Beauty Standards In The Bluest Eye

In the book The Bluest Eye the main focus is not only the main character Pecola Breedlove, it’s the effect the white beauty standard has on not only Pecola but the narrator Claudia Macteer. Morrison strongly emphasises the beauty standard often within the book, even with a lack of introduced white characters. This beauty standard has affected the black children in the story, Pecola mainly, extremely negatively. In fact it has negatively affected the black community as a whole negatively. The most noteable way is in the way Pecola is treated by her fellow African Americans within the novel. In The Bluest Eye Pecola’s relationship with her community is toxic. It’s made known right away that Pecola was outcasted by her community. The students at school bully her, her family is often gossiped about and looked down upon, and her home life is very strained. The …show more content…
The gossipers believe that Pecola, a twelve year old girl is somewhat responsible for her own rape, and to a point Pecola believes the same. They are also hoping an unborn baby would die, not because it would possibly be a constant reminder of the rape to Pecola, but because it would be ugly. Prior to this gossip Soaphead Church has also taken advantage of Pecola, using her to kill a dog for blue eyes that she would never have, although by the end of the book pecola believes with all her heart they are there. In the end of the book Pecola has most definitely gone mad due to the abuse her community has given her. She’s still a child, and she has been outcast, raped, beaten, and taken constant advantage of. Even in talking to herself she is still insecure, and her imaginary friend leaves, because most of what Pecola knows is abandonment. “Suppose a long way off...suppose there are two people with bluer eyes?”(Morrison, page