The influence of a dominant culture on people

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Toni Morrison’s novel the ‘The Bluest Eye’ is written about blacks in Ohio in the 1940s. The Black people are represented as people who feel self-hatred because of a dominant white culture. In the 1940s racism was an issue in the USA and especially in Ohio, where the story takes place. In this essay will be explained why black people feel self-hatred because of a dominant white culture. The first reason why black people in ‘The Bluest Eye’ feel self-hatred is because they are said to be ugly, due to the white beauty ideal that society has. The main problem in the book is that Pecola wishes to have blue eyes, which is a symbol for the white beauty ideal. To Pecola, having blue eyes gives her something which is considered to be beautiful by American society. Next to being considered pretty, the blue eyes mean a different view upon the world for Pecola herself as well. She believes that she can lead a life just like a middle-class white girl (Shmoop citate). When Pecola goes out to buy Mary Janes candies for herself and she has to pay a white salesman. In his eyes she sees the distaste for her, because of her skin colour (Morrison, 47). ‘She has seen it lurking in the eyes of all white people’ (Morrison, 47). Society shows the distaste of a black person just by looking at them. This shows that Pecola thinks she is ugly because of her black skin colour and as she wants blue eyes to solve this distaste for her, we can conclude that she feels self-hatred. Another reason for the feeling of self-hatred by the blacks in ‘The Bluest Eye’ is the poverty in which they are represented. The house that the Breedloves live in shows their poverty, especially the furnishings in their house. They bought a new sofa, but when it arrived, it alr... ... middle of paper ... ...hat. This is all caused by the white dominant culture. Toni Morrison wrote this book to show what the effect of racism on young girls can have. Toni Morrison has made some statements by writing this story. There a still places with a lot of racism and through the novel ‘The Bluest Eye’ people can feel the way discriminated people feel. Works Cited Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. 22. London: Vintage, 1999. 1-212. Print. Olmstead, Susan C.. "How African Americans Lived in the 1940s." eHow. eHow. Web. 11 Nov 2012. . Sickels, Robert C. American Popular Culture Through History The 1940s. 1st . Westport: Greenwood Press, 2004. 16. Web. Weiler, Jonathan. "How Racial and Ethnic Residential Segregation Works in Post-Racial America ." Huffington Post . Huffington Post, 26 2011. Web. 11 Nov 2012.

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