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The Bluest Eye Critique
In Toni Morisson’s book, The Bluest Eye, there is a writing style and a story that crosses genres and mediums. At the surface, the story of Peccola is a history the struggles of a black family during a harsh time of racism. Interestingly enough the racisism is not so much by people or another race but by a black community. This notion attacks the idea that racism exists on only one level and between two peticular races. The fashion and times embodied by Shirley temple and her stereotypical depictions of blacks, The Bluest Eye, is a virtual time capsule in typed words. The Book also takes the reader through the hearts and minds of every person involve in such a way as to peer into the soul of the society.
The opinion taken, it seems, is compared to a doctor who does not need to tell you what is rightfully functioning but what is wrong in an effort to fix it. This sociological view is effective in that the author causes you to question the root of racism and our own prejudices, in how we treat each other. Motives are questioned, disciplinary actions are questioned and the communities’ non-unity is questioned. The story is told almost in a folklore manner as the narrator, Claudia, looks back on the incident in a way that depicts Peccola in an unreal appearance. It’s hard for the reader to believe Pecola is as ugly as she was described. It seems intentional by the author to make us see how we view people in a biased light. It is a nightmare in this society, how we can place physical aspects on such a high scale, where almost everyone falls short. The author uses excerpts from the children’s book, Dick and Jane, to add an irony to each chapter. The book displays to children an unrealistic way of looking at the world, in contrast to the Bluest Eye, which gives the grit and grime of real life. The singsong way the lines that introduce the chapter are written is frighteningly childlike for an adult theme book. The Bluest eye is history, sociology, folklore, and a nightmare, a song and so much more.