she does, but whenever she asks us, we know she is offering us something precious and that our own pride must be asserted by refusing to accept” (9).
Claudia is aware of her neighbor’s pompous attitude and is enraged, inclined to hurt her the moment she steps out from the safety of her car. She is also cognizant of the fact that her neighbor’s attitude and associates it with the whiteness of her skin, considering that Claudia wishes to make visible
November 8th, 2012
English 2705
Topic #3
Effects of Racism on Sexual Lives of Characters in The Bluest Eye
In Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, we are introduced to the adverse circumstances that surround the characters involving sex. We are asked to recognize that the major male characters—Cholly Breedlove, Mr. Henry, and Soaphead Church—are all attracted to young girls and the majority of these young girls are all victims in a short scholarly essay “The Bluest Eye Theme of Sex”. Cholly rapes his daughter Pecola, Mr. Henry fondles Claudia’s sister Frieda, and Soaphead acts on his eroticized thoughts towards children, especially little girls. This connection helps illuminate one of the more subtle facets in this novel: racism—particularly “white ways” and early experiences with sex are what deeply influence the sexual practices of the characters in the novel and eventually destroy their family units and lives.
One of the first examples of “white ways” we are introduced to in The Bluest Eye is a scene where a neighbor of Claudia and Frieda tells them that they cannot walk into the Greek hotel lobby. This is Claudia’s reaction:
“We stare at her, wanting her bread, but more than that wanting to poke the arrogance out of her eyes and smash the pride of ownership that curls her chewing mouth. When she comes out of the car we will beat her up, make red marks on her white skin, and she will cry and ask us do we want her to pull her pants down. We will say no. We don’t know what we should feel or do if she does, but whenever she asks us, we know she is offering us something precious and that our own pride must be asserted by refusing to accept” (9).
Claudia is aware of her neighbor’s pompous attitude and is enraged, inclined to hurt her the moment she steps out from the safety of her car. She is also cognizant of the fact that her neighbor’s attitude and associates it with the whiteness of her skin, considering that Claudia wishes to make visible
Cited: Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Bluest Eye Theme of Sex" Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Penguin Press, 1970.