Literature Analysis #2

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

1.       The exposition introduces the setting and characters. The story takes place during the Great Depression in Lorain, Ohio and two African American sisters, Claudia and Freida Macteer, ages nine and ten, are introduced. They have a great desire to be Caucasian. Their parents are focused on maintaining a comfortable lifestyle and not let the Great Depression get the best of their family financially. They take in a couple of boarders, one of which is Pecola Breedlove. She is a young girl who comes from a distressed home life financially with abusive and alcoholic parents. The author continues to the rising action of the story where we get to know Pecola and her parents on a deeper level. The Macteers offer Pecola to live with them and we find out Pecola’s insecurities and self-degradation of being African American. Her dream is to have blue eyes and be white. She feels invisible and insignificant throughout her daily life as she is at the check-out stand getting groceries, in the classroom, or getting verbally abused by white mothers. Pecola gets physically abused by bother her parents which later turns into sexual abuse by her father leading to pregnancy and the loss of her infant. Pecola’s mother, Pauline, suffers a low self-confidence. She believes she is ugly due to her nationality and takes pride in cleaning a white woman’s home because she wants to be Caucasian. As for Pecola’s father, Cholly; he suffered a harsh childhood. He was abandoned by his parents and forced to live with his aunt. When he was having sexual relations with his girlfriend at the time, then he was caught and humiliated by some white men who forced them to continue making love while they watched. He drowned his sorrows in alcohol and never looks at love the same. He often beats his wife and, towards the end of the story, physically and sexually abuses Pecola to the point of unconsciousness, then abandons his family. The climax of the story is when Cholly rapes Pecola. Pecola’s mother doesn’t believe Pecola when she awakes from her unconsciousness and beats her. Pecola was impregnated by her father, Cholly, and believes in keeping the child because it is the moral things to do. She doesn’t blame the child for what happened like most do when they abort children. The child is born premature and dies. This is emotional for Pecola and the falling action results in a breakdown over the death of her child.

2.       Ultimately, the author produces themes of racism that demonstrate the underlying effects of such brutality and immorality. Through characterization, we are provided a clear insight into the worthlessness felt by such minorities. Throughout the novel, the characters allow mistreatment due to their born identifier as African American, otherwise known as worthless to the rest of society during that time period.

3.       The author’s tone, I would describe as being morose and hopeless. The whole story, although powerful and moving, is very depressing and sad. Every incident demonstrates the oppression and hopelessness of these African Americans and how hopeless their struggle is. For example, “It had occurred to Pecola some time ago that if her eyes, those eyes that held the pictures, and knew the sights- if those eyes of hers were different, that is to say, beautiful, she herself would be different.” (p.46) This demonstrates Pecola’s insecurities as she battles her identity of being African American in a world where Caucasians are the superior race. “The Breedloves did not live in a storefront because they were having temporary difficulty adjusting to the cutbacks at the plant. They lived there because they were poor and black, and they stayed there because they believed they were ugly.” (p.38) Ultimately, if Pecola had one thing to wish for, it would be to have blue eyes. She would probably have picked blue eyes over taking away continued abuse from her parents. This desire of blue eyes, what the white people normally are born with, signifies her idea that she is ugly and worthless. “Here was an ugly little girl asking for beauty… A little black girl who wanted to rise up out of the pit of her blackness and see the world with blue eyes. His outrage grew and felt like power. For the first time he honestly wished he could work miracles.” (p.174) This described the time when Pecola visited a mystic in hopes that he could change her eye color and how the man, although he took advantage of her, truly felt bad that he couldn’t help little Pecola.

4.       Ten literary elements/techniques I observed that strengthened my understanding of the author’s purpose, the text’s theme and/or my sense of the tone includes symbolism, repetition, contrast, tragedy, flashbacks, imagery, metaphors, parallelism, allusions, and irony.

Symbolism: The blue eyes were the ultimate symbol of white desire and purification from all racism. “I, I have caused a miracle. I gave her the eyes. I have her the blue, blue, two blue eyes. Cobalt blue. A streak of it right out of your own blue heaven. No one else will see her blue eyes. But she will. And she will live happily ever after.” (p.182)

Repetition: The chapters are titled with a short repetition, “MOTHERLAUGHSLAUGHMOTHERLAUGHLA.” (P.110) This introduces the chapter where Pauline’s character is described in full detail. The reason for saying “mother laugh” is because Pauline never laughs or smiles. Happiness just doesn’t exist in this story because the characters are going through suffering.

Contrast: The repetition at the beginning of each chapter contrasts with the content of the next chapter. So, these strange words like, “HERISTHEHOUSEITISGREENANDWHITEITHASAREDDOORITISVERYPRETTYVERYPRETTY,” on page 33 goes into talking about the pretty house, in fact, it was about the Breedlovers torn up, poor looking house. This contrast allows for the differences between the lives of the African Americans versus the typical Caucasian families.

