I needed to read this book for an College English Course on 21st Century Writers. Although, I was provided with a hard copy of the book for my course, I elected to purchase it on CD so I could listen to it during my work commute. It was excellent, however it is an abridged version, therefore the narration does skip parts of the novel. Overall, I thought it was great :)

G. Riley
Tennessee

The Bluesy Eye by Mrs. Morrison is written about a girl in the early 1940's. Pecola Breedlove, our protagonist, is distraught at the fact that she's a black skinned girl living in a white girl world. Mrs. Morrison does an outstanding job in her descriptions of everything with beauty in her novels. For example, whenever something that appears attractive in the novel is mentioned, it usually has the word white attached to it. By following the book closely you can tell that with everything beautiful white is the word, with everything distasteful, is described black.

Unfortunately Mrs. Morrison can take awhile before she can convey any points. One reason for this is because she changes narrators often, which makes following her points difficult. Mrs. Morrison also does not separate herself from any other novels that address struggling minorities. The character creates a fantasy world to leave her problems instead of using reasoning and creativity to address her challenges. Mrs. Morrison has created another in a long line of protagonists that point the finger instead of being self reliant. When posing questions about novels, authors should address ways to solve them among the way. Even if the topic happened fifty years before I was born. It's a book that was well written, but wasn't going anywhere from the start.

I decided not to finish this book after reading about two thirds of it, and realizing that every page was filled with filthy descriptions and the story was jumping around way too much. It nauseated me to read and I saw no necessity to go into such graphic detail about many things. I kept wondering when I would start to like it as much as the other people did who raved about it, but never got there and was so relieved when I decided to put it down and give it back to Goodwill and find a better book to spend my time with. I am still amazed that this author won a Nobel or Pulitzer prize for her literature, as I found this book totally disgusting and full of filth.

There is so much better literature to spend your time with. Find something more fulfilling and uplifting. It's fine to read a bood about suffering, but Toni Morrison really should take some writing courses before she attempts to write another. It was extremely hard to follow the story in addition to being overy graphic for no good reason that I could see.

This is my first Toni Morrison novel. At times difficult, at times you have to put the text down and think about what you have just read. A beautifully written story that really hits home and really makes you think. As a white man, reading this book at this time (a time when we are close to electing a black man as president), it made me realize how far we have come as a country; and yet it made me think about how far we have yet to go. This is an important "don't miss" novel. If at all possible try to read it in one or two sittings. Ms. Morrison has done a masterful job!

I still remember the quote I heard that first fueled my desire to start reading The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison. "If my mother was in a singing mood, it wasn't so bad. She would sing about hard times, bad times, and somebody-done-gone-and-left-me-times. But her voice was so sweet and her singing-eyes so melty I found myself longing for those hard times, yearning to be grown without `a thin di-I-ime to my name.' I looked forward to the delicious time when `my man' would leave me, when I would `hate to see that evening sun go down...' `cause then I would know `my man has left this town' Misery colored by the greens and blues in my mother
s voice took all the grief out of the words and left me with a conviction that pain was not only endurable, it was sweet." Immediately, I was struck by the poetry of her writing. The way she personified misery with greens and blues and the set up of her oxymoron "sweet pain" was amazing to me. Toni Morrison's unique style and evocative imagery appeals to readers of all kinds.
Every sentence of the book portrays a new image. The first sentence of chapter one, "Autumn" and already readers are intrigued. Morrison writes, "Nuns go by as quiet as lust, and drunken men and sober eyes sing in the lobby of the Greek hotel." The reader finds themselves pondering the unusual simile of nuns and lust, and the ironic juxtaposition of nuns and drunken men. The tone of the sentence helps to set up the over all mood of the passage.
Throughout her novel, Morrison utilizes similar stupefying creative language that allow her readers not only to imagine and create pictures, but allow them to feel, and evokes emotion. She uses several metaphors, for instance, the longing for blue eyes, by Pecola, an African American girl who is looked down upon because she is ugly. Pecola believes that blue eyes are the representation of the beauty associated with the white middle to upper class. Morrison also uses the growth marigolds to represent the health and growth of Pecola's baby. When the marigolds don't bloom, Pecola's baby does not live.
With her use of figurative language, Morrison appeals to her readers pathos. She describes Pecola's want for blue eyes, "It had occured to Pecola some time ago that if her eyes, those eyes that held the pictures, and knew the sights-if those eyes of hers were different, that is to say, beautiful, she herself would be different...Each night, without fail, she prayed for blue eyes. Fervently for a year she had prayed. Although somewhat discouraged, she was not without hope. To have something as wonderful as that happen would take a long, long time." The visual imagery of a young girl hoping, longing for a certain color of eyes makes the readers sympathize, and feel pity for her Pecola. They long with her, that someday, she may indeed get her blue with beauty eyes.
Readers are sure to fall in love with the writing of the novel, and have their hearts broken by the plot itself. Continuously interesting, and beautiful, The Bluest Eye draws readers in, consumes their emotions and is sure to evoke all kinds of emotions.

Toni Morrison is a tremendous writer who really makes me think, and this book was no exception. The details of the story are absolutely tragic- a young girl is raped by her father and bears his baby, who dies. Meanwhile, she's so full of socially-created self-hatred that she wishes for blue eyes, which she comes to believe she's been given. The writing in this book is astonishing. Morrison has managed to produce something more than unmitigated sadness, even though so many details of the story are tremendously sad. This is a powerful book.

