Who Is Cholly Breedloves?

The Bluest Eye is a novel written by Toni Morrison. The setting of this novel is fall of 1941 through the summer of 1942 in Ohio. Throughout the novel the reader is introduced to a number of characters. A character that often catches a reader's eye is Cholly Breedlove. “The way you treat people says a lot about who you are,” This quote by Thema Davis can easily be used to describe Cholly Breedlove. Cholly Breedlove is a damaged individual. Cholly is the husband of Pauline Breedlove and father to Sam and Pecola Breedlove. He is quickly introduced as an intemperate individual at the beginning of the novel when the reader learns that Pecola moves in with the Macteers because Cholly attempts to burn down the house when he is drunk. Cholly is an alcoholic that fights with his wife frequently. This behavior is a result of his rough upbringing. Cholly’s hatred for women can be blamed on the early abandonment of the most important women in a young man’s life, his mother. Also, as he was losing his virginity, he was completely humiliated by two cruel white men. Therefore, Instead of him hating the white men who humiliated him, he revolves his hatred toward women because they are socially less powerful than he is. Ultimately, these events are the reason for his hatred of women and why the Breedloves’ are constantly fighting.
His parents neglecting him arguably resulted in him neglecting his family. He was abandoned by both his mother and father when he was born. Cholly endured a prolonged, and unpleasant train ride in a search to find his long lost father. When he finally finds his father, he is struck with aggressive language and is told to get out of his face. Once again, he is rejected by an important figure in his life, presumably resulting in Cholly to neglect his own family. Since he was always rejected by his parents, he grew up not knowing how to express his love for people he cared