Racism in the “Bluest Eye”

Introduction

Most historical events have been acclaimed as forms from which most authors draw inspirations and based their fictional and non-fictional workpieces. Likewise, in the “Bluest Eye,” the author Toni Morrison uses her literary work as a mouthpiece for the United States’ African American community. She uses her novel’s characters to depict a post-colonial period, whereby slavery is abolished, but the African American society still faces various struggles. One of the major themes evident in Toni Morrison’s depiction of black Americans’ struggles is racism. Therefore, there is a need to analyze racism in the “Bluest Eye” by evaluating various characters in the novel and determining the resources and education available in the modern times that could have been of significant aid to the characters during the pre-civil rights era evident in the novel.

Racism

Historically, racism has been a major struggle worldwide. Racism is an ideology whereby one race is deemed superior to another; as a result of the superiority complex, discrimination and prejudice against the races are seen as inferior commences, resulting in various detrimental elements. In the United States, racism, particularly against African American society, has been a major problem, dating back to the slavery era. Nonetheless, in the current contemporary United Sates world, several strides have been made to bring about racial equity, and the African American community is gaining equal representation in all the integral sectors of the nation, such as economic, social, and political. The racial equality experienced by the modern black American society has been a result of numerous resources and education, which could have been of critical help to the “Bluest Eye” characters.

Racism in the “Bluest Eye”

            Most post-colonial authors focused on racism in the literary pieces as it was a major aspect of their lives. Toni Morrison is an African American writer who opted to share her struggles as a black woman and her fellow race members through her magnificent workpiece. In her writings, Toni Morrison utilizes her array of characters to illustrate the oppression of colored individuals in a white-dominant patriarchal community. Toni Morrison uses the depiction to illustrate her main case that black people need to appreciate and accept their identity to overcome white supremacy.

In the novel, Toni Morrison focuses on racism through the eye of a black woman who embarks on a quest for self-identity.  The character is a young girl named Pecola. In her quest for self-identity, she desires for white culture physical characters like blond hair, blue eyes, and white skin; the author states that every night, Pecola prays for blue eyes without fail, for one full year she prays fervently, encouraging herself that such a prayer request will take a long time before being fulfilled (Morrison 46). In the current contemporary United States, such a prayer request from a young black girl rarely occurs because the society has been provided with adequate information portraying the beauty that lies with the black skin. For instance, in recent years, a black woman won the title of miss world, illustrating the world’s acceptance of black skin as beautiful: moreover, there are numerous childhood films like the princess and the frog depicting a black girl as a princess, showing young black girls that their complexion is a beauty statement (Akinro, and Mbunyuza-Memani 309). Hence, racism is first depicted I the novel through a young Pecola offering prayers to God to have white skin, blue eyes, and blond hair as she sees her black skin color being less beautiful than the white skin complexion; in the modern world, she would not suffer such racism thoughts because there are various depictions of the black skin color as a beauty entity.

Throughout the novel, Pecola is faced with several instances that illustrate racism’s theme in the storyline, negatively impacting how the young black girl sees her culture and ethnicity. In the tale, Morrison illustrates a scenario whereby Pecola walks into a grocery store to purchase candy from Mr. Yacobowski, who is the grocery store’s primary shopkeeper. Mr. Yacobowski is an elderly white man depicting his racial prejudice through various actions, such as when the narrator states, “Pecola unfolds her fist, showing the three pennies… He scoots three Mary Janes toward her—three yellow rectangles in each packet… She holds the money toward him. He hesitates, not wanting to touch her hand” (Morrison 49). Mr. Yacobowski’s behavior toward Pecola would be different in the modern USA because every society member has received adequate education from school to public awareness projects on embracing racial diversity. The current United States community is one that illustrates treating every societal member irrespective of age, race, or gender with equality; the notion has been embodied into people’s minds and daily practices since the establishment of the constitution’s equal rights act in the 1960s, after several movements like the Civil Rights Movement that was fashioned as a mouthpiece for the fight for equality in the nation (Nimtz 2). Therefore, in the novel, Mr. Yacoboswki illustrates racial prejudice against Pecola as he serves in the grocery store; this kind of action would not occur in the contemporary United States as resources like the Civil Rights Acts enacted by the Congress that have formed a foundation of racial equality in the community.

