Isolation In The Bluest Eye

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When a community develops an overall standard of beauty that is unachievable for most, the society’s values and assumptions are established. Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye is a tragic novel of how the black community loathes itself for not meeting the unattainable white beauty standard and as a result is isolated within society. An even more tragic fact is that Pecola, an innocent girl, is shunned from society because of her race. Throughout the novel, there are three determining elements which lead Pecola to this conclusion, the media by which she is heavily surrounded by, her family, and her community. Society’s alienation of Pecola leads her to fantasize of having blue eyes, because then she will be beautiful, and by being beautiful society …show more content…
The display of white media leads to Pecola’s isolation because of her inability to fit the blue-eyed and blond hair model. “She was a long time with the milk, and gazed fondly at the silhouette of Shirley Temple’s dimpled face” (19). Pecola admires Shirley Temple because she represents the greatest model for society. Shirley Temple is loved and accepted by society because of her outward appearance; where Pecola represents the exact opposite of Shirley. Pecola deals with the isolation of the community by wishing for something unattainable, blue eyes. The media displays this white ideal to an extreme, and in result the black community suffers. “Adults, older girls, shops, magazines, newspapers, window sign-all the world had agreed that a blue-eyed, yellow-haired, pink-skinned doll was what every girl treasured. ‘Here,’ they said, ‘this is beautiful, and if you are on this day ‘worthy’ you may have it’” (20-21). When all Pecola sees in a media outlet is a beautiful white female with blonde hair and blue eyes; she starts to see this as being beautiful, instead of herself. As a result, Pecola is alienated from society due to her unrealistic standards. Society has forced standards of what is considered beautiful, but not everyone can achieve the standards. The people who do not have the right features are oppressed by society, and try to fit in no matter the
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