Is it blue eyes or black girl magic?: An analysis of Toni Morrison's response to whiteness in The Bluest Eye

Abstract

AbstractMy primary goal in this thesis is to question poverty and ignorance as symptoms of the disease of racial, systemic injustice through the writing of Toni Morrison in The Bluest Eye. Using the lens of the above novel, I will interrogate the ways that people of color respond to the image and sustainability of whiteness in the United States of America. The methodology I have chosen for my thesis is a close reading. During the literature review, I will include citations to other works by Morrison as well as criticism towards the totality of her work. Additionally, I will investigate standpoint theory as it pertains to criticism of Toni Morrison’s approach to writing The Bluest Eye. By using Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, I question how she sees raced figures, like the black (African American) father in the early 20th century or the overworked black women and mothers of the same era. Morrison depicts some women in The Bluest Eye to be self-taught, but in the lens of whiteness – often internalized – does the product of this experiment benefit or hurt members of the black family? In addition to addressing this question, I will analyze the ways that the black girl characters of The Bluest Eye internalize their parental figures’ notions of good and bad behavior in the pre-Civil Rights era. For most of the characters, maintaining so-called good behavior is an impossible feat as factors such as poverty, mis-education, and interactions with family that are already bad deter their plans. I will also question the conclusions made by the narrator – the adult version of the main character – as well as her expressions of internalized racism. While Morrison is not an historian as an author, she does utilize the paths of racialized structures for the sake of exploring and introducing her characters in the The Bluest Eye.Keywords: black girl, black woman, bluest eye, Breedlove, heterosexism, internalized, Pecola, standpoint theory, Toni Morrison, white privilege