The text of The Bluest Eye constructs the image of beauty around the eyes. But why the eyes? I believe it has something to do with how race is perceived. Blue eyes, which is a trait that white people usually carry, is seen as beautiful; this beauty is constructed as more acceptable in society because it mainly belongs to the white race. Blue being the stereotypical Anglo-Saxon eye color in America and those are the eyes that are supposed to be vied for. Eye color connects to the racial differences between black and white people. I think the focus is so much on the eyes because the eyes represent beauty, especially for Pecola, Claudia and Frieda, who are the three main characters who we see are the most affected by race matters in the book. To further answer the question of why the eyes, I think it would be worthwhile to develop the thematic references towards eyes and how they are portrayed throughout the novel. Blue eyes signify whiteness or, in other words, social acceptance. When Pecola had the episode with the light skinned young boy and his mother, there was a blue eyed cat which she fixated herself upon for as long as she was given a chance to. I believe this represents, in a huge way, how even though something can be completely black, having blue eyes gives it a “redeeming quality”. A quality that makes the cat special because it represents whiteness and being more socially accepted. The focus on the eyes shows us the danger of trying to be closer to white and how it is a poison to the black people in this novel.
We see another episode over the obsession of blue eyes when a character takes a part a white playing doll completely, stripping it, trying to see why people think it is beautiful. This part of the novel struck me as one of the most interesting parts of the novel that happened earlier on. It was interesting because once she took the doll a part, what she focused on the most seemed to be the eyes and the shape and figure of the doll. Often when we speak about differences between black and white, we talk about hair or skin tone, two features that are also signs of difference between the races. In Chris rock’s documentary entitled “Good Hair” he delves into how unhealthy perms are for black girls and the culture surrounding it. We see the hair issue in many popular songs today such as songs by India Arie and Lauryn Hill (1:16-1:50).
The differences between “Good hair” which is straight and “bad hair” which is kinky, curly and nappy are focused on in the novel to. So is skin tone, with the introduction of Maureen Peal who the girls have a tiff with one day after school. But still in this novel we fixate more on the eyes. Though the book points out many examples that lead to the answer of our question I believe a closer examination would lead us to believe that even though you can change many things about yourself, including your hair, skin complexion (kind of) and eye color (with contacts), you cannot change who you’re born to be and I believe that this is the root of the why behind the eyes.
Duane, I agree with a lot of your points about the representation of blue eyes as promoting Eurocentric values. It is interesting you bring up Chris' Rocks documentary "Good Hair" because hair is another way white aesthetics are promoted and given power as the only valuable type of hair. However, I think there is something behind Toni Morrison's repeated use of eyes. She consciously decides to use eyes as a point of comparison instead of hair and skin color. Ignoring the eye color I think Morrison chooses to use the eyes as her tool for measuring and comparing beauty standards because without eyes, we would not know the difference between hair, eye color, skin color and so on. It is not only the color of the eyes but the purpose for which our eyes serve, to see and witness our surroundings. Eyes see color as well as the violence and decay of a community. It is beyond, how much bearing one body part holds over our lives.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the reasoning behind why the eyes were the main focal point instead of hair and skin color. They stood for her being stuck in her race without coming right out and saying "I couldn't change that I was black". As stated in my blog, I also believe that she chose the eyes because they're perceived to be a window to the soul. Through a person's eyes you can tell a lot about them.
ReplyDeleteHair has become a more popular topic among society today. (As you stated in songs and in Chris Rock's documentary).
Skin color was also brought up when Michael Jackson bleached his skin.
We will never be happy with our appearances.