The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison's first novel, is filled with so much emotion. Before reading this novel for my honors literature class, I had never really connected to the literature. While reading The Bluest Eye, I thoroughly bonded with the literature and went on the emotional roller coaster Morrison displays in her poetic style of writing. Often I would find myself questioning how and why could such terrible things happen to a little girl so misfortunate like Pecola Breedlove.

This novel really broadens my view of literature and the messages the author try to get across. After this enjoyable read I feel like I no longer have to struggle to find symbolic meanings, but instead feel the mood the author is trying to put in their audience's mind. This novel really touches every emotion there is and it was an enjoyable read for me. It gives you the feeling that you are really connecting with the characters and their feelings in novels. I would definitely recommend Toni Morrison's first novel, The Bluest Eye.

I have read many excellent books in my time, including modern novels and disturbing novels. But never have I read such a disturbing piece of splendidly crafted modern literature. William Faulkner is splendidly crafted, but not particularly disturbing. Charles Dickens is disturbing, but he is not modern. Toni Morrison, though, is the only novelist I have ever had the pleasure to read who has managed to combine both characteristics to create something fresh, if not pleasantly so.
One of the aspects of the story I enjoyed most was the way in which the perspective jumps from person to person, and the narrative from first to third person and back again. The story begins with first person narratives from Claudia, who does not really have a part in the story, but it creates a feel for the atmosphere surrounding the story. It then goes on to describe in third person the adult Breedloves and their lives, past and present. I won't spoil the end; you have to read it yourself to feel the intense emotions that can only be experienced by reading it. But the jumps in perspective, and the slight confusion they create help to encourage the confusion that should rightly surround this novel: does this really exist? How can we have allowed it to continue?
A word of caution: this book is not for the faint of heart, or stomach. Many people do not realize that books should be screened and rated the same way movies are, if one's scruples demand one not read/view certain scenes. There are reviewers who were shocked and sickened by this book, and thought it repulsive. I found the details only added to the emotion overdrive I was obliged to suffer in order to finish this book. But I will never forget it, and that is truly the mark of an excellent novel. I highly recommend it.

The description said at the time, and it still says, this is an "unabridged" audio version of the novel. It is not. It is abridged.

At eleven, Pecola Breedlove is convinced of her ugliness. Her parents Cholly and Pauline, and older brother Sammy, all believe the family is cursed with it. Pecola's parents viciously fight and Sammy runs away from home on a regular basis, while Pecola tries to make her body disappear.

All of the ugliness in Pecola's life would vanish, she believes, if only she had blue eyes. Such pretty eyes - belonging in the faces of priviledged white girls, smiled upon and coddled by all the world - would no doubt see and bring more beauty than anything belonging to a dark-skinned child.

Pecola's simultaneous obsession with and hatred of blonde-haired, blue-eyed girls is shared by the story's narrator, her friend Claudia. Despite living in a decent-enough home with her parents and sister Frieda, Claudia still notices the white girls in her world and fixates upon them, even hating blonde baby dolls for what they represent.

Then along comes Maureen Peal, a new classmate whom everyone instantly adores. Yet Maureen, half black and half white, further complicates Claudia's musings. She both hates Maureen and longs for the friendship and acceptance of such a perfect, beloved being.

One scarcely has to be black or a little girl to appreciate Morrison's message in this unforgettable novel. Most of us have, in some shape or form, longed to change our physical selves, truly believing that our lives would be more beautiful if only we could alter our appearances.

This classic is certainly worth the acclaim it has had over the years, and will remain in readers' memories.

In Toni Morrison's "Beloved", a sage black woman summarizes the troubles of her race: "There ain't no sin but whitepeople." But there are no white people, of much consequence, in "The Bluest Eyes". The blacks envy and hate and destroy each other.
This is tough, sad, moving reading (as long as you avoid Morrison's afterword which edges from wisdom and poetry towards self-praise and academic arrogance).

This novel impressed me as being a rich, poetically transcending, yet highly personal portraiture, of "small town" life, from across the tracks, in early forties America. Told from a childs perspective, the language varies from being on the cusp of lucidity, to biting, to playful, to raw. It was an exciting and soulful stew of a story, dark and esoterical enough to keep the reader involved along it's journey. The phrasing and poetic flourishes were delicious and mouth watering like a seven-up candy bar and worth the time and six-pence.

While Toni Morrison is more than worthy of her status as a Nobel Prize Laureate for Literature, her first novel here is somewhat of a disappointment to me. The story is about an eleven year old girl, Pecola, growing up in 1941 with World War II and the end of the great depression in Morrison's hometown of Lorain, Ohio. While I applaud MOrrison's attempt to create the atmosphere by using realistic devices such as a dialogue, slang, and cruel truths of life. Pecola leads a very bleak life with a father, Cholly. The book first states that she is carrying her own father's baby. I got confused while reading this book about Cholly's role as father. I'm not quite sure what happens to Pecola. The book is disjointed at times with different narrators and not a single voice. I felt lost at times and confused by the situation around Pecola's life. While I applaud anybody who writes a novel, this book was somewhat disappointing because I still felt that MOrrison was trying to find the right voice. Regardless, Morrison does write a powerful, grim, bleak novel but I still hold hope for Pecola's life.

This is the first Toni Morrison experience for me and I was floored by this book. It tells the story of Pecola Breedlove, her tumultuous family-life and her dreams of being blue-eyed and blond-haired so that she would be loved. Her story is one that is at times difficult to get through (I had to put the book down a few times to catch my breath). Her thinking that blond hair and blue eyes will make her loveable is just heartbreaking at times, but it shows just how unjust life was during this time.

