The Bluest Eye Loss Of Innocence Essay

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In the tragic novel The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, a young, black girl, Pecola Breedlove, struggles in a battle to preserve her innocence and to be seen as beautiful by the racist world around her. Pecola’s innocence is a representation of her childhood and is threatened by her early experiences due to her circumstances and the way the world views her. Although her parent’s abuse is not to be forgiven, the novel gives the ability to sympathize with them due to the lives they have led. Neither one of Pecola’s parents, Cholly nor Pauline, are truly able to understand the needs of their children due to their own childhood experiences. As a child, Pauline was always set aside and was never saw as truly beautiful. The only love she has ever known was Cholly and his abuse. Cholly was abandoned by his mother as a newborn and raised by his aunt who died in his early teen years. Soon after her death, he had his first sexual experience which was interrupted by two white hunters who forced them to continue as they watched. Inside he knew if his anger was inflicted on the white men it would eventually destroy him so Cholly’s anger with this situation was inflicted on his sexual partner at the time. …show more content…

Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe.” Both of Pecola’s parents loved her in the only ways they knew how. Cholly expresses his love towards Pecola through his sexual abuse, not understanding this would only worsen her childhood. Every feeling of love Cholly has ever showed was shown through violence, including his love for Pauline. Pauline associates Cholly’s abuse with love because it is the closest thing to love she has ever known and this reflects on the way she treats Pecola. Not only did her parents do a poor job of taking care of Pecola, they did a poor job of protecting her from the world

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