The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, is a story about the life of a young black girl, Pecola Breedlove, who is growing up during post World War I. She prays for the bluest eyes, which will make her beautiful and in turn make her accepted by her family and peers. The major issue in the book, the idea of ugliness, was the belief that blackness was not valuable or beautiful. This view, handed down to them at birth, was a cultural hindrance to the black race. A main theme in this novel is the influence of family relationships in the quest for individual identity. Our family or lack thereof, as children, ultimately influences the way we feel as adults, about ourselves and about others. The effects on us mold our personalities and as a result influence our identities. This story shows us the efforts of struggling black families who transmit patterns and problems that have a negative impact on their family relationships. These patterns continue to go unresolved and are eventually inherited by their children who will also accept this way of life as this vicious circle continues.Having inherited the myth of ugliness and unworthiness, the characters throughout the story, with the exception of the MacTeer family, will not only allow this to happen, but will instill this in their children to be passed on to the next generation. Beauty precedes love, the grownups seem to say, and only a few possess beauty, so they remain unloved and unworthy. Throughout the novel, the convictions of sons and daughters are the same as their fathers and mothers. Their failures and accomplishments are transferred to their children and to future generations.It is interesting that the story begins not in January, but in the fall, when school starts, and a new chapter in life begins according to the rhythm of a childs life. In this Autumn chapter, Claudia MacTeer uses flower imagery to describe how she and Frieda respond to their env...
