Who Is Pecola A Hero Or Villain?

The tragedy of Pecola Breedlove is an examination of the ideological and character villains of thematic narratives. This is not an avant garde idea, but Toni Morrison delivers the best methodical breakdown of a villain in any tale. The history provided for each villainous character explains that their acts, while monstrous, cannot be dismissed as evil for evil’s sake. The Bluest Eye delves into the black depths of racism by utilizing a hyperbolistic, singular example of the effect that racism has on an incredibly vulnerable member of society. She follows the journey of Pecola who has internalized the white standards she is trapped with. Her internalization is parallel to the devolving, obsession with having blue eyes. Her parents are not representative

The biggest malefactor of The Bluest Eye is Cholly. His name is actually mentioned more often than Pecola’s which is evidence to suggest that Morrison views depravity as the primary focus of the book instead of its victim. It is important to note that while Pecola’s family is “crippling” to Pecola, they themselves are “crippled” (XII). Mrs. Breedlove is literally crippled by a “rusty nail” that “punched clear through her foot during her second year of life” (110). This event in itself was not traumatizing for Pauline but the result of it seemed to weigh heavy on her. She “alone of all the children had no nickname” and never had any “anecdotes about funny things she had done” (111). Pauline learned from her parents that children could be cast aside and left to exist without any guidance or love. Mrs. Breedlove found an excuse to do this to Pecola when she looked at her newborn daughter’s face and assigned “it some category in the scale of absolute beauty” (122). She “knowed [Pecola] was ugly. Head full of pretty hair, but Lord she was ugly” (126). Mrs. Breedlove made Pecola feel homeless in her own home. Not because Pauline simply felt evil, but because she learned it as the proper way to behave towards children. Mrs. Breedlove also lets racism influence her parenting because she utilized it “for support of a role she frequently imagined was hers—martyrdom” (39). The martyrdom that Mrs. Breedlove perceives as hers makes for a frightful and abusive parenting style. She believes everyone is trying to martyr her, even her own family. She becomes militant and unable to love her children in the same capacity that a mother should. Cholly is also afflicted with a poor definition of what it means to care. He is an absentee father who comes home occasionally, but never sober. When Pecola was staying with the