Class notes
Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye
- Course
- Institution
Analysis of The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
gordom2000
Content preview
That Toni Morrison- The Bluest EyeIn this session on Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, we turn to the postmodern
American novel and examine the various forms of textual experimentation in
the narrative. We will focus on Morrison’s representations of interpolation,
otherness and violence.
Readings used-4
https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2016/jan/11/the-bluest-eye-t
oni-morrison-review
https://www.lareviewofbooks.org/article/what-flowers-are-we-watering-on-blac
k-girls-and-the-bluest-eyes-enduring-resonance/
https://thegeorgeanne.com/32756/inkwell/banned-books-week-the-bluest-eye-
by-toni-morrison-review/
https://www.artsatl.org/review-synchronicitys-the-bluest-eye-an-unblinking-loo
k-at-the-roots-of-self-hate/
Discuss the representations of gender, sexuality and race in Toni Morrison’s
The Bluest Eye.
JOURNAL ARTICLE The Adolescent Complexities of Race, Gender, and Class in
Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye" Paul Douglas Mahaffey
Mahaffey, Paul Douglas. “The Adolescent Complexities of Race, Gender, and
Class in Toni Morrison’s ‘The Bluest Eye.’” Race, Gender & Class 11, no. 4
(2004): 155–65. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43496824.
● In describing the happy family of Dick and Jane, Morrison gradually removes
grammatical indications of normalcy like punctuation and capitalisation. ‘This
disruption parallels the chaos and fragmentation of the Breedloves when they are
compared to other Black families.’
● ‘A community that has internalised the dominant cultures racist ideas of a superior
goodness associated with whiteness .’
● ‘Pecola's misery over her blackness and thus her ugliness originates in her family's
perception of themselves.’
● ‘She is unable to develop any type of racial consciousness that could counteract the
degrading influence of a dominant racist society.’
, ● The sisters' curiosity shows how a ‘a critically inquiring nature is essential to the
positive identity development of a black adolescent female.’
● ‘Pecola is not mentally conditioned to recognise and articulate the idea that
whiteness has its flaws.’
● ‘Two diametrically opposed means of constructing racial identity.’
● ‘She presents a remedy to that intra-racism in the form of the MacTeer sisters who
confront and challenge the assumed superiority of whiteness.’
JOURNAL ARTICLE Racism and Appearance in The Bluest Eye: A
Template for an Ethical Emotive Criticism
Bump, Jerome. “Racism and Appearance in The Bluest Eye: A Template
for an Ethical Emotive Criticism.” College Literature 37, no. 2 (2010):
147–70. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20749587.
● ‘Anger and hatred are not enough to fight racism not only because they often
miss their targets, but also because they are secondary emotions, driven in
turn by fear and shame.’
● ‘Morrison focuses on ugliness to enable white readers to feel something of
what it is like to be judged by racial hierarchies of skin colour and the master
and family narratives that reinforce them.’
● ‘The shame of sexual abuse in that family is central but so is the fear of
ugliness.’
JOURNAL ARTICLE Seeds in Hard Ground: Black Girlhood in The Bluest
Eye
● ‘Communication is a hierarchically structured one way transmission.’
● ‘The novel's radical repudiation of colorism as Afro-American fiction is rife
with light-skinned heroines.’
● ‘Because being dark meant never being considered beautiful, being other
became a canonical part of black women's literature.’
● ‘The Bluest Eye consists of a stipulative definition which radically redefines
beauty.’
● ‘Claudia’s ability to survive intact and to consolidate an identity derives from
her vigorous opposition to the colorist attitudes of her community.’
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller gordom2000. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $9.80. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
64438 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now