In Toni Morrison's novel, The Bluest Eye, racism- or judging another based on appearance- is dealt with heavily. She presents a story in which two little black girls react differently to the preference given to blonde haired, blue eyed girls over dark skinned, dark eyed girls. In the proposed situation both girls are jealous, but one reacts by wanting to have blue eyes like Shirley Temple the other decides she hates Shirley Temple and destroys the perfect baby dolls she is given. Both girls feel the pressure to fit into the cookie cutter image of what is "beautiful." And, although their reactions are drastically different, they both succumb to the pressure.
In the novel, Pecola, the girl who wanted the blue eyes, was portrayed in the meanest of fashions: her family was poor, she was abused, and she was described as being ugly. As Morrison later wrote, she wanted her readers "interrogating themselves" as to why she was "smashing" the character Pecola. Instead, she feels that the readers ended up "pitying" her (BE 211). Although she was trying to make a case for racism, the story comes across to the reader as a poor black girl that is forced to live though many unfair circumstances and ends up going crazy. As Bump explained in his essay, "Racism and Appearance in The Bluest Eye: a Template for Emotive Criticism," "the success of this novel, and many other attempts to challenge racism, is determined by the nature of and relationships between the emotions that 'touch' and 'move' its readers." Or, that the readers must connect emotionally with the story being portrayed, but whether that emotional connection simply "touches" them or "moves" them into action depends of the level of identification and emotional attachment to the story being presented.
For me, as a reader, if the racism factor had not been pointed out in the classroom, I would not have chosen it as the main focus of the story. Because of my past experiences, I connected with the character Pecola on a different level. The emotions that were portrayed when she felt poor and out of place when compared to her peers was something I dealt with throughout my entire elementary schooling. Also, the abuse and her reaction to the questions from those around her reminded me of my own young self. Reading about a character that resembled my childhood experiences so closely made it difficult to focus on the bigger purpose of the novel. However, upon taking a closer look, I realized that the racial tension is laced throughout. From the Shirley Temple cup to the ripping apart of baby dolls to the degrading of romantic love as portrayed by beautiful Hollywood Actors to the crazy little girl who truly thinks she has the "bluest eyes of all." (BE 202) From the beginning to the end, Morrison portrays the judgment that black girls feel from those around them. Because of their appearance, something they had no choice in and cannot change, they are considered to be less: less beautiful, less pleasant, less acceptable, less everything that little white girls are.
A video portraying Pecola at the end of the book. She thinks she is finally beautiful with beautiful blue eyes. But it shows that in the end, racism and a judgmental attitude only hurt others more than we can imagine.
As I stated in the beginning, we have all judged another based on their appearance before. But, I dare to say, we have all also been judged by someone else. Considering that and remembering those emotions, it is almost not impossible to not only be "touched" by Toni Morrison's novel, but to also be "moved" to action. Next time you start to judge someone else, think first.
"Thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou are that judgest: for wherin thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things." (The Bible, KJV, Romans 2:1)