Written in the 1960's, and published in 1970, this book delivers a perspective of the victim to a horrible rape. Way ahead of its time. If the topic, even 37 years later, is too chillingly graphic a topic, stay away.

As Morrison's first novel, it features some stylistic edges which are not as evident in her later works. First, the prose seems more majestic and incredibly tight. She reminds me more of Zora Neale Hurston in this book than in any other - but in each there is a Hurston-like style to her prose. Secondly, the story line is not as harsh about the white man - there is a rape of a man by white men and some bitter words - but the depths of the white man's evil upon the black man is not as resoundingly elicited here. Lastly, she delivers the narrative through the eyes of children - none even teenagers - which she never does in subsequent novels.

The eye color is merely symbolic of racial self-loathing. The sexually molested protagonist, Pecola, is the party asking for eye colors not established by others of her race. She amazingly sees her request for the eye color to come true, a sign of her mind's betrayal to her psyche while living through the impregnation of her young body - a product of a rape committed by her now incarcerated father. Her happiness resounds when delivered the new eye color, a symbol or signal of her mental break down.

Sexual deviation rings as a common thread. A self-proclaimed minister, Soaphead Church, enters the book in the last quarter to describe his thoughts to us in diary form. He is a sick person whose thoughts reflect what we see too often in our morning papers in regard to the Catholic Church's agents - but at least Soaphead loves little girls and does not touch them.

Twisting us through the town of Lorain, Ohio, Morrison reveals the skeletons of many closets. Most are apparently good people. All are full of love. We concentrate mostly on poor Pecola and her demon father Cholly - each who are loving, but not necessarily receiving or giving in a good manner. As Morrison states, "Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe." This sentence could be included in all of Morrison's other novels.

No comedy in these pages, just great prose and tremendous story telling. Among all of the American novelists of the last 50 years, I believe none can tell a story more articulately, nor more prophetically. As bitter as this tale may be, it was a delight to read.

Toni Morrison's jaw-dropping first novel, The
Bluest Eye is about Pecola, a little black girl
that loves little white dolls with blue eyes.

The book is a character study of the effect of
Eurocentric standards of beauty on black children,
especially little girls, which is still prevalent
in modern American today. It is NOT an easy read
and as with all of Toni Morrison's books, it is
not going to make the reader feel comfortable,
whomever you are.

Instead, the book is going to teach and not preach.
It doesn't preach because Toni Morrison never points
fingers, she creates characters instead. This book
helped to put the author on the map and deservedly
so. It is a rich story full of compelling details,
descriptive language and complex storylines that
appear to be a juxtaposition of human psyche and
animal instincts. This book will surprise you and
think about why all of this could really happen.

What would it be like to be a black eleven-year-old girl in Ohio in the `20's? The Bluest Eye tells such a tale with jealousy, hatred, and prejudice to give insight into a life unlived by most. It is an engaging, interesting story involving a girl who desperately desires blue eyes in order to make herself acceptable to the white population of Lorain, Ohio. The novel is beneficial to read, as it creates a world that they could most likely never know, but can later recognize, after reading, when another person is subjected to similar prejudice, and thus allow the reader to be compassionate towards all others. Though at times, the focus and perspective changes, the purpose and message of the book remains clear: prejudice is as widespread as humanity, and all people should be given the opportunity to show who they truly are and be accepted, otherwise, intolerance and discrimination spread like a disease. To read The Bluest Eye is to better one's character and make them a better person. Intricately woven and subtle, The Bluest Eye is an entertaining yet deep and influential read that will leave you pondering the world and its ways. It provides an afternoon of enjoyable relaxation, while also providing an afternoon of insight and perspective.

I found this novel very difficult to comprehend at first. What helped me was to read the author's "Afterword," and then go back and read the novel again. Parts of the book were so dead-on that it was frightening, but other parts I could not connect with. After Morrison revealed in her "Afterword" why she wrote as she did, the story became clearer and more compelling.
It is a little bit like a puzzle; Mama's ranting on about the three quarts of milk, the description of Geraldine, the affection Mrs. Breedlove sheds on the pink and yellow girl, and her soliloquy of how she and Cholly got together and why they stayed together. You sometimes forget that book is about Pecola, but then, when all the little pieces fit together, you are left with a complete picture. Or maybe it is like Cholly's life, "coherent only in the head of a musician." (p. 159) The Bluest Eye is like a musical composition; each instrument playing their own unique part, but combined, they create a symphony. Definitely worth a repeat read. Recommended for a mature audience.

I read this book in honor of September's Banned Books discussion that my book club is having. This book has been banned in several places because of its contents, for various reasons. I had thought I read this book way back when in high school ~~ but whatever I read then didn't compare to this book. This book is totally unforgettable and tragic.

This is not just one story. This is a collection of stories of different people in different times of their lives and their stories lead up to the tragedy of poor little Pecola Breedlove, an ugly girl (I suspect that is a metaphor that Morrison is trying to say about the ugliness of poverty and racial tensions) who is not loved. The stories are of her father as a youngster; of her mother who was a totally different person who married for love only to be brow-beaten by poverty; of people around Pecola, and about two sisters who tried to befriend her but got swept away by circumstances created by the adults in their lives. This is a novel that depicts humanity at its worst. This is of a time before civil rights were fought for ~~ perhaps dreamed of but it hasn't been swept to the point where people are actually standing up and taking note of it. This is a story about poverty and how it dehumanizes the characters. This is a story about neglect. Pecola is set in the center of the storm that she has not created herself but is too young to resist and too ignorant to ignore.

