The Bluest Eye Character Analysis

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Pecola’s conversation with her imaginary friend is one of the most crucial scenes in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye. In it, a young African-American girl in the 1940s takes on the impossible task of trying to conform to societal expectations of beauty. The most damaging force is not racist white people but Pecola herself. She attempts imitating something she is not and never leaves behind the parasitic ideas of beauty that infest her thoughts. By asking the manipulative Soaphead Church to grant her wish for blue eyes, she destroys herself. The conversation between Pecola and her imaginary friend captures her questionable sanity. Having an imaginary friend as a young child is normal, but talking to an imaginary friend about having “blue eyes” …show more content…

Somewhat amusingly, she assumes that her friend threatens to leave because of her eyes. After her friend acknowledges she is angry with Pecola, Pecola challenges, “because my eyes aren’t blue enough? Because I don’t have the bluest eyes?” (Morrison 204). Pecola only makes herself ugly as she strives for beauty. The ugliness she sees in herself forces those who befriend her to leave her, and she creates her own friend to feel loved because she has no real friends. Her friend, however, is not really a friend. Her primary function is to agree with Pecola that nobody has bluer eyes. Despite “obtaining” blue eyes after having her wish granted, Pecola does not attract the attention she originally thought she would. Whereas before she could not see herself, she now sees herself in an unreal way as a result of her “blue” …show more content…

The invented friend responds to Pecola’s question by retorting, “No. Because you’re acting silly” (Morrison 204). This response is somewhat paradoxical because if Pecola knows (subconsciously) that what she is doing is silly then, logically, she would stop pretending she has blue eyes. Utilizing “silly” is important because it affirms Pecola must know that her obsession is irrational. Her own mind chose “silly” as the proper adjective to describe her situation. Nobody would call Pecola’s actions silly, but Pecola’s subconsciousness selects this word because it makes her actions seem less severe. An outsider would bluntly call her “stupid.” Utilizing “silly” is a type of defense mechanism, and defense mechanisms are often used by emotionally weak people to shield themselves from further emotional harm. As suggested by utilizing “silly,” Pecola’s prognosis for recovery is bleak. Outsiders, instead of Pecola herself, comment on her state because it keeps her insulated from the harsh criticism she would face were she to comment on her own actions. By having outsiders comment on her condition, nobody can say with absolute certainty they know what fuels Pecola’s predilection with blue eyes. What is certain is that Pecola’s retreat to her imagination is a result of the harsh experiences she has endured throughout her life. Her imagination is a haven where she can have blue eyes, friends, and beauty. Lamentably, seeing beauty in herself

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