In 2017, a ten-year-old brown girl sat on her bed scrolling through her Instagram feed, television on in the background, fashion magazines stacked on the floor, surrounded by images whose hair was not like hers, whose noses were not hers, whose skin was not like hers, whose bodies were not like hers. This is what beauty looked like: not her. Society told her and thousands of other girls, like Pecola, that they were ugly. In the novel The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, the author traces the development of Pecola Breedlove, growing up in a small town in Ohio in the 1940s, who experiences the dire consequences of racism and becomes convinced that, if only her eyes were blue, she would be loved and valued. Written during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, the novel explores the impact of racism on definitions of beauty and its resulting ramifications upon self-worth for people of color and young Black girls especially. Although the African-American protagonist Pecola initially does not understand why she is rejected by almost everyone she meets, by the novel’s end, she recognizes the impact of societal beauty standards on her, which unravels through racist experiences at school, interactions with people around her, and through her ultimate realization that beauty standards are built to be unattainable and hurt people meaning that neither her eyes, nor herself, can ever be “blue” or worthy enough.
Early in the novel, Morrison establishes the confusing effects of racism on Pecola’s sense of self-worth, both internally and externally, focusing on the overwhelming sense of “ugliness” the Breedloves feel. Morrison writes, “Long hours [Pecola] sat looking in the mirror, trying to discover the secret of the ugliness, the ugliness that made her ignored or despised at school, by teachers and classmates alike” (Morrison 45). Pecola becomes affected by the way people treat her yet holds on to her belief that she is not ugly and is worthy of respect and love. However, it is evident that she is angry and frustrated since she cannot figure out what motivates her classmates, teachers, and others to dismiss her and bully her. Morrison urges people to see the emotional turmoil racism causes and how it slowly eats away at a child’s self-confidence. Furthermore, Pecola connects the confusion she is feeling about herself with her confusion about the perception of dandelions asking, “Why…do people call them weeds?” (Morrison 47). Morrison uses dandelions as a metaphor since they are considered ugly by society, just like Pecola feels she is. More significantly, Morrison’s choice of the word “weed” underscores the connection between the “uncivilized” and unwanted nature of a weed which negatively impacts the desired plants and the societal view of those seen as “other” who are likewise undesirable and “invasive.” Pecola does not think of herself as ugly in the beginning, but as time goes on society’s beauty standards slowly influence the way she sees herself and break down her self-confidence. By emphasizing racism’s confusing implications, Morrison demonstrates the powerlessness and self-blame this confusion causes, in which those confronting hate are unable to solve the unexplainable rejection they face.
Through images of the “beauty” of white traits juxtaposed with the “ugliness” of Black traits, Morrison dramatizes Pecola’s evolving understanding of the cause of her rejection. The first indication of Pecola’s perspective-changing is after the shopkeeper is hesitant to touch her hand because society has spread the idea that Black people are “dirty.” On her way back home, Pecola comments on the same dandelions she previously thought were pretty, “Dandelions…They are ugly. They are weeds” (Morrison 50). Morrison shows the influence peoples’ racist actions can have on someone’s self-confidence and mental health. Pecola projects the way she feels about herself on the dandelions again, and the difference between how she felt and feels now changes immensely from a racist interaction. She describes the dandelions as “ugly” and “weeds” now showing that Pecola realizes the reason people ignore and despise her is that she is Black, and she thinks that must mean she is also ugly. Maureen, a mixed Black girl with light skin tells Pecola, “The picture show, you know. Where this mulatto girl hates her mother cause she is Black and ugly” (Morrison 67). In having Maureen make this comment, Morrison demonstrates how popular media pushes the racist idea that Black features are ugly and easily influences children into hating the way that they look. Pecola hears the movie connecting ugliness to Blackness, reinforcing her idea that to be valued by people and seen as beautiful she must have white features, such as blue eyes. Constantly being told they are ugly and unworthy of respect hurts minorities because, after a while, racist ideas become hard not to believe. This is also seen when Pecola wishes for blue eyes because she sees that people with blue eyes are treated better than she is. She hopes that if she is “prettier” then she will be treated better. Morrison writes, “Each night, without fail, she prayed for blue eyes…If those eyes of hers were different, that is to say beautiful…” (Morrison 47). Society’s standards of beauty start to affect and hurt Pecola because she blames her looks for the abuse and constant rejection she endures. Blue eyes become her name for white features, and she wants them because society has told her that she will only be valuable if she is white. She begins to understand that people degrade and reject her because she is Black, and to society, that means she is ugly. Morrison depicts how many children internalize harmful stereotypes which can ruin their lives. Pecola does not realize that she is being manipulated by society yet, but her self-confidence slowly denigrates, and she starts to view herself through society’s racist lenses.