This is an eye-opener of a novel because even during my "poorest" days as a student, I never had to worry about finding enough to eat. Pecola is not a sheltered nor were any of the characters coddled (except for Mrs. Breedlove's charge in that fancy house that she's the cook at). Yes, there are crude moments in the book but for some reason, it just emphasized the poverty of the people's lives. Yes, there is rape. That is the tragedy. But it was not explicit like a lot of the soft-porn novels floating around out there. It is a very sad and tragic book ~~ a disturbing look into reality portrayed in a time that I don't know of.

Would I recommend this book to anyone? Yes. Would I "love" this book? No. There is nothing lovable about this book ~~ there's no happy endings. It really should not be portrayed as a novel because most fiction ends with a happy ending ~~ not this one. And this book would definitely provoke thoughtful conversations among friends.

9-11-07

I read this book for an English class (back in '95) called, "Class & Money in American Literature." Few books have stuck with me like this book has. Caution: if you are depressed, don't read this book. This book shows how people take things out on each other and how destructive this dumping on each other is. I just wanted to comfort Pecola the whole time I was reading the book and reassure her that she was fine the way she was. Her false conclusion that she wasn't worth much broke my heart. Pecola is scapegoated and victimized by every significant person in her life. In fact, this book reads as a case study of scapegoating/victimization taken to the limit.

This book also reminds us that the media's tendency to push images of idealized (and unattainable) beauty on the public can negatively affect people's self-image, particularly if the way many people look isn't represented positively, if at all. The Bluest Eye is an eye opener about how children internalize messages from the prevailing culture, a phenomenon painfully illustrated by Pecola's desire for blue eyes and how she thinks that eye color will make her happy.

Forgive me for self-indulging in TMI...I gave this book to my brother for Xmas about three years ago. It was a rather pointed gift as the themes of dumping and projection are rampant in the book. Though we're thankfully on better terms (his new wife has managed to "stepfordize" him in a most benefitial way), I continue to send him books (in the guise of birthday and Christmas presents) and email articles about inter-sibling conflict, personal growth, bullying, and gingerism. I guess this superimposed "bibliotherapy" is working because he's treating me better, and we even on very rare occasion tell each other that we love each other.

I read this book for an English class (back in '95) called, "Class & Money in American Literature." Few books have stuck with me like this book has. Caution: if you are depressed, don't read this book. This book shows how people take things out on each other and how destructive this dumping on each other is. I just wanted to comfort Pecola the whole time I was reading the book and reassure her that she was fine the way she was. Her false conclusion that she wasn't worth much broke my heart. Pecola is scapegoated and victimized by every significant person in her life. In fact, this book reads as a case study of scapegoating/victimization taken to the limit. This book also reminds us that the media's tendency to push images of idealized (and unattainable) beauty on the public can negatively affect people's self-image, particularly if the way many people look isn't represented positively, if at all. I tried my best to not be overwhelmed with feelings of white guilt while reading this book, and believe me, that was a struggle. The Bluest Eye is an eye opener about how children internalize messages from the prevailing culture, a phenomenon painfully illustrated by Pecola's desire for blue eyes and how she thinks that eye color will make her happy.

The Bluest Eye is truly an inspiring and a moving story. Through a child eyes, Ms. Morrison takes us on a journey to the most innocent and perverse thoughts every human being has, including violence and despair. This book will make you think and feel. I applaud the author for writing about our misinformed society. This book is a must read for every person that has an interest in our social conditions.

Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, I can safely say, is my favorite novel of all time. It's depressing, complex, and downright tragic as an innocent little girl is destroyed by a vicious society set on convincing her that she is both ugly and worthless. Through a brutal rape by her own father, Pecola's life is ruined as her childhood is permanently destroyed and the one pathetic hope that keeps her alive is her strong desire for blue eyes.

Morrison refuses to depict this story in chronological order, as the narrator explains that it is not the "why" that we are able to answer but rather the "how." With that in mind, Morrison quickly summarizes the story and then dives in to the analysis of how this little girl's tragedy was made possible. We, as readers, are then opened up to a broader explanation of not merely this girl's tragedy on an isolated, individual level. Rather, she is the physical manifestation of the psychological problems faced by African-Americans living in a hostile society that told them they were inferior. Pecola's problems are slightly mirrored from those considered at the high ranks of black society (Geraldine), all the way to black society's most tragic victims (the Breedloves). Morrison refuses to allow the reader to simply pity Pecola's mindset. Instead, she forces us, no matter the background or race, to feel guilty. We, a society that has not yet completely embraced people from all portions of our community, are completely responsible for her downfall. Because, Morrison argues, in a world that continually controls us into believing that all minorities are inferior, we have left her to suffer.

But Toni Morrison doesn't stop there, a point that would already label The Bluest Eye as an amazing novel. Morrison expands the picture from psychological racism into a rarely considered topic of psychological sexism. All of the main female characters in this story are in some shape or form sexually assaulted by the dominant male figures. Morrison brilliantly expands the picture to fearlessly explore sexism and how it has damaged the psyche of our nation's society.

I won't lie, I was initially disgusted by several of the scenes in this novel, the main one being a brutal rape described in great detail. But I realized that this book was meant to horrify me and open my eyes to what Morrison was exposing. The book is incredibly complex, so it deserves your utmost attention. I can not overrate this book; you must read it.

The Bluest Eye touches a nerve deep inside the reader. The young heroine is one of several strong, compelling characters-but she is the person to whom my heart reached out the most. Focusing the chapters on the different members of the Breedlove family really helps us see all of them are growing as products of their own experiences and dreams. This is an important, and very intense, book.

