In The Bluest Eye, there are many images that represent the idea of beauty and make most of the female characters feel ugly. “All the world agreed that blue eyed, yellow haired, pink skinned doll was what every girl treasured” (Morrison 20). Both the doll and the Shirley Temple cup, which Pecola adores, are early signs of white superiority in the novel. In our society, the media imposes beauty standards that are almost impossible for anyone, particularly black girls. The ideal image in America is not something that hard work can achieve. Blue eyes are rare on African-Americans and dark skin is innate and cannot be changed. These facts make it that much harder on young black girls who see the image of white beauty as unfeasible. “The media is constantly flooded with images of popular female celebrities like Beyonce, Halle Berry, Naomie Campbell, and Tyra Banks, who are not a real representation of an ordinary black woman, because they do not have distinct African features” (Article). In The Bluest Eye, Maureen is a light skinned black girl who “Enchanted the entire school. When teachers called on her, they smiled encouragingly. Black boys didn’t trip her in the halls; white boys didn’t stone her” (Morrison 62). The prettiest black girls today and in the novel, are the lighter ones, emphasizing the idealization of white beauty. Even the black adult in the novel, particularly Pauline, are ashamed of their race. In the scene where Pecola drops the pie, her mother pays no attention to the fact that she was burned and instead “With the back of her hand knocked her on the floor” (Morrison 109). When the little white girl cries over the incident she not only comforts her but denies that Pecola is her daughter. Pauline has faced a life of racism and is in a tough situation because she is black. In turn, she takes this out of those around her, deforming the life of Pecola and teaching her that beauty and love go hand and hand. Our project is trying to diversify the idea of beauty and stop the discrimination of women who do not fit this model. The lives of the characters in The Bluest Eye were harmed and