The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison

This novel written in the mid-sixties is the tragic tale of Pecola Breedlove a young girl who has been continually abused by her family and her community. The story is seen through the eyes of two young black girls Claudia and Freida MacTeer. Pecola is the central character and an obvious metaphor for the general abuse of black people in society both at the time the book was set (in the 40’s) and the time it was written (in the 60’s). After the break-up of Pecola’s family and her brutal rape, she is taken in by the MacTeer family. Although also poor the MacTeer’s family life is more stable and they manage to provide for Pecola a ...  Read the complete review

Toni Morrison was born Chloe Anthony Wofford in Ohio in 1931. She studied at Howard and Cornell universities, where she got her Masters degree in 1955. She went on to work at Texas Southern University, Howard University, Yale, and Princeton University. Toni married Harold Morrison in 1958 but they were divorced just 6 years later. She has worked as an editor and critic as well as a writer. Morrison's first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published in 1970 and in 1988 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her novel Beloved. Other books by Morrison include Song of Solomon RELIGION: In 'The Bluest Eye', Pecola resorts to magic when ...  Read the complete review

The Backdrop of the Bluest Eye is Americas mid-west, Lorain Ohio to be exact. The story zooms in on the world of Pecola Breedlove and her two closest allies, sisters Claudia and Frieda MacTeer. The story explores the narrative of the young, black female child in a world where ideals of white superiority and beauty are dominant. Indeed this is illustrated when Claudia narrates- 'all the world had agreed a blue-eyed, yellow haired, pink-skinned doll was what every girl child treasured.' Pecola's narrative is harrowing. As her home life is highlighted, themes of domestic violence, neglect and incest come to the fore. A broken home and world consisting of a broken ...  Read the complete review

Another classic by Toni Morrison. 'The Bluest Eye'deals with issues of race in a similar way to her later prize-winning novel of 'Beloved'. Toni Morrison writes in a very definitive and original style and chooses her language so carefully that it is an integral part of the success of her novels. 'The Bluest Eye' tells the moving story of a little black girl who wants blue eyes like her white counterparts. This, combined with some of the horrific events of the book, mean that 'The Bluest Eye' is quite harrowing to read, though well worth the effort. ...  Read the complete review

I found "The Bluest Eye" extremely troubling, but also far too easy to relate to. In our society, we have alll too often sing the praises of the blond, blue eyed princess at the cost of alienating girls who do not fit this model. The Bluest Eye includes an all to bleak look at what this kind of torment can do. The book asks questions about what ugliness actually is, and protrays a family in crisis. The theme of incest did not get as detailed an exploration as I had expected, and while many features of the book were shocking and powerful, I felt it would have benifited from being about twice as long. This is not the greatest fiction piece that Toni Morrison has ...  Read the complete review