Tragedy: Tragedy is abundant in this novel as racism goes to the extremes. We see the unfairness and bitterness of the lives of the minorities in society following segregation. “Following the disintegration—the falling away—of sexual desire, he was conscious of her wet, soapy hands on his wrists, the fingers clenching, but whether her grip was from a hopeless but stubborn struggle to be free, or from some other emotion, he could not tell.” (p.163) Pecola was impregnated by her father which was disgraceful and resulted in a tragic ending with her infant dying.

Flashbacks: Flashbacks are a significant literary tool throughout the entire novel. This offers a deeper insight into Pecola’s indirect characterization. The reader learns about Pecola’s parents and the disasters of Pauline and Cholly’s childhood and adolescence. “abandoned in a junk heap by his mother, rejected for a crap game by his father, there was nothing more to lose. He was alone with his own perceptions and appetites, and they alone interest him.” (p.160)

Imagery: There is very detailed imagery that describes the character’s lives and appearances. “Keep but cooked noses, with insolent nostrils. They had high cheekbones, and their ears turned forward. Shapely lips which called attention not to themselves but to the rest of the face. You looked at them and wondered why they were so ugly.” (p.39)

Metaphor: The death of Pecola’s baby is metaphorically comparing Claudia and Freida’s attempt to plant marigold seeds. If the plant grows and lives, then Pecola’s baby will live. “And now I see her searching the garbage—for what? The thing we assassinated? I talk about how I did not plant the seeds too deeply, how it was the fault of the earth, the land, of our town.” (p.206)

Parallelism: Parallelism makes it easier to read the story and provides for a more engaged reader due to such strong writing skills. It illustrates the author’s points, as well. “Her simplicity decorated us, her guilt sanctified us, her pain made us glow with health, her awkwardness made us think we had a sense of humor. Her inarticulateness made us believe we were eloquent.” (p.205)

Allusion: During Pecola’s rape performed by her father, Cholly, the author alludes to the Bible. “What makes one name more a person than another? Is the name the real thing, then? And the person only what his name says? Is that why to the simplest and friendliest of questions: What is your name? Put to you by Moses.” (p.180)

Irony: Irony is commonly used throughout the novel regarding the blue eyes. Pecola thinks that blue eyes will give her a beauty that the white people possess. This beauty, she believes, will grant her happiness, but in the end when she believes she has her blue eyes, then she actually goes mad. “So, it was. A little black girl yearns for the blue eyes of a little white girl, and the horror at the heart of her yearning is exceeded only by the evil of fulfillment.” (p.204)

Characterization

1.       Direct characterization was present when describing Maureen Peal. “a high-yellow dream child with long brown har braided into two lynch ropes that hung down her back. She was rich, at least by our standards, as rich as the richest of the white girls, swaddled in comfort and care.” (p.62) Another example is pauline’s description of her first impression of Cholly, her father. “Cholly was thin, then with real light eyes. He used to whistle, and when I heard him, shivers come on my skin.” (p.115) An example of indirect characterization is, “We could hear Mrs. Breedlove hushing and soothing the tears of the little pink-and-yellow girl.” This demonstrates Mrs. Breedlove as being compassionate and loving without saying it directly in the text and instead providing it through an example. Another example is Cholly’s reaction to Pauline’s pregnancy. “When she told Cholly, he surprised her y being pleased. He began to drink less and come home more often.” (p.121) This demonstrates Cholly wasn't always a disturbed man and actually loved his family in temporary time periods that were important to him, such as when Pauline was pregnant with Pecola. The author uses both direct and indirect characterization to provide a well-rounded variety of characterization. I feel like I understand the characters more because of this diverse use of characterization. I learn more through direct characterization, in this novel, because of the longer descriptions and the actions make it easier to relate it to real life versus direct characterization where you just have to trust the author that his views are similar to you own.

2.       The syntax and diction changes when the author focuses on the different characters and their circumstances. The author uses a common vernacular of the everyday during that time period. It is very informal and easy to read which sets the tone for the play and provides a stronger relationship and understanding between the reader and characters. “Nasty white folks is about the nastiest things they is. But I would have stayed on ‘cepting for Cholly come over by where I was working and cup up so.” (p.120)

3.       Pecola Breedlove is a dynamic and round character. In the beginning, she has the ultimate desire of wanting blue eyes, symbolically meaning much more than just the color, but in the end this changes as the reader watches her go mad. She experiences a variety of hardships that transforms her character and taints her innocence.

4.       I felt like I knew the characters. I felt like I was Pecola and had lost my child. It was heart-wrenching, yet a powerful story. I couldn’t stop reading and would highly suggest this to be read by mature readers. Throughout the novel I felt I had suffered as Pecola had suffered due to the incredible detail and characterization techniques used by the author. At the end of the novel, I was completely disoriented just as Pecola was. “Don’t go. Don’t leave me. Will you come back if I get them?” I couldn’t help, but feel depressed and completely moved.