I was interested in reading The Bluest Eye because in English class we had read Beloved, another book by Toni Morrison. Overall I really enjoyed it and I was interested in reading another book by her. The Bluest Eye was her first book published and received much critical acclaim. I really enjoyed reading this novel. It was very graphic and very intense which added to the greatness of it. Ms. Morrison is a wonderful writer and the imagery and the symbolism that she uses is amazing. The Bluest Eye was an emotional rollercoaster ride. At points I was laughing and amused and at other points I was depressed. The most overwhelming emotion that I felt was sympathy for Pecola. I felt for her and it was very sad to hear about how she was treated and how she was raped by her father, Cholly. I thought that Claudia was a great narrator, and that she was very reliable. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in a great read, despite it not being an overly happy read. I am now a fan of Ms. Morrison's and I look forward to reading more of her work.

This story takes place before the civil rights movement, and although it's centered around an African American girl, the story is more about her battle with her self-image.

This was the first book I've read by Toni Morrison, and it did not disappoint. The story takes place in Ohio in the early 1940s - before the Civil Rights era, before Martin Luther King, Jr., and before Rosa Parks ever stayed seated on the bus. The story is told mainly from the focus from a young black girl about another young black in the neighborhood. The other black girl, Pecola Breedlove, comes from a family that is poor with a father who is an alcoholic. Pecola is considered ugly and her greatest wish is to have blue eyes, as she firmly believes this will make her beautiful.

Naturally, the story involves much more than this, and Toni Morrison weaves a story that catches the reader up from the very first words and doesn't release them until the final page is turned. Ultimately, the idea of self-loathing is plainly seen - not just within Pecola, but within an entire community, an entire race. Pecola's story is not a pleasant read, yet it is difficult not feel a tenderness for this child. She begs to be nurtured.

Many people who saw me reading this book told me it was a "black" book, but I disagree. The idea of self-loathing - either within oneself or within a community - is not specific to any one group of people, to my way of thinking. However, Toni Morrison has so captured the feelings and forced the reader to face them, that this book speaks to any and all who opens the pages. No child should be made to feel they are less simply because of who they are.

A very moving book, highly recommended.

I read this book when I was in seventh or eighth grade, and I read it again as a senior in high school. I will never forget those feelings of wanting to be white with blonde hair and blue eyes so my teacher would not be afraid to touch my hair, or at least tell me I was pretty. The first high end black doll I had was a PJ sparkle (that's way back in 1989). I am sure others existed before that, like the cabbage patch but I can't remember what mine looked like, and besides when those hit the market, my family could not afford one. Every character in the book, I have known in my own family. I am in this book. The message is so powerful. Every African-American girl should read this book. Men should too, but particularly the women.

If the past is the birthplace of the future, then this book is the embodiment of what good story telling should emulate for all aspiring authors. One word of caution: once you start to read it, you will not be able to put it down!


Reginald V. Johnson, Author, "How To Be Happy, Successful And Rich"

Indeed, Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye is a novel that forces the imagination to reach into the conscious to find Jesus the giver of imperfect humanity as Pecola Breedlove is that symbol. She is not the tragic character many believe her to be; she is, I am convinced, a symbol of the divine. She yearns for blues eyes as those eyes are a representation of what is best in the world. If that is not a fact, that is because of the imperfectness of those who created the "ugly" in blue. Pecola did not do that; therefore, she is not tragic. Her gift is that she let the human beings around her dump their "garbage onto her." Jesus did the same thing. The Bluest Eye is a superb work. It forces one to travel deep, into and underneath the human spirt into the divine. That I see in the little girl who yearns for blue eyes.

"There is really nothing more to say- except why. But since why is difficult to handle one must take refuge in how."

The Bluest Eye is a story rooted in tragedy. Like many tragic stories, there is a great value one can learn from the painful out come. The highlight of the story is focused on a girl named Pecola Breedlove. This novel attempts to ask "how" instead of "why" to observe Pecola's life and the effect of her background on her life, and the part it played in causing her tragedy.

Pecola yearns for blue eyes. She prays every night for a year to get blue eyes. She believed that if her eyes were blue, she will look beautiful. As a result, she will have friends who won't hurt her, and her own family will live in peace. Her wish for blue eyes is a reflection of the nature of the society she was living in. She lives in Lorrain, Ohio, in which beauty is measured by skin color. Most people thought that white is beautiful and black is ugly. Since they considered blackness ugly, Pecola thought that she was ugly, and ugly people do not get respected by others.

Morrison delivers a message to the readers that the beauty is misunderstood by many communities. Beauty is being damaged. She states that "Beauty was not simply something to behold; it was something one could do."

Pecola gets raped by her alcoholic father, becomes a victim of his violent behavior and gets pregnant. Pecola delivers a dead baby, and decides to go to Soaphead Church, a pedophilic fortune-teller, to ask him for blue eyes. Soaphead Church sends Pecola in a little mission to kill a dog that he abhors. She thinks that this task will transforms her eyes color into blue eyes. When Pecola completes the task, the dog dies in a frightening way. Pecola loses her mind as a result of the horrifying incident of the dog, and believes that she had obtained "the bluest eye".

Pecola creates an imaginary friend, and spend her time talking to him. She becomes obsessed and repeatedly asks him if her eyes where the bluest of any one living. Pecola endures the rest of her life as a madwoman. Morrison connects this part of the story with the false social construction of beauty, which is created by the imaginary world of media and supermodels.

