'The Bluest Eye?' It should really be 'The Clearest Eye!'

Toni Morrison’s book, The Bluest Eye, induced a great mix of emotions even within the first few chapters. Although she wrote this book for African American women in the most part, I think it was a very valuable read. Her book follows the story of Pecola Breedlove, an 11 year old girl who has pretty much nothing going for her in life. It is mainly narrated by Claudia, Pecola’s companion in many situations. The book addresses many issues especially surrounding Pecola’s life. Obvious from the title and the many discussions of being ugly, beauty is probably the central theme of the book. Beauty comes into play with the houses, faces, land, and most symbolically the dolls. The scene where Claudia tears apart the doll was one of the most influential to me. Although the doll is beautiful on the outside, when opened up, there is nothing special or mystifying.
A very quick read, the book did keep my interest and made me wonder how everything turns out for the characters. Even though the ending was not happy, and left me questioning many things, I’ve realized that seeing it that way is not necessarily a bad thing. Ms. Morrison may disagree with me, but I can clearly see the value in showing it to a varied audience. Although we will never be able to put ourselves in the characters shoes or truly understand what some of the characters feel, each person can relate to one situation or another in their lives. Each person has felt ugly at some point and has wanted to show that they are not only valued for the color of their skin, eyes, hair, size, ethnicity, or any other aspect of their physical makeup. The media’s messages both then and now have such a huge impact on how we see ourselves and others. This book shows how absolutely damaging that can be without ever having that intention. In the end, it is not our intentions that matter, but our action and how we perceive the world. We must take down the screen in front of our eyes and attempt to see to the base of a situation. Then with those clear eyes, we can see the world in a completely different light.