#The bluest eye book cover skin#
This gives the reader insight that Maureen is more uncomfortable with her own skin color. She calls them out, especially Pecola, for not just being ugly, but for being “black and ugly” all while reinstating that she is cute. This scene reveals more about Maureen than any of the other girls. After Maureen runs off, Claudia and Frieda leave Pecola, as she is folds into herself “like a pleated wing” (73). After going back and forth with Claudia, Maureen declares: “I am cute! And you are ugly! Black and ugly e mos. Pecola then takes on a helpless motion by tucking her head in. Pecola denies the accusation, but Maureen states that it is true because Bay boy told her. However, the girls get into a debate about whether or not Pecola saw her father naked. She ends up befriending Pecola, buying her ice cream and walking with her after school with Claudia and Frieda. She was loved by teachers and majority of the students, both black and white. She was rich, at least by our standards, as rich as the richest of the white girls, swaddled in comfort and care” (Morrison 64). Maureen is described as a “high-yellow dream child with long brown hair braided into two lynch ropes that hung down her back. Each character seems to push an internal fear onto Pecola. Throughout Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, Pecola Breedlove is used as a scapegoat for the tension and turmoil, that the other characters in her community are facing in their own lives. The Bluest Eye: Pecola Breedlove as the Communal Scapegoat Through her obedient, subservient nature, and her acceptance of the abuse of the town in the name of emotional purging, Pecola is a continuation of the original Judeo- Christian Eve figure. Rather than looking outside of a flawed society, Pecola accepted her fate as a sacrifice to a white, patriarchal society, and as such, quietly was driven insane. Over time, the repeated traumas towards the pliable Pecola have pushed her into madness, because she accepted the insults and punishments as a part of herself. In her break from reality, Pecola believes that her wish for blue eyes has been granted by god through Soaphead, and converses with the voice in her head. The people in town, upon learning of Pecola’s fate, turn their backs on her, which leads Pecola into madness. Likewise, due to Pecola’s quiet, beaten down nature, at least in part, Cholly rapes Pecola, then leaves her. After the apple was eaten, Eve was then given the punishment of sexual desire and painful childbirth. Eve, too, was used as a vessel, a way to bring sin into the world. From being blamed for killing a cat, to the hatred of her mother because Pecola has ruined her quiet life, and finally, she earned the ire and distaste from the community for carrying her father’s baby, a product of rape. Throughout the novel, Pecola is used as a scapegoat, or vessel for all of the insecurities, anger, sadness, and ugliness of the townspeople. Pecola’s use as a scapegoat, however, is the most defining aspect of her character, and helps solidify her comparison to Eve. In addition, Pecola was happy following Claudia and Frieda around, and rarely spoke out about what she wanted, similar to the subservient nature of Eve. Rather than trying to protect herself, and her good name, Pecola seemed to accept the insults as the truth, and was ashamed and quietly wounded by this. A kind of hunching of the shoulders, pulling in of the neck, as though she wanted to cover her ears” (Morrison, 72). While Claudia and Frieda tried to protect Pecola by yelling at Maureen, Pecola “tucked her head in- a funny, sad, helpless movement. Pecola was being bullied by Maureen, a lighter skinned girl from school. (Alban) Pecola, likewise, can be characterized by her quiet, obedient nature, and her status as a scapegoat for the people of Lorain, Ohio. Replacing the independent Lilith, Eve is well known for her subservience to Adam, and is widely known as the scapegoat for the creation of sin in the world. Because Pecola accepts her fate given to her by society, she is an Eve figure.Įve was the second wife of Adam. Throughout the novel, we watch Pecola fall into madness as she accepts the horrible treatment of society and her family as the truth about herself as a person. Pecola is obsessed with Shirley Temple, and desires blue eyes. Unlike Claudia, who is very independent and feisty, Pecola is very timid, and ashamed of her appearance. Her father, Cholly Breedlove, just attempted to burn their house to the ground, so Claudia’s mother takes in Pecola to care for her while her family is homeless. Pecola is also a young girl, and comes from a family that is very troubled. Her parents take in boarders to make ends meet, which include Henry Washington and Pecola Breedlove. The narrator, Claudia, is a young girl who comes from a poor family. During this time, life is hard, and families were struggling to make ends meet. The Bluest Eye takes place in Lorain, Ohio, just as the Great Depression is ending.