Toni Morrison is truly one of the best authors, whom I learned about her work through Oprah's book club online. Her writing style does not only follow an extraordinary technique, but it is also a very inspiring and touching method. Morrison is a winner of the 1993 Noble Prize Award for Literature.

Take a Trip...When Fantasy Intermingles with Reality...When Fallacy Intermingles with Past Pains...

This is a really moving book. It's hard to put down, well at least for me it was. If you like happy endings then sorry but this book doesn't have one. because there is no happy ending to this story. there is no happy ending to a child not only being rejected by society but rejected by her family and her community, the people who should love and protect her from society and the cruel world and realistics of racism and hate. instead she doesn't have any escape from this world and there is no escape from it in this book, no moment where she can take a piece of love from someone and dwell in it, this book shows her rejection and sadness and how it came into exsistance. it's beautifully written with a little humor here and there. i highly recommend this book.

Toni Morrison says in her Afterword that the Breedloves are not supposed to represent the typical black family of the 1930's and 40's. What the Breedloves do represent is the effects of racial self-loathing on each member of the family with the final destruction of its youngest member, Pecola Breedlove--age 11.

Pecola is the little girl who longs for blue eyes--blue eyes like Shirley Temple, blue eyes like the blond haired child in the house where Pecola's mother Pauline is a servant. Maybe if she has blue eyes, her mother will love her, other children will like her. Blue eyes represent to Pecola the idea of being. She feels worthless. She feels invisible.

This book is absolutely gripping in its portrayal of black life. There is no sentimentality here. But there is also a rough realism and gritty humor in the dialogue.

The author understands her characters with a completeness that is astounding.

I don't know if Toni Morrison was a mother when she wrote this book, but I found that Pauline Breedlove's rejection of her daughter very harsh.

Still, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand that the most vulnerable in our society deserve our compassion and our respect.

I read this book and was so upset. It had a very hard and painful theme and should not have been touted so highly. I really was sad and depressed after reading this so called novel. Why so unhappy and painful?

morrison was on to something but this book fell short. it seems incomplete. parts were thought and emotion provoking, while others left me yawning.

My favorite writer is Kola Boof. She always mentions that this book by Toni Morrison called "BLUEST EYE" changed her life, so I decided to pick up a copy. It's just too good and too sad. I cried all the way through Pecola's tragic life, not just for her, but for ALL BLACK PEOPLE. This story is really about skin color prejudice and how black people don't value black children, so it is very painful, but after reading in depth about colorism in Kola Boof's love story "Flesh and the Devil" (a must read for every black man and woman who WANTS to be black), I am finally beginning to see that our worst enemy as blacks is ourselves. I beg anyone who reads this review to stop what you're doing and read "BLUEST EYE" by Toni Morrison and "FLESH AND THE DEVIL" by Kola Boof. They will change your life forever.

The Bluest Eye is an artistic portrayal of the harsh realities facing three young black girls struggling to make their way through an unforgiving white world. Toni Morrison's prose is as achingly beautiful as it is devastatingly sad. She weaves powerful imagery and symbolism throughout her exploration of the complex layers of experience that shape her characters' sense of self-worth, dignity, and pride. This novel encourages a tremendous amount of introspection, which was actually Morrison's intention (according to her afterword). Such introspection is crucial in order to come to terms with such disturbing themes as rape, domestic violence, and abject poverty.

Readers are also presented with a dramatic look at the profound impact that parental love and support (or lack thereof) can have on the growth, potential, and ultimate success of a child. Feelings of frustration and contempt for many of the adults in the novel are somewhat transformed into sympathy upon understanding Morrison's message regarding the parent-child dynamic. I think this particular message regarding the victimization of innocent youngsters also translates well into everyday life. The heartless, soul-less, deceitful, womanizing, hedonistic alcoholic or drug addict evokes great pity when understood in the context of an equally selfish, philandering, criminal, mentally ill father or ignorant, neglectful, oblivious drug-dealing mother.

Overall, although the book is extremely heart wrenching, I believe the most tragic element of The Bluest Eye lies not within the novel itself. The true tragedy lies in the fact that the underlying injustice, cruelty, and sheer hatred presented in a decades old book still rings loud and clear today....The isolated events that unfold in Morrison's small town in Ohio have far broader and deeper implications. Such inherent abuse, mistreatment, discrimination, and symbolic "rape" of the most vulnerable members of society persists unchecked-almost sanctioned- well into the 21st century.

Morrison's depiction of the hardships of a young minority girl life is deeply influential. Morrison repeatedly pounds the reader with trials the young Pecola Breedlove must face. Toni Morrison shows that she is insightful and carefully chooses every situation to compound a higher meaning. This is an extremely thought provoking well-written piece of art that allows us to, no forces us to do a self-evaluation and comparative analysis to what society, media, outdated ideas mean to us on a deep personal level.

It is these harshly real facts of life that make the book so difficult to read. While reading, I had to consciously tell myself to continue. I would have put the book down because of the cruel situations, but I knew that the situations the young one endured were the reality of childhood for many children despite their innocence.

I was especially struck by the actions of Claudia as she received her white baby doll. I felt proud of her; I could feel along with her. The fact that Morrison so eloquently and convincingly paints the portraits of Claudia and Pecola that _anyone_ can feel along with her proves that Morrison is an author not soon to be forgotten.

This is for the reader that wants to be challenged and is capable of constant mental action: not just a passive activity. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to better understand the mentality of child abuse and realize that children are resilient to a great degree, but there are limits.

