The Bluest Eye Research Paper

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Recommended: The role of a role model

Parents are the first role models that children are exposed too, making them influential in the growth of a child. A diverse group of parents are present in The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, that demonstrate the effects of parenting. The story is set in 1940’s America, a time where black people weren’t so accepted by society. Here readers meet Claudia, Frieda, and Pecola, young black girls who struggle to understand the unfair reality of the world they live in. Each girl perceives the world differently as each has had a different upbringing. Throughout the book, the parenting experienced by the Breedloves affects their perception of love, setting them up for failure as a family. Nurturing and compassionate parents grant their children a positive …show more content…

As stated before, Pauline distances herself from her family at all times as she feels it is a failure in her life she cannot fix. Cholly is similar, but differs in the way he expresses his love. Having been abandoned by his mother and rejected by his father, Cholly has no example for how to parent. The parents are constantly fighting, but this is the example of love presented to Pecola. Due to a lack of contact with others, Pecola believes this to be what loves is so much so that when reflecting on her parents having sex she thought “Maybe that was love. Choking sounds and silence.” (Morrison 57). Her parents abusive relationship set Pecola’s standards for love, but this leaves her wondering why this is so. Her lack of understanding is exemplified so much so that she even asks Frieda “ how do you get somebody to love you?” (Morrison 31). This obsession with love leads Pecola to the conclusion that if she could get people to like her, since her parents obviously don’t, that she would then experience love. Pecola’s quest for blue eyes, a sign of beauty as white girls with blue eyes are adored, leaves her a frail and broken girl at the end. Moreover, she talks to an imaginary friend, revealing that she unconsciously believes that she will never be beautiful or achieve happiness, but represses this reality as it’s too painful. A concept that’s familiar to readers as it mirrors Pauline’s life. Coming from a family that neglects to care for their daughter, both of them end up running from their

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