The Bluest Eye Beauty Analysis

921 Words2 Pages

The social standards of beauty and the idea of the American Dream in The Bluest Eye leads Mrs. Breedlove to feelings of shame that she later passes on to her daughter, Pecola. The Breedloves are surrounded by the idea of perfection, and their absence of it makes them misfits. Mrs. Breedlove works for a white family, the Fishers. She enjoys the luxury of her work life and inevitably favors her work over her family. This leads Pecola to struggle to find her identity, in a time where perception is everything. Pecola is mystified by the idea that her mother prefers her work life, that they have an outdated house, and that she does not look like the Shirley Temple doll with blue eyes. Morrison went into great detail describing the elegance and ornateness that was present in the Fisher home, to demonstrate that those who do not fit into the ideal American life often feel shame. The Breedlove family lived a simplistic life that did not conform to society’s …show more content…

Pecola was called ugly her entire life because she did not look like what society viewed as beautiful. Pecola had no way of fitting into this beauty standard because of her skin color. Pecola believes that she is worthless because she does not look like a doll. “Adults, older girls, shops, magazines, newspapers, window signs – all the world agreed that a blue-eyed, yellow haired, pink-skinned doll was what every girl child treasured” (Morrison 20). Standards of beauty should not be determined by what a doll's appearance. It leads many women and girls to have unrealistic expectations for themselves. The Breedlove women will never be “blue-eyed, yellow haired, pink-skinned” and this leads them to feelings of self doubt and disgrace. This doll, and society's opinion of what beauty is, leads Pecola to anger and embarrassment because she does not conform to what is thought to be

More about The Bluest Eye Beauty Analysis

Open Document