Bluest Eye
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- Date Submitted: 03/30/2014 11:16 AM
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Critical Inquiry
“The Bluest Eye” Chapters 1 - 5
First Topic
Claudia is concerned about injustice and feels tremendously threatened by the standards of beauty contained by Shirley Temple, which she despises for dancing with one of her favorite performers, Bojangles. She also starts to dismember and destroy the Caucasian dolls given to her because she is frustrated with the fact that society greatly values blue eyes and white skin. Progressively, she grows to hate the blonde-haired beautiful dolls, all the other black girls tend to treasure. She becomes fiercely jealous of little white girls and is concerned that society would never consider her to be truly beautiful due to the fact that she is black.
Claudia’s concern and sensitivity to Pecola’s problem of getting her menstruation for the first time, causes Pecola to be sensitive and awestruck. It also caused Frieda to also envy Pecola’s menstruation. Pecola was told that this bleeding means she is capable of having a baby, and Claudia doesn’t really know how to answer her questioning since she is nine-years old. Although Pecola emotionally and mentally remains a child, her menstruation shows that she is growing up.
Another concern in Claudia’s mind was the fact that her family is struggling through hard times, although they are doing better than a lot of blacks during that time period. She also has sympathy for the Breedloves’ situation, because she learns that it’s a terror to lose ones home during a difficult time, and that is exactly what happened to Pecola.
For Claudia, issues of racism, poverty, and standards of beauty are closely associated with the inevitable signs of her actually growing up.
Second Topic
In my vision of the Breedlove home, the household objects they do possess, such as the ripped couch or the cold stove, don’t hold any memories and symbolize abandonment and suffering. The hideousness of the storefront and its refusal to blend in with any of the other buildings, symbolizes...
“The Bluest Eye” Chapters 1 - 5
First Topic
Claudia is concerned about injustice and feels tremendously threatened by the standards of beauty contained by Shirley Temple, which she despises for dancing with one of her favorite performers, Bojangles. She also starts to dismember and destroy the Caucasian dolls given to her because she is frustrated with the fact that society greatly values blue eyes and white skin. Progressively, she grows to hate the blonde-haired beautiful dolls, all the other black girls tend to treasure. She becomes fiercely jealous of little white girls and is concerned that society would never consider her to be truly beautiful due to the fact that she is black.
Claudia’s concern and sensitivity to Pecola’s problem of getting her menstruation for the first time, causes Pecola to be sensitive and awestruck. It also caused Frieda to also envy Pecola’s menstruation. Pecola was told that this bleeding means she is capable of having a baby, and Claudia doesn’t really know how to answer her questioning since she is nine-years old. Although Pecola emotionally and mentally remains a child, her menstruation shows that she is growing up.
Another concern in Claudia’s mind was the fact that her family is struggling through hard times, although they are doing better than a lot of blacks during that time period. She also has sympathy for the Breedloves’ situation, because she learns that it’s a terror to lose ones home during a difficult time, and that is exactly what happened to Pecola.
For Claudia, issues of racism, poverty, and standards of beauty are closely associated with the inevitable signs of her actually growing up.
Second Topic
In my vision of the Breedlove home, the household objects they do possess, such as the ripped couch or the cold stove, don’t hold any memories and symbolize abandonment and suffering. The hideousness of the storefront and its refusal to blend in with any of the other buildings, symbolizes...