This is a wonderful novel to read and understand. The characters are outstanding. It was used for a class taken by me in African-American Literature. The storyline is easy to follow. The symbols used in the book are striking. I have read the book several times and still find it an excellent novel to read.

The Bluest Eye by T. Morrison deals with a lot of themes: Racism, the idea of beauty, sexual desire, and self-hatred. One clear thing is that all of the latter themes are indirectly caused by the first one.

Many of the people in this book hate themselves because they are black and dark-skinned, which they deem as ugly. The ugliness they perceive in themselves influences the ugliness they show towards others, especially the protagonist, Pecola.

Pecola wishes for blue eyes because she sees a direct connection between acceptance and the "blue-eyed, blonde hair" image. A connection reinforced by her own mother who basically abandons her own family for the neatness, cleanliness, and simplicity of the white family she works for.

One thing Morrison seems to want to convince the reader of is the idea that the destructiveness of blacks by other blacks should be blamed mostly on whites. While racism and white oppression are certainly a reason for certain behavior from minorities, it can't be used as an excuse. In the end, we all have choices. We all still have a will. If there were no free will, punishment would be worthless and useless. You face adversity, and you choose to go left or right. Responsibility has to come down to the individual. Nothing Cholly experienced, whether it be his sexual humiliation by two white men or his parental abandonment, can justify the rape and inpregnation of his own daughter. Toni Morrison tries to FORCE our sympathy on Cholly and Pauline, but I have none for them whatsoever. Their behavior destroyed their daughter, who was one of the only TRUE innocents in the novel. It's possible to UNDERSTAND people's reasons for things, but we still can't EXCUSE them for those reasons.

One thing I can look at in The Bluest Eye to justify my claim that being a victim of racism is not an excuse for self-destruction is the way Claudia rejects the idea of the "white equals beauty" message. She hates the white baby dolls, and she is confident in her own self-worth. Anyone with a brain can decide to reject destructiveness rather than embrace it, if they want to. It just amazes me a 9-year old could, but not grown people.

The idea of blackness and dark-skinnedness as less attractive is still prevalent today. Who are the black women who are exalted as representing the ideal? Halle Berry, a mulatto woman, and Beyonce, a woman who seems to not only be getting lighter and lighter, but her hair seems to mysteriously be getting blonder and blonder. No black woman seems to be acceptable unless she has straight, long hair even though none of our ancestors in Africa had a perm. Even B.E.T., a station created to celebrate blackness perpetrates this "ideal" image of what shade, figure or design a black woman should be.

This is a bleak book not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of depth here. I could talk about it for days.

This book had kept me wondering what the next chapter would be.
At the end of a Chapter I had gathered all my Information on that one chapter in a part of my head to get ready to read the next amazing chapter!This Book should go to a mature teenager and is a Good book for older teens.And Yes i do like to randomly capitalize Words =)

The Bluest Eye by T. Morrison deals with a lot of themes: Racism, the idea of beauty, sexual desire, and self-hatred. One clear thing is that all of the latter themes are indirectly caused by the first one.

Many of the people in this book hate themselves because they are black and dark-skinned, which they deem as ugly. The ugliness they perceive in themselves influences the ugliness they show towards others, especially the protagonist, Pecola.

Pecola wishes for blue eyes because she sees a direct connection between acceptance and the "blue-eyed, blonde hair" image. A connection reinforced by her own mother who basically abandons her own family for the neatness, cleanliness, and simplicity of the white family she works for.

One thing Morrison seems to want to convince the reader of is the idea that the destructiveness of blacks by other blacks should be blamed mostly on whites. While racism and white oppression are certainly a reason for certain behavior from minorities, it can't be used as an excuse. In the end, we all have choices. We all still have a will. If there were no free will, punishment would be worthless and useless. You face adversity, and you choose to go left or right. Responsibility has to come down to the individual. Nothing Cholly experienced, whether it be his sexual humiliation by two white men or his parental abandonment, can justify the rape and inpregnation of his own daughter. Toni Morrison tries to FORCE our sympathy on Cholly and Pauline, but I have none for them whatsoever. Their behavior destroyed their daughter, who was one of the only TRUE innocents in the novel. It's possible to UNDERSTAND people's reasons for things, but we still can't EXCUSE them for those reasons.

One thing I can look at in The Bluest Eye to justify my claim that being a victim of racism is not an excuse for self-destruction is the way Claudia rejects the idea of the "white equals beauty" message. She hates the white baby dolls, and she is confident in her own self-worth. Anyone with a brain can decide to reject destructiveness rather than embrace it if they want to. It just amazes me a 9-year old could, but not grown people.

The idea of blackness and dark-skinnedness as less attractive is still prevalent today. Who are the black women who are exalted as representing the ideal? Halle Berry, a mulatto woman, and Beyonce, a woman who seems to not only be getting lighter and lighter, but her hair seems to mysteriously be getting blonder and blonder. No black woman seems to be acceptable unless she has straight, long hair even though none of our ancestors in Africa had a perm. Even B.E.T., a station created to celebrate blackness perpetrates this "ideal" image of what shade, figure or design a black woman should be.

This is a bleak book not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of depth in this short book. I could talk about it for days.

This is my all time favourite. It brings to mind that even though many unpleasant things happened to this child it speaks a truth. A truth that still goes on. The ending completely shocked me. I had hoped for the best but what else really could have happened? She went to a "safe place". In some ways, readers will relate to this little girl. Yes, I recommend it, for better or worse. It's a must read.

