In The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison tells the narrative of a immature African American, Pecola, and the societal battles of the clip period, including the troubles of turning up as a immature black adult female in the 1940s. In this novel, the upper category creates a criterion of beauty that society mimics, aided by publicizing through assorted media mercantile establishments, such as magazines and telecasting. The balance of society inquiries where they belong and they confuse their true individuality with apery of the upper category. Morrison uses point of position, scene, and symbolism in her novel, The Bluest Eye, to show society ‘s yearning to mime the ether of beauty during the 1940s.

Throughout The Bluest Eye, physical beauty affects the self-pride of about every character because several media mercantile establishments define it based on the civilization of the clip period. In The Bluest Eye Morrison provinces, “ Adults, older misss, stores, magazines, newspapers, window marks – all the universe had agreed that a fair-haired, yellow-haired, pink- skinned doll was what every miss kid treasured ” ( 26 ) , which sheds visible radiation on the prototype of beauty that the media creates. Claudia ‘s mentality on the racially colored ideal of beauty represents one where she tries to defy the force per unit area of idolizing such ideals and even though she tries it truly changes nil.

African Americans, based on the definition of beauty established, lack the consideration of attraction. Morrison provinces, ” Except for the male parent, Cholly, [ aˆ¦ ] , the remainder of the household – Mrs. Breedlove, Sammy Breedlove, and Pecola Breedlove – wore their ugliness, put it on, so to talk, although it did non belong to them ” ( 25 ) .For illustration, Pauline tries to retroflex what she believes lucifers the idealised signifier of beauty that she sees through media mercantile establishments yet she finds out that this beauty is unachievable because of her different hair, tegument, and characteristics. African Americans in the novel come up with definitions of beauty from the “ white supreme ” civilization and members of the community that match those ideals are considered to be beautiful, like Maureen Peal. These communities isolate the remainder of society who does non fit up to these ideals and least resembles them, such as Pecola.

Morrison integrates the force per unit area that blacks feel the demand to populate up to the beauty criterions set by white society with respects to racism in Lorain, Ohio. Morrison references small about white vicinities such as those belonging to Rosemary Villanucci, even though white characters exist throughout the book. Harmonizing to Novels for Students, Morrison focuses on the vicinities of the MacTeers and Breedloves because these characters of African American decent Ob over the beauty criterions created by society ( 77 ) .

Pecola defines beauty as 1 who has blue eyes and merely so can she exceed from her ugliness to populate in a universe where everything is easier, including the behaviour her parents exhibit. Harmonizing to Novels for Students, ” Pecola worships the beautiful, white icons of the fortiess: she drinks three quarts of milk at the MacTeer ‘s house so that she can utilize the cup with Shirley Temple ‘s image on it, buys Mary Janes at the confect shop so that she can look up to the image of the blond haired, bluish eyed miss on the negligee ” ( 72 ) . Pecola believes she possesses bluish eyes towards the terminal of the novel, and the psychotic belief she goes through represents the harm the ideals of white society can hold on a immature black miss who revolves her life around these ideals since immature, minority adult females believe they have no pick other than to suit in.

Morrison uses the Dick and Jane extracts to demo the alterations that occur during the clip period of the 1940s through the sixtiess. Harmonizing to critic Phyllis R. Klotman, the three versions of the reader presented on the first page of The Bluest Eye represent the three life styles presented in the novel ( 77 ) . Morrison uses the first extract with proper punctuation to stand for the ideal white household in the novel. Morrison uses the 2nd version which does non incorporate proper punctuation or capitalisation to stand for the MacTeers. Morrison describes the MacTeer household as loving and stable in comparing to the Breedloves ( Henningfeld 83 ) . Morrison makes it clear that whatever the place lacks materially, the household makes up with love. For illustration, although Mrs. MacTeer complains when Claudia vomits, it is evident that she has love for her girl as stated in the novel, “ pess padded into the room, custodies repinned the flannel, readjusted the comforter, and rested a minute on Claudia ‘s brow “ ( Morrison 17 ) .

