Free Essays - Abuse in The Bluest Eye

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Recommended: A critical note on the racism of toni Morrison novel the bluest eye

Abuse in The Bluest Eye

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, is about an eleven year old girl, Pecola,

who is abused by almost everyone in her life. Every day she encounters

racism, not just from the white people, but also from the African American

people. In her eyes, her skin is too dark, and the color of her skin

makes her inferior to everyone else. The color of her skin makes her

think that she is ugly. She feels that she can overcome this if she can

get blue eyes. Pecola thinks that if she can be like the blue eyed Shirley

Temple, everyone will love her. Pecola wishes to have blue eyes because

she feels they will make her loved and accepted by the people in her

life.

Pecola is abused almost by everyone in her life. One day, she goes to

Geraldine's house. Geraldine is a middle-class African American woman.

Junior, Geraldine's son, harasses Pecola by throwing his cat around and

eventually kills it. When Geraldine walks in, she says, "Get out. You

nasty little black bitch. Get out of my house"(93). Geraldine thinks

that her son does not kill the cat. She trust him more than Pecola. Pecola

thinks that Geraldine called her "nasty" because of her appearance,

dark skin. Also, calling an eleven year old girl a "bitch" is like killing

committee a crime. A little girl does not really know what that word

means, but she know it's horrible. Being called a "black beach", by

an African American person hurts even more than being called by a white

person because they are the same race. They go through the same types

of things because of their skin color. They are suppose to support each

other. This makes Pecola feel more ashamed of herself and want to change

her appearance to be accepted and trusted by Geraldine's .

Her family treated her the same way. Pecola's dad raped her. Mrs. Breedlove,

her mother, did not pay attention to her. One day, Pecola decides to

visit her mom at work. Mrs. Breedlove was a nanny for this white girl.

Pecola accidentally knocks over a blueberry pie. Mrs. Breedlove says,

" Crazy fool... my floor, mess... look what you... work...get on out. Hush, baby,

hush. Come her. Oh, lord, look at your dress.

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