At the end of the novel, Morrison shows the grim effects of racism through Pecola going “mad” and finally understanding how society’s beauty standards hurt and manipulate minorities. Pecola believes she has blue eyes because Soaphead told her that she has them, but would be unable to see them. Her belief is reinforced by her mother and community no longer talking to or even looking at her. Pecola worries about her mother’s reaction saying, “Ever since I got blue eyes, she looks away from me all of the time” (Morrison 195). Morrison wants people to realize the horrible impact racism has by showing how vulnerable children are which causes racist ideologies to become deeply ingrained in their minds. This especially applies to Pecola as she “goes mad” at the end of the novel and believes that no one will look at her because they are jealous of her blue eyes when in reality it is because her father raped her. She starts “talking” to a voice in her head hysterically, scared that her eyes may not be “blue enough.” The voice in her head makes her question why she needs “the bluest eyes,” adding “…But suppose my eyes aren’t blue enough? …Blue enough for…I don’t know. Blue enough for something. Blue enough… for you!” (Morrison 203). Pecola’s internal conflict manifests itself as a voice in her head, which shows that even she is starting to question why society has made her feel like she needs blue eyes to be good enough for herself. She starts to understand that society’s beauty standard is unattainable, as she will never have the “bluest eyes.” The theme, societal beauty standards hurt minorities, perfectly describes Pecola’s journey to obtain blue eyes. She has “gone mad” trying to be good enough for someone she does not even know, and even though she thinks she finally has blue eyes, she is still scared that she will never be good enough. Morrison depicts how the beauty standard hurts minorities because it implies that only whiteness is beautiful and worthy. Through following Pecola’s journey of understanding racism, Morrison wants people to realize how racism can consume and ruin peoples’ lives by causing them to lose their sense of self-worth. Revealing that nothing can ever satisfy the societal beauty standard because it is built to be unrealistic, focusing on traits that are impossible to change.
Built to be unattainable and distort peoples’ view of themselves, societal beauty standards have always been a burden on people’s self-worth. Morrison uses Pecola’s evolution in the novel, The Bluest Eye, to show people the impact of racism, which is ingrained in societal beauty standards and the dictation of someone’s worth. At first, Pecola is confused why peoples’ first impressions of her seem to be that she is unworthy of their time; however, as the novel progresses and Pecola realizes that she is treated that way because of her race, she starts to agree with societal beauty standards and lose her self-confidence. Morrison depicts racist beauty standards effects when Claudia says, “And now when I see her searching the garbage—for what? The thing we assassinated?” (Morrison 206). Morrison writes about how the idea that White features are more beautiful is a crucial structure in societal beauty standards. Even though the novel was written during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, it continues to be relevant today since societal racism still exists and the beauty industry profits from it every day. This novel is an exemplary portrayal of how society is responsible for ruining many young children’s lives by destroying their feeling of self-work and confidence. Racism is ingrained in many parts of American society, some examples of which are the media, the education system, the beauty industry, and the justice system. Not only does the racist beauty standard cause many young kids, like Pecola, to feel ugly and insecure about the way they look, but it also supports a cycle of violence and abuse that continues to affect the lives of millions of people. Pecola’s father experiences racism and it affects the way he treats and hurts Pecola. This brings into light the fact that most racist people are raised in racist households and the cycle of broken people continues with every kid who grows up to become their parents and never question the beliefs that were handed down to them. Parents are an introduction to society for their children, and often parents set upon beauty standards that have been ingrained in them from a very young age.
Unrealistic beauty standards rooted in racism continue to plague society and become many people’s lifelong trauma which becomes the anchor to the never-ending cycle of society-induced anguish. Morrison sheds light on how society still has a lot to change when it comes to perceptions of beauty and racist beauty standards; so, hopefully, one day, the brown girl on her bed will finally think she is beautiful, and the opinions of others will not matter.
Born to be a LeadHER 