Literature functions as a unique venue to communicate social injustices to society by letting the readers experience the bias treatment through words and how the characters felt. This makes the readers connect and think more deeply about the injustices that are happening in the world today. In The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, Night, written by Elie Wiesel, and Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes, each author uses literary devices such as tone, symbolism, and character to inform society of its injustices. However, each writer approaches the theme of social injustices differently with their unique descriptions and styles. On the other hand, the authors also use imagery and theme in similar ways to emphasize the sufferings that each character experiences. Thus, literature is an excellent example in revealing the injustices that society created.
The Bluest Eye depicts the tone of passion. As the readers progress through the novel, the passion of black women expressed in-depth to the readers to show how their desires were to fit in with society. In the season Spring, chapter nine, page 138, Morrison writes:
“Take this food and give it to the creature sleeping on the porch. Make sure he eats it. And mark well how he behaves. If nothing happens, you will know that God refused you, If the animal behaves strangely, your wish will be granted on the day following this one.”
In this quote, Soaphead is telling Pecola what to do in order for her wish to be granted. This injustice shows how society brainwashed and pushed Pecola into doing anything in her will to be accepted by society. In Pecola’s case, her ugliness made her hate herself and want the typical pretty blue eyes that the white girls had. The blue eyes al...
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Toni Morrison, Elie Wiesel, and Daniel Keyes each use tone, symbolism, and character to enrich the books on informing the readers of the social injustices in society. In addition to that, the three authors also use effective imagery and theme to illustrate to the readers how social injustice has affected the characters. For Pecola, it was her skin color and ugliness that constantly tormented her. The injustice that Eliezer suffered was the Holocaust. Lastly, it was Charlie’s mental disability that caused his loneliness. By using these literary techniques in literature, the devices truly educates the audience to realize these injustices that occur is a result of society not being highly informed of the topic at hand and its effects. When society is blinded by the social injustices, they are considered no different than the abusers themselves.
Claudia MacTeer in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye looks longingly upon society from the outside. Growing up the youngest in the family as well as in a racial minority leaves Claudia feeling excluded and left out. She desires a place within the group society has formed without her. She desires to fit in and be accepted. Claudia desperately wants to experience life to the fullest. She does not want to miss out on any event. Claudia's curiosity is often her conscious motivation to get involved, but the reasons that she acts the way she does go deeper than that. Her personality and character traits make fitting in unfortunately hard to accomplish.
As a child, Claudia seems to resent black exploitation from the past as she does not embody the longing for ‘white perfection’ as other characters do. After receiving a white doll with blue eyes as a present, Claudia resents it and states ‘I could not love it’ (p. 19). It could be argued that the doll symbolizes prejudice against black people and how the appearance of white skin and blue eyes is preferred. As Claudia does not favour the white stereotype, it seems as though she is not living in a state of self -hatred that seems to stem from the past and live on in the present for others. Claudia and Pecola Breedlove are in the same age group, yet it could be argued that she does not affiliate herself with the same longing that Pecola feels to be ‘saved’ from black injustice by the appearance of blue eyes. Furthermore, it is argued by a critic that ‘Claudia MacTeer is Morrison’s persona in the novel, her fictional “second self” . The Bluest Eye seems to reflect this, as Morrison wants to highlight black prejudice by opposing it in her novel. It could be suggested that Morrison uses Claudia in the novel to represent her own resentment and need to break away from the past, stopping it living on in her own present, as well as the present of society. Claudia seems to provide a sense of hopefulness for the future rather than a cycle of personal antagonism, represented in
Books are more than simple stories, they have a message to send, whether it be in a direct or indirect way. Books can also tell us about the author’s life, beliefs, inner ambitions and fears; Moreover, they often project the writer’s vision about their environment, reflecting their society in which they lived. Writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernesto Guevara were capable, not only of portraying the society in which they are immerse, but also to convey them in an exquisite social critique. Such literary pieces of art do not criticize in a direct way, nor to specific people or events. They, however, present the vision of the author’s concern with social issues of injustice, misguided values and loss of direction.
Within the course of two decades these three novels deal with racism, diversity of people and similar economic status. The writers raise awareness of the oppression of the African American communities and the long lasting struggles that these folks had to endure to survive.
This book discusses the viewpoints of many expert critics through extracts of their critical essays on the novel “The Bluest Eye”. Harold Bloom states Michael Woods narrative is the best he has seen of the book, “Each member of the family interprets and acts out of his or her ugliness, but none of them understands that the all-knowing master is not God but only history and habit; the projection of their own numbed collusion w...