In this tale, Morrison recounts the destruction of Pecola Breedlove, an African-American schoolgirl in 1940s Ohio. (Morrison reveals the ending - in brief - at the beginning, so I haven't given anything away here.) The author uses narrative from various points of view (Pecola herself, one of her classmates, her mother, and her father) and spans several decades to tell the story.

Ultimately, the story is a powerful illustration of how experiences and viewpoints (in this case, mostly negative) get passed on from parent to child. Morrison further reveals in her afterword that this novel (her first) was an exploration of "the damaging internalization of assumptions of immutable inferiority," and "something as grotesque as the demonization of an entire race could take root inside the most delicate member of society: a child." These lessons are well taught through Morrison's adept storytelling.

The prose is gorgeous. I regularly relished Morrison's beautiful diction, phrasing, and narrative technique. In that regard, the book is a fine piece of art.

Morrison laments that the story "didn't work: many readers remain touched but not moved." The goal was that the readers would, rather than pity Pecola's destruction, be led into "an interrogation of themselves for the smashing." Although the book may not lead to as much introspection as Morrison wished, it still managed to evoke deep emotions.

Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye" accurately identifies how females are treated by men and their female peers. The characters in this novel reflect on a low income family that was considered ugly. This was the Breedlove Family.

This novel also portrayed how Pecola Breedlove was misused by family and friends. For example, Pecola was talked about negatively by her classmates. As a result, no one wanted to hang around her. The reality of this novel is African-American children all over the world are treated in the same manner.

Cholly Breedlove, the father of the Pecola, was an alcoholic. As a result, one night Pecola's father molested her while washing dishes. Moreover, Pecola told her mother but her mother didn't believe Pecola's accusation.

In conclusion, I recommend this novel for anyone who enjoys a novel that has comparison to real life scenarios. This family is a great depiction of how African American families were treated by both whites and blacks.

I read The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison in one sitting. I was hooked from the first page by the author's beautiful prose, a sing-song melody of the written word that I have never before or since experienced from another author's work. Then came the story, a heartbreaking tale of a young black girl who wants to be someone she is not, blonde haired and blue eyed because of how she sees herself, how others talk about her ugliness and worst of all, how she is violated by her own flesh and blood. I was so moved by this book; the words stayed with me long after I put it down. I highly recommend The Bluest Eye to anyone with a taste for beautifully written prose, something unlike anything you've ever read before and a tragic, all too realistic tale. This one goes at the top of my list.

It's great to hear Morrison's voice in her own creation, one of my favourite books. And it's great the parts she reads are the dialogs with all the tones I waited. But there're certain parts missing (short paragraphs all along the book), that woud be very interesting to hear in Morrison voice. Well, it's such a wonderful history, with such emotional descriptions that I don't mind al all the missing parts.
Maripax

We were lesser. Nicer, brighter, but still lesser. (p.61)

Toni Morrison was born Chloe Anthony Wofford in Lorain, Ohio in 1931. She grew up hearing folktales from the adults in her family and community, tales of slave times, emancipation, racism of the white majority, and supernatural. Morrison herself has written several books like Sula (1973) which won a lot of criticsm, Song of Solomon (1977) was a best seller and culled several prestigious literary awards, Tar Baby (1981), etc. In 1993 Toni Morrison became the first African-American woman writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Bluest Eyes is her first novel which was published back in 1970.

The Bluest Eyes is a heartbreaking story of a little black girl who is longing for a pair of blue eyes. Racism is the main issue of the story. Toni Morrison asks the reader to see how painful it is just to be black because a black woman, unlike a white woman, has to struggle against gender discrimination and also fight against racism at the same time. So, in this book we can see clearly that a black woman experiences double oppression, one for being female and one for being black.

The story is about a little black girl named Pecola Breedlove. She is convinced by the community that only blue eyed girl is beautiful. Blue eyed girl gets the best in life. So, Pecola who does not have blue eyes feels inferior. She was inundated with talk and images which asserted her inferiority in terms of physical beauty and the superiority of white girls like Shirley Temple. Her inferiority grows more and more when several bad things happens to her especially when she was raped by her own father.

Beside racism, the story tells about the oppression or violation of children, especially poor children. Here we can picture that children are granted no voice. Pecola's mother never listen to her, even when she said she was raped by her own father. As the result of her oppression, Pecola learns to identify the oppressors and begins to believe that the oppression is just and proper.

What is great about the story is how the writer wrote the story. The story of Pecola is not narrated by Pecola herself. We, as the readers, only get pieces of information about Pecola told by other people - Claudia, Pecola's mother, and Pecola's father. We only have her narration when she was talking to herself, when she became insane. Besides narration, Toni Morrison also writes the story in a unique way. At the beginning of every chapter there is a part of the story which is found completely in the beginning of the book about Jane and her family. It is a brilliant way to contrast the story of Pecola which is miserable with the story of Jane and her happy family.

Yet, The Bluest Eyes is a good way of spending a spare time. It is very beautiful, tragic, and don't bother opening the dictionary because we don't need any. In addition, this book is written in a marvellous way that we could laugh to the naïve and silly children's way of explaining things and at the same time burst in to tears, feeling sorry for Pecola Breedlove.

Toni Morrison is my favorite author. I first read this book in the late 70's and it stayed with me. I decided to read it again last year and was surprised that it was even more more moving than the first time. I suppose that, having gained some maturity, I saw it in a completely different light. By the end I was crying. I wanted to take Pecola in my arms and tell her that she was beautiful. It isn't an easy read -- none of Morrison's books are -- but that's what makes them so wonderful and worthwhile. She is a true genius.