Pervasive Eyes
In the Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison the motif of eyes are pervasive in the first section of the book. Cholly has mean eyes, Pecola wants blue eyes, and Mr. Yacobowski’s haughty eyes seem to affect Pecola with just a glance. In the book eyes depict your disposition and they are valued more than any other part of the body. Pecola decides that if she had blue eyes everything in life would be better. She wants blue eyes because she believes they will change how others look at her and change what she sees.
Pecola’s eyes have seen so much pain and struggle; she believes that having blue eyes will bring back her innocence. When her parents are fighting and she tries to make her body disappear but she couldn’t seem to make her eyes disappear. She says, “Everything was in them. All of those pictures, all of those faces. (45)” Pecola’s eyes are mature they have seen it all, and the memories constantly play in her head. These images are what make her believe that she is “ugly”. Pecola feels that if the sights of her eyes were different, “beautiful” then she would be different. When Pecola goes to the candy shop she gets three Mary Janes, she describes them as being “simply pretty”. The candy provides her with an escape from her chaotic and “ugly” life. She explains, “To eat the candy is somehow to eat the eyes, eat Mary Jane. Love Mary Jane. Be Mary Jane. (50)” To Pecola, Mary Jane’s blue eyes allow her to feel pretty for as long as the candy lasts then the feeling passes as quickly as the flavor leaves.
For one moment Pecola realizes that she doesn’t need blue eyes to change her outlook on life. She believes that dandelions which everybody thinks of as weeds might actually be beautiful. Pecola discovers by looking at the dandelions that it’s how you see things yourself rather than how others see things, which determines your beauty. Therefore she can escape her label as “ugly”. She didn’t need the blue eyes to make her beautiful. But she quickly snaps out of it remembering her shameful encounter with the grocer. She believes that the way people observe her is what she is and it doesn’t matter what she thinks about herself.
- Cammie Mann
Pecola’s eyes have seen so much pain and struggle; she believes that having blue eyes will bring back her innocence. When her parents are fighting and she tries to make her body disappear but she couldn’t seem to make her eyes disappear. She says, “Everything was in them. All of those pictures, all of those faces. (45)” Pecola’s eyes are mature they have seen it all, and the memories constantly play in her head. These images are what make her believe that she is “ugly”. Pecola feels that if the sights of her eyes were different, “beautiful” then she would be different. When Pecola goes to the candy shop she gets three Mary Janes, she describes them as being “simply pretty”. The candy provides her with an escape from her chaotic and “ugly” life. She explains, “To eat the candy is somehow to eat the eyes, eat Mary Jane. Love Mary Jane. Be Mary Jane. (50)” To Pecola, Mary Jane’s blue eyes allow her to feel pretty for as long as the candy lasts then the feeling passes as quickly as the flavor leaves.
For one moment Pecola realizes that she doesn’t need blue eyes to change her outlook on life. She believes that dandelions which everybody thinks of as weeds might actually be beautiful. Pecola discovers by looking at the dandelions that it’s how you see things yourself rather than how others see things, which determines your beauty. Therefore she can escape her label as “ugly”. She didn’t need the blue eyes to make her beautiful. But she quickly snaps out of it remembering her shameful encounter with the grocer. She believes that the way people observe her is what she is and it doesn’t matter what she thinks about herself.
- Cammie Mann
posted by Ms. Jefferson at 5:39 AM
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