Often times, literature reflects the problems within a society. An author finds their character’s struggles and triumphs in the people of each era. Inspirations from real life events fuel not only great literature but also books that become remarkable social pieces. A perfect example is Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. This novel is reflective of the 1930’s era. In the story racism runs rampant through society with only a noble few trying to stop it. The racism that is apparent and a focal point for the novel is, although fiction, closely matched to that of a racist era in America. Racism represents fear of the unknown in many themes in the book as well as in the daily aspect of life.
“The novel addresses the psychological and political implications of black people’s commitment to a standard of beauty (the blonde-haired, blue-eyed ideal)…” (Smith 364). Her desire to have blue eyes was so strong that once she was told her prayers had been granted, she never saw herself the same way again. From that moment on Pecola Breedlove believed that her eyes were blue. The last chapter of The Bluest Eye shows the dialogue between Pecola, and an imaginary figure whom Pecola had created, discussing the blueness of her
Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. Toni Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eye provides social commentary on a lesser known portion of black society in America. The protagonist Pecola is a young black girl who desperately wants to feel beautiful and gain the “bluest eyes” as the title references.
... constant struggle of oppression that human beings have faced throughout history and continue to face. These books are a testimony to the strength of those caught in the struggle and how good change and growth can evolve out of the bad. Struggle is a part of life and through it people can become stronger and learn more about themselves and the world. Power struggles offer opportunity for the oppressors to escape societies hold on them and to become truly aware of the suffering of those who they oppress, it offers the oppressed the opportunity to rise up and it offers society a chance to reform itself and its people. Events of oppression and the inevitable uprising of the underdog offer the perfect opportunity for important change to occur for the greater good of all.
A social issue Toni Morrison emphasizes in the bluest eye that majority of people believe whiteness as the symbol of beauty and disdain those who are different. Sometimes people do discrimination without realizing that and hurt others’ feelings. Morrison shows this by telling how light skin people feel that they are superior to those of darker skins even in the same race. First, Morrison uses the symbol of white doll, white God, and white movie actresses to reveal that whiteness is the symbol of beauty. Second, Morrison shows people’s crucial and unrespectable behavior towards those who have darker skin. Finally, Morrison shows that people feel proud if they have light skin as opposed to others in their race and how much important they feel
"And Pecola. She hid behind hers. (Ugliness) Concealed, veiled, eclipsed--peeping out from behind the shroud very seldom, and then only to yearn for the return of her mask" (Morrison 39). In the novel The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, the main character, Pecola, comes to see herself as ugly. This idea she creates results from her isolation from friends, the community, and ever her family. There are three stages that lead up to Pecola portraying herself as an ugly human being. The three stages that lead to Pecola's realization are her family's outlook toward her, the community members telling her she is ugly, and her actually accepting what the other say or think about her. Each stage progresses into the other to finally reach the last stage and the end of the novel when Pecola eventually has to rely on herself as an imaginary friend so she will have someone to talk to.
A reader might easily conclude that the most prominent social issue presented in The Bluest Eye is that of racism, but more important issues lie beneath the surface. Pecola experiences damage from her abusive and negligent parents. The reader is told that even Pecola's mother thought she was ugly from the time of birth. Pecola's negativity may have initially been caused by her family's failure to provide her with identity, love, security, and socialization, ail which are essential for any child's development (Samuels 13). Pecola's parents are able only to give her a childhood of limited possibilities. She struggles to find herself in infertile soil, leading to the analysis of a life of sterility (13). Like the marigolds planted that year, Pecola never grew.
Throughout The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison includes a number of background stories for minor characters along with the main plotline in order to add dimension to the novel and further convey the intense racial prejudice felt by almost all African Americans. Her main story tells of the outrageous landslide of wounding events that Pecola Breedlove experiences, a young black girl constantly patronized by her peers, and the things that eventually make her go crazy. The struggle for a deep black skinned person can be significantly different from what a lighter skinned black person feels, and Toni Morrison adds secondary story lines to stress that difference, and the extremes that racism can force people into. The back-story of Geraldine expresses the desire to be white supported by social circumstances, the comparison of how much easier whiter life could be on Pecola and her family, but also the poor results that can come from shying away from one’s own nature and history.
Barlaz, Hinda A.. "A Reading Guide to Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye." . The Learning Center. Web. 20 Feb 2014. .
In the novel Pecola questions her perception of beauty and the ideal family. She often compares her life with the life of the primer Dick and Jane. Throughout the novel Pecola tries to counter act the tyranny in her life by praying for blue eyes hoping that with this feature her life would change for the better and she would be beautiful. Within the novel the author uses the theory of Marxism. Created by Karl Marx in the 19th century, Marxism is the central analysis of the complex development of relationships between two social classes (Ollman). In the novel “The Bluest Eye” Toni Morrison questions the essence of true beauty and its influence on societal standards threw the theory of