Essay on Internalized Racism in 'The Bluest Eye'

Race and prejudice are extremely complex issues in The Bluest Eye. Contrary to the typical image of racism, including white indignity against blacks, The Bluest Eye investigates the issue of prejudice between ethnic minorities. In this book, there are hardly any white characters in Morrison's epic and no important white characters. Though this is true, prejudice stays prevalent and at the center of attention in the book. Since the book includes characters mostly of dark complexion, 'whiteness' still exists on a range. Race is not only characterized by the shade of your skin, the state of your successes, or your hair type, neither is it characterized by where they are from nor your financial rank or instructive foundation. And yet, 'whiteness' is related to conservatism, cleanliness, and worth, while wrongfully so, being dark is related to unethical behavior, lack of cleanliness, and uselessness. The characters in this book struggle to maintain their innocence as they commit racist actions towards one another.

These thoughts of race that have to do with cleanliness, ideals, and worth, have become disguised to altering degrees by several different characters. Camouflaging these thoughts of racism has led characters in The Bluest Eye to racial self-loathing, and it shows how their life struggles have affected them. Mrs. Macteer, for example, is extremely unforgiving when Claudia becomes sick, since disorder signifies uncleanliness, this would classify a person as dark. Another example would be Soaphead Church, who can't stand a certain filthiness he associates with dark ladies and coordinates his sexual wants toward kids.

The epic's characters take advantage of the other dark people in this book and associate certain characteristics with darkness, ultimately measuring and judging each other's measure of “whiteness,” hurting their self-esteem and each other. “She had explained to him the difference between colored people and niggers. They were easily identifiable. Colored people were neat and quiet; niggers were dirty and loud.” (Morrison Chapter 2) Geraldine explains to her son, Junior, that the white kids have no interest or care to play with him because of the anticipated chance that he will demonstrate what she thinks will make him seem like a lower-class child. Even though Geraldine and her family are dark, they dress well and have more cash than other people of color. This makes her family think of themselves more highly than others as if they were of a different race. “The narrative purpose of Morrison’s extended typology in The Bluest Eye seems to be to introduce Geraldine, who accounts for the internalized rage and sadism of her son.” (Douglas) Even though it is surprising, prejudice spins uncontrollably in the dark community. Ironically as of now, their preference comes from how one chooses to conduct themselves in opposition to their actual skin shade. Suitableness is drawn specifically from their different skin shade, the tone and color of their eyes as well as their hair texture. Even when these markers miss the mark in characterizing a person’s race, characters choose financial, instructive, strict, local, and inherited contrasts to characterize their 'whiteness'. Geraldine aims to disconnect herself and her family from appearing dark by styling their hair, using cream to lighten his dark skin and patches as well as keeping her home as clean as it could be. Besides she is not the only one who takes advantage whenever given the chance as Soaphead Church, utilizes his white legacy, where he was born, and instructive foundation to characterize his 'whiteness'.

The characters in this book who don't hit the bullseye of the idea of “whiteness” have to face and deal with more than others. When Pecola’s assault occurred it had brought along the disastrous power of self-hate. This event in the book offers the challenging and symbolic high point of racial self-loathing. After the assault, Pecola would have to deal with the figurative disguise of Cholly's racial self-loathing, through the injury she conveys forward, and actually, as she conveys her dad's child.

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When Pecola goes to the store to purchase penny candy, the owner of the store sees her, and Pecola recognizes that he does not think of her as a fellow human being. “The fact that Pecola, Pauline, and Claudia must struggle with the fact that they do not fit white society’s idea of beauty is part of the racism toward blacks… For example, when Pecola goes to the candy store to buy Mary Janes, Mr. Yacobowski immediately expresses disgust at her presence. The narrator makes some allowances for his actions by emphasizing that he is simply different than Pecola... ' (Telegan) Even though the store owner does not know her personally she has to deal with the understanding of people’s partiality. Throughout the story, unimportance grows comparably with offensiveness, while whiteness compares with innocence. The store owner judged her based on what she looked like and who she was as a person based on her skin color. “The distaste must be for her, her blackness. All things in her are flux and anticipation. But her blackness is static and dread. And it is the blackness that accounts for, that creates, the vacuum edged with distaste in white eyes.” (Morrison 49)

“With these characters, Morrison literalizes the novel’s overall conflation of black female bodies as the sites of fascist invasions of one kind or another, as the terrain on which is mapped the encroachment and colonization of African-American experiences, particularly those of its women, by a seemingly hegemonic white culture. (Kuenz) Based on her looks, Pecola is insulted by the kids at school and in the network during a few events. One example was when a group of young men came together and laughed at her, saying “She likewise realized that when one of the young ladies at school needed to be especially offending a kid, or needed to get a prompt reaction from him, he could state. 'Bobby cherishes Pecola Breedlove! Bobby cherishes Pecola Breedlove!' and never neglects to get chimes of giggling from those in earshot and fake outrage from the charged.” Although her group of people is dark, they still make fun of her. “Thus, even with this early work, Morrison is conscious of the role economics plays in the African’s having a wholesome self-image. It is the Breedloves’ fight for survival that weakens the family structure and makes the family members more vulnerable to the propaganda of the dominant culture. (Mbalia) Numerous amount of instances of racism are blanketed in The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Characters who are members of the dark network, or groups of people in the community, are forced to acknowledge their status as the others or outcasts of the community. This exists for no other reason other than those who are part of the white network.

“The thesis of the novel is that racism devastates the self-image of the African female child in particular. Tonin Morrison’s emphasis is on society, not the family unit.” (Mbalia) Meanwhile, blacks share this status with lighter individuals in the dark network. At this point, they begin to disguise the prejudice introduced by these people and their own set of standards and mentality. The generalization torments them intellectually, and now and again, to the point of madness. The character generally influenced by prejudice is Pecola Breedlove. Pecola Breedlove's character is characterized by a few unique kinds of prejudice. It is available in her family, particularly her folks, from school, and from society, where white youngsters are viewed as 'increasingly significant' than dark kids. Pecola is so familiar with the bigotry that she faces each day, that she disguises it, and builds up a craving for blue eyes. This craving comes from the way that blue eyes are the eyes of white individuals.

In The Bluest Eye, the most racist character would be none other than Pecola, because she thinks that having brown hair and blue eyes is the perfect race. If you didn’t have any of these features, you were not perfect. Pecola was not perfect either so what she tried to do was drink milk from a Shirley Temple cup because she thought it would make her look like Shirley Temple. At the end of the story, Pecola finds out and understands that drinking from a Shirley Temple cup would not do anything to her features and she is perfect just the way she is. “Not all of the racist acts and attitudes in the novel are between whites and blacks, however. Several important instances involve racism among black characters. First, Morrison presents the character Maureen Peal, a “high-yellow dream child with long brown hair braided into two lynch ropes that hung down her back.” (Telegen) Race and preference are intertwined issues in The Bluest Eye. Rather than normal images of dogmatism, including whites belittling blacks, The Bluest Eye examines the issue of bias occurring between ethnic minorities. There are scarcely any white characters in Morrison's epic and no huge white characters, yet bias remains at the point of convergence of the substance. Since the novel incorporates generally dim characters, 'whiteness' exists on a range. Race isn't simply portrayed by the shade of one's skin, the condition of one's features, or the outside of one's hair, but also by one's place of source, money-related class, and educational establishment. 'Whiteness' is connected with restraint, neatness, and worth, while being dim is connected with unscrupulous conduct, absence of cleansing, and futility. In Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye, the characters experience lost guiltlessness as they begin being bigot towards each other.