Furthermore, there is an additional shred of evidence illustrating racism in the novel through Young Junior and his wicked deeds toward Pecola. In the novel, we find Geraldine, Young Junior’s mother, who is from the African American community, though her skin complexion is slightly lighter than other blacks; she does not allow Young Junior to play with children from the African American ethnical background, subsequently resulting in Young Junior’s dislike for his culture. In one instance, Young Junior often sees Pecola standing by herself during recess at the playground- none of the other children wants to play with her as they viewed Pecola as too black and ugly. In one instance, Young Junior devices an evil plan, which he commences by inviting Pecola to his home, which she agrees to, oblivious of Young Junior’s true intentions; once they are in the house, she harasses her by throwing a black act at her, and his mother Geraldine adds more insult to the happenings by insulting Pecola as she says, “Get out…. You nasty little black bitch, Get out of my house” (Morrison 92). However, if Geraldine and Young Junior existed in the current modern era, such unthoughtful and immoral acts would not be evident in their characters because they would have received adequate racial awareness and education to regard every human being with equality as they would like to be treated. Moreover, Geraldine would have developed an appreciation of her African American culture as she would have seen the strength and wisdom exhibited by fellow race members, such as Martin Luther King, who fought for racial equality; thus, she would not discourage her son from playing with fellow black children, impacting racial bride within Young Junior (Nimtz 2). Hence, Geraldine and Young Junior’s exhibition of racism in the novel would not have existed if they had obtained education about great African American community members like Malcolm X, consequently gaining pride and appreciation for their race.

The expansive depiction of racism by Toni Morrison in the novel goes beyond Pecola and is illustrated via several other characters. For instance, Morrison utilizes Cholly, Pecola’s father, to further prove pieces of evidence on racism in the pre-civil rights era depicted in her novel’s setting. The author shows Cholly as a victim of racism and emotional abuse dating back to his childhood times, which subsequently results in his illustration as unable to express his authentic feelings or show love even to his daughter Pecola. In the story, the narrator depicts an instance when Cholly was a young man. In the tale, Cholly and his cousin Jake pick up girls, with Cholly ending up with Darlene; however, as Cholly and Darlene make love for the first time, they are caught by two white men hunters, who force him to continue in the act as they watched, using profane language as they state, “Get on wid it, nigger,” said the flashlight one…” Sir?” said Cholly, trying to find a buttonhole..” I said, get on wid it… An’ make it good, nigger, make it good” (Morrison 148). Nevertheless, if Cholly were living in the current contemporary United States community, he would not have suffered such humiliation because the two white men would have received adequate knowledge and resources banning the use of the N-world when addressing an individual from the African American society; the N-world has been linked to the racist province as well as profanity, and various institutions, regions, and councils, such as the New York city council have banned its use to ensure respect for the black American race is maintained, enabling racial equality. Therefore, in the novel, Toni Morrison illustrates racism through Pecola’s father Cholly in his youth days as two white hunters use the N-word when addressing him; the situation would be different in the United States modern era as people have gained enough education not to utilize such profane language when addressing individuals from the African American society.

                                                                     Conclusion

Toni Morrison is an acclaimed author seen as a mouthpiece for colored individuals by depicting the African American society’s struggles in her novel “Bluest Eyes.” One of the main themes evident in the storyline is racism, illustrated through various characters, particularly the main character, Pecola, a young black woman. In the story, Pecola is seen as admiring the white complexion as black color is deemed ugly; she also faces racial prejudice evident by the grocery store’s shopkeeper misbehavior. He serves her and Young Junior with his mother, who mistreats her and uses vulgar language when addressing Pecola. In the modern era, they are adequate information sources that teach racial diversity and its acceptance in the community. Additionally, Cholly faces racism as two white hunters use the N-word as they address him, which would be different in the current times as there are bans against the use of the word.