Morrison characterizes the Breedlove household as violent and every bit hapless, where no love exists for neither their kids and or one another. Harmonizing to the Knowledge Study Guide for The Bluest Eye, ProQuest states, “ Note the sarcasm of this household ‘s last name: evidently the household does non engender love, and their house is an extension of their ain deep disfunction. Their environment reflects their feelings about themselves. They are hapless, powerless and marginalized. Their furniture holds memories merely of mistreatment by greedy merchandisers and personal failure. ” ( 30 ) .Morrison uses the last version which contains no punctuation, capitalisation, or infinites to stand for the Breedlove household. De Weever believes that both extracts “ suggest that the battle to set up individuality in a universe which does non admit one ‘s being is sometimes lost ” ( 88 ) . Morrison presents the three extracts to demo how three households populating in the same metropolis enjoy a really different life style from the other yet have the same perceptual experience refering beauty.

Marigolds, harmonizing to Claudia, represent “ that the Earth itself might hold been unyielding ” ( Morrison 27 ) . Harmonizing to Novels for Students, Claudia says this quotation mark to show the incrimination she feels for the decease of the marigolds and to besides supply “ a analogue to the black universe life in a society that worships white ideals ” ( Gale 77 ) . The marigolds do non turn because Pecola becomes pregnant, but Claudia manages through this incident through disbursement clip with household. On the other manus, Pecola can non populate in this dogged Earth because she does non have the proper nurturing that the Shirely Temple milk gives her. Claudia believes that, “ Certain seeds it will non foster, certain fruit it will non bear, and when the land putting to deaths of its ain will, we acquiesce and say the victim had no right to populate ” ( Morrison 242 ) . Claudia ‘s words describe Pecola ‘s state of affairs in that the gestation kills her emotionally and mentally and “ the members of the community do non turn their scorn toward Cholly or toward white criterions but toward Pecola, the ultimate victim ” ( Gale 77 ) .

Pecola takes comfort from the Shirley Temple mug where she drinks milk out of, which symbolizes the idealised signifier of beauty. Milk symbolizes nurturance and by imbibing the milk out of the Shirley Temple mug Pecola expresses her yearning “ to stare endlessly at the fair-haired symbol of everything she is non ” ( Knowledgenotes The Bluest Eye ) . The milk nurtures Pecola in a false mode because it allows her to believe in false ideals. Pecola associates the false visual aspect of beauty with good and wholesome milk, doing her position the white ideals as wholesome. Pecola believes that blonde hair and bluish eyes are unachievable, yet when she encounters force, she merely wishes for bluish eyes.

Dandelions symbolize Pecola and Claudia and how society views them as an eyesore following to the ideal beauty represented by Shirley Temple. Dandelions by and large are viewed as ugly because they are nuisances, yet people fail to acknowledge that blowballs are beautiful in their ain manner. Pecola and Claudia, like the blowballs, are viewed by society as ugly because they do non suit the white ideal of beauty. Morrison expresses the thought that since the bulk sentiment believes that blonde hair and bluish eyes characterizes beauty, society starts to see everything else as ugly. “ A dart of fondness springs out from her to them. But they do non look at her and make non direct love back. She thinks, “ They are ugly. They are weeds ” ( ProQuest The Bluest Eye 30 ) . Harmonizing to an article discoursing The Bluest Eye with regard to Literary Works and the History Events that Influenced them, Wilson and Moss province “ Taking this to the extreme, many people connected virtuousness with the white construct of beauty ; conversely really dark tegument was associated with ugliness and wickedness ” ( The Bluest Eye 49 ) . Pecola in the terminal hopes to conform to the white criterion of beauty in order to avoid the intensions of being dark skinned with dark eyes.

Morrison expresses the racial quandary created during this clip period which are created by the societal norms of beauty. The criterion of beauty causes immature misss to oppugn their individuality much like what immature misss experience today. Using first individual point of position, Morrison introduces us to Claudia MacTeer at different points in her life. Furthermore, the media and society define physical beauty and in bend consequence the self-pride of characters in the novel. Harmonizing to this definition, African Americans can non be attractive and, hence, strive to populate up to the criterions of white society. Morrison uses linguistic communication and punctuation to exemplify the alterations in three households of the clip in the Dick and Jane extracts. Ultimately Morrison utilizations point of position, scene, and symbolism to picture that immature misss aim to resemble the ether of their clip.