The Bluest Eye Feminism Analysis

The Marxist and Feminist schools of theory are two sides of the same coin. In attempting to analyze Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye through the lenses of a Marxist and a Feminist critic, the close relation of the seemingly different schools of theories becomes evident. It is seen where both theories require the same procedure as Bressler projected; both theories required for the reader to pay close attention to the text itself as it regards to the plot, themes, language and the society in which the literary work is set. This allows for the reader to unearth the effects that these factors might have had on the meaning of the text and the reader’s overall interpretation of the novel. In comparing the two, it becomes evident that both theories are explicitly about power and its unequal and somewhat unfair distribution. They both deal with the social conflicts between a dominant group and an oppressed one as it relates to this unequal distribution of power. The key difference that sets the two apart is in their issues of priority; the feminist critics are concerned with equalizing power between the sexes while the Marxist critics are concerned with equalizing power between societal classes as it relates to race and social hierarchy determined by economics. Tyson expresses Feminist Criticism to be concerned with "...the ways in which literature reinforces or undermines the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women" (82). This theory seeks to expose how features of our culture are innately patriarchal. He expresses the school of Marxist Criticism to be concerned with class differences whether economic, racial or otherwise; "Marxism attempts to reveal the ways in which our socioeconomic system is the ultimate sou...

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...rying to look like them. She got a job merely because she wanted to be able to afford clothes and makeup. Pauline hoped that wearing makeup and the same type of clothes that these women wear would gain her the acceptance of these other women. For a Feminist critic this would prove to be one of the many prominent issues that women alone face. They posit that women are always competing with one another with the desire of being accepted by other females and even their male counterparts alike. Living in a patriarchal where they are viewed and treated as the minority, the oppressed group or as inferior, they involuntarily start to view and think of themselves in this light. Women are socialized to depend on men, and as such they compete to get the most attention from these possible protectors and providers. This situation causes the chronic negative stereotypes of women.