The exploration of the sense of self through both the “The Bluest Eye’ and “The Complete Persepolis’ can be distinguished as similar but severely complex. Bildungsroman formats the journey of love, independence and identity for characters development. ‘The Bluest Eye’ endures reconciliations between the protagonist, Claudia MacTeer and the world as she recalls a childhood memoir of being surrounded by “ruined” (Morrison, p.101) women, a corrupt family and a misfortunate lifestyle. Similarly, ‘The Complete Persepolis’ scrutinizes the irony of a bildungsroman, where Marjane Satrapi the protagonist reflects on the rollercoaster that was her childhood and how it got her to where she is now. The internal battle of Marjane’s identity conflicts her
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The lack of compassion Pauline and Cholly have is adopted by Pecola as she considers physical beauty a crucial element in self-identification as even her parents believe that she is ugly proclaiming when Pauline saw her daughter “I knowed she was ugly. Head full of pretty hair, but Lord she was ugly" (Morrison p. 126) this, in turn, determined Pecola's identity and the course of her life as even her own mother disapproved. However, Pauline promises to "love it no matter what it looked like" (Morrison p. 124). Stereotypes of women during this era were melancholy, how the prostitutes are perceived as “sugar-coated whores” (Morrison p. 56), with no worth or the other end of respect of women being known as “good Christian coloured women” with a “spotless reputation” (Morrison p. 56) however, creating the protagonist as a female reveals “the pessimistic view for women” (Salvatore p. 156). Despite ‘The Bluest Eye’ not including physical images, the novel does capture images of growth, dirt and eyes. As previously mentioned, the marigolds act as an image of development and growth which evolves from the image of dirt representing filth, contamination and “like flies, they hover” (Morrison p. 92). Morrison projects Pecola’s violation in this context “we had …show more content…
The repetition of “outdoors” in ‘The Bluest Eye’ suggests the exclusion that the girls experience can portray feelings of not being loved or accepted. Similarly, Marjane Satrapi escape her roots of her country to understand where she really belongs only to realise that home is where the love is, with her families in Iran. Both novels echo the tension of the protagonists’ past that letting go and understanding will allow both to take control of their lives (Ryan, 2016). Davis illustrates that “the child literally finds herself caught between religious and the secular worlds, between tradition and technology” (Davis, 272) as the constant battle to please others and to please herself, creates a strain on her sense of self. The bildungsroman formats for both novels are slightly different as ‘The Complete Persepolis’ is an autobiography setup and ‘The Bluest Eye’ is an ironic bildungsroman. The re-worked bildungsroman that Morrison produces tells the story of endangered development in a damaged community. The shift from love to authority as the summed central concept created ethical emphasis (Salvatore, p 155) in both circumstances of the novels, where all major life events for Marjane revolved around her country and religious expectations, and for Pecola, her desire for similar attributes as the white aesthetics to eliminate her racial stereotype of being dirty.
The lack of compassion Pauline and Cholly have is adopted by Pecola as she considers physical beauty a crucial element in self-identification as even her parents believe that she is ugly proclaiming when Pauline saw her daughter “I knowed she was ugly. Head full of pretty hair, but Lord she was ugly" (Morrison p. 126) this, in turn, determined Pecola's identity and the course of her life as even her own mother disapproved. However, Pauline promises to "love it no matter what it looked like" (Morrison p. 124). Stereotypes of women during this era were melancholy, how the prostitutes are perceived as “sugar-coated whores” (Morrison p. 56), with no worth or the other end of respect of women being known as “good Christian coloured women” with a “spotless reputation” (Morrison p. 56) however, creating the protagonist as a female reveals “the pessimistic view for women” (Salvatore p. 156). Despite ‘The Bluest Eye’ not including physical images, the novel does capture images of growth, dirt and eyes. As previously mentioned, the marigolds act as an image of development and growth which evolves from the image of dirt representing filth, contamination and “like flies, they hover” (Morrison p. 92). Morrison projects Pecola’s violation in this context “we had …show more content…
The repetition of “outdoors” in ‘The Bluest Eye’ suggests the exclusion that the girls experience can portray feelings of not being loved or accepted. Similarly, Marjane Satrapi escape her roots of her country to understand where she really belongs only to realise that home is where the love is, with her families in Iran. Both novels echo the tension of the protagonists’ past that letting go and understanding will allow both to take control of their lives (Ryan, 2016). Davis illustrates that “the child literally finds herself caught between religious and the secular worlds, between tradition and technology” (Davis, 272) as the constant battle to please others and to please herself, creates a strain on her sense of self. The bildungsroman formats for both novels are slightly different as ‘The Complete Persepolis’ is an autobiography setup and ‘The Bluest Eye’ is an ironic bildungsroman. The re-worked bildungsroman that Morrison produces tells the story of endangered development in a damaged community. The shift from love to authority as the summed central concept created ethical emphasis (Salvatore, p 155) in both circumstances of the novels, where all major life events for Marjane revolved around her country and religious expectations, and for Pecola, her desire for similar attributes as the white aesthetics to eliminate her racial stereotype of being dirty.