Self-Hatred and the Aesthetics of Beauty in The Bluest Eye...

Self-Hatred and the Aesthetics of Beauty in The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Topic: Discuss the issues of self-hatred and the aesthetics of beauty in The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. What role do they play in the novel and how do they relate to its theme? Self-hatred leads to self-destruction†¦ Self-hatred is something that can thoroughly destroy an individual. As it was fictitiously evidenced in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, it can lead an individual to insanity. Toni Morrison raises the idea that racism and class can detrimentally influence people’s outlook on themselves. It is unfortunate that we live in a society that places such a great emphasis and consideration towards the aesthetics of beauty. What is more†¦show more content†¦83) For the Breedloves what society defined as beauty was not something they felt they could ever be. They were condemn by society for being ugly and they themselves succumb to that labeling. They never tried to rise above it and thus raised their children in the same manner. This created a feeling of self-hatred and worthlessness in their children especially their young daughter Pecola. From birth Pecola was said to be ugly by her mother and the poor child was never given a chance to ever establish herself: â€Å"But I knowed she was ugly. Head full of pretty hair, but Lord she was ugly.† (p.128) She was never loved but rather she was neglected and made to have self-contempt because she didn’t look like someone that her parents and society would love. She disliked herself so much that she started fantasizing, dreaming and praying that she was a pretty blue eyed girl whom her parents would love: â€Å"It had occurred to Pecola some time ago that if her eyes, those eyes that held the pictures, and knew the sights—if those eyes of hers were different, that is to say, beautiful, she herself would be different†¦.If she looked different, beautiful, maybe Cholly would be different, and Mrs. Breedlove too. Maybe they’d say, â€Å"Why, look at pretty-eyed Pecola. We mustn’t do bad things in front of those pretty eyes.† (p. 47) Loathing oneself can cause many problems. Pauline BreedloveShow MoreRelatedThe Bluest Eye-Theme of Vision1553 Words   |  7 PagesToni Morrison’s highly acclaimed debut work, The Bluest Eye, is one of unquestionable beauty and intricately woven prose. As a fictional writer, Morrison avails herself of her literary faculties, using her mastery of description in order to convey an unusually lucid picture to the reader. The five senses seem to envelop a great deal of description in the novel, most notably that of sight. As has been discovered by virtue of studying the brain’s neural and cognitive machinery, vision occupies largeRead MoreAnalysis of The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison1756 Words   |  8 Pages In the novel, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison readers are taken throughout the daily lives of African Americans who are faced with numerous trial tribulations. Already facing the harsh reality that they were inferior to the white race. There were many families throughout this story that was faced with this stigma, however it seemed that the Breedloves had it just twice as hard. A series of social problems of which African Americans were victims to during the 1940s-1060s such as Rape, interracial