My professor has really chosen some heartbreaking books for our class this semester. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison just happened to be on my list of books that I had made that I wanted to read. I just killed two birds with one stone!
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, is about a young black child who only wishes to have blue eyes so she can be "beautiful". The little girl, Pecola, idolizes Shirley Temple because Shirley is "the perfect American girl." It is truly sad knowing that The Bluest Eye was written in 1970 and that we, as as society, have not progressed very much. In today's society adults still put pressure on their little girls to be perfect, when in all reality perfection is unrealistic. I guess one could say that I am "fortunate" enough to not know what it feels like to be discriminated and disliked because of the color of my skin like the main character in this novel. But, what Morrison does do in the process of shedding light on the color issue, is also shed light on the "cover-girl" issue also. Morrison uses a girl character to really show the problems with children forming their own identity in today's society.
The Bluest Eye also focus's on the importance of family and one's upbringing. We see that children who have what I like to call, "daddy issues," tend to have a harder time in life. The reader see's this in many character's throughout the book. One of the most prominent is Cholly, Pecola's father who is shown to have the worst "daddy issues." Cholly's issues result in a very violent act toward his own child, and because Morrison does such a great job explain Cholly's background, the reader tends to feel sympathy towards him (not saying that what he does is right because it's down right horrible).
I enjoyed The Bluest Eye a lot. I think Morrison brings to light a lot of issues whether it's race, society, religion, self-image, or simply family dynamics. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who likes a good read. It's also in Oprah's book club if that convinces you further.
I love this book. Great review by the way - short and sweet.
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