CULTURAL INFLUENCES AND BEAUTY CONSTRUCTS: AN ANALYSIS OF TONI MORRISON'S "THE BLUEST EYE"

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61841/pfe5tb93

Keywords:

The Bluest Eye, Racial identity, Ethnicity, racialized beauty

Abstract

This article analyses how The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison's earliest novel, presents beauty ideals, identity formation, and societal transformation. Drawing on Morrison's representation of the tragic protagonist Pecola Breedlove, the analysis explores how dominant white standards of beauty become embedded within black culture, leading to destructive internalized racism and self-hatred. It discusses Morrison's skillful storytelling techniques for highlighting the tragic gap between Pecola's actual black female identity and her unattainable white feminine ideal. Additionally, the paper demonstrates how Morrison utilizes Pecola's story to astutely critique the influential role of culture in shaping beauty ideals that engender self-loathing and fractured identities in 1940s America. Further, it outlines how textbooks, family backgrounds, and communities significantly shape what is considered beautiful. The authors argued that Morrison's novel is like an insightful mirror that reflects how cultural beliefs about beauty find their way into societies. This paper also argues for the urgent need to challenge pervasive racism and bias, engender deep self-loathing and fractured identities in young black girls, and advocate for more inclusive standards of beauty and self-worth. The authors believe that nearly fifty years after its publication, Morrison’s brilliant literature remains vital to ongoing efforts toward inclusion, empowerment, and social transformation.

Author Biographies

  • Islam Asim Ismail, The English and Foreign Languages University

    Islam A. Ismail, from Palestine, is a Ph.D. researcher in English Language Education. Ismail does research on writing, learning during COVID-19, integration technology in education, curriculum development, and honing teachers' teaching quality in ESL classrooms. He brings his experience as a trainer for young researchers, giving regular sessions in research methodology, and he works as a proofreader in the academic English field. He aims to find innovative and effective ways to facilitate language acquisition and proficiency.

  • Tahani Bsharat, PhD in Education, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)
    I am University Lecturer at Al-Quds Open University ( Part Time). I have got a Master's degree in Methods of Teaching English Language from An-Najah National University of Palestine. Currently, I have a PhD in English Studies at USIM University of Malaysia. My research interests are: Teaching English Strategies, approaches and Linguistics.  
  • Yogasmita Mohapatra, English teacher

    MA in English Literature, English teacher at Cambridge School, Indonesia

References

AbuHamda, E., Ismail, I., and Bsharat, T. (2021). Understanding quantitative and qualitative research methods: A theoretical perspective for young researchers. International Journal of Research 8(2):71-87. DOI: 10.2501/ijmr-201-5-070

Higgins, T. E. (1997). Relating Word to Image in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. In B. Christian (Ed.), Critical Essays on Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye (pp. 47-54). G.K. Hall & Co.

Ismail, I. A., & Sharan, V. (2020). Teaching Writing Skill Through English Literature: Palestine as an Example. International Journal of Science and Research, 9(9), 274–278. https://doi.org/10.21275/sr20828165839

Kubitschek, M. D. (1999). Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye. Explicator, 58(1), 44–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/00144949909596051

Lester, N. A. (2008). Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye: Notes on History, Community, and Beloved. In Toni Morrison and the Idea of Africa (pp. 23–50). Cambridge University Press.

Mayberry, S. N. (2021). The Bluest Eye (1970). In The Critical Life of Toni Morrison (pp. 7–46). Boydell & Brewer.

Morrison, T. (1999). The Bluest Eye. Vintage.

Sweeney, M. (2004). Racial House, Big House, Home: Contemporary Abolitionism in Toni Morrison's Paradise. Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism, 4(2), 40–67. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40338901

Young, V. A. (2008). Women on Lynching: Toni Morrison and the Empirical Lynching Tradition. African American Review, 42(

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Published

2024-01-15

How to Cite

Asim Ismail, I. ., Bsharat, T., & Mohapatra, Y. . (2024). CULTURAL INFLUENCES AND BEAUTY CONSTRUCTS: AN ANALYSIS OF TONI MORRISON’S "THE BLUEST EYE". International Journal of Advance Research in Education & Literature (ISSN 2208-2441), 10(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.61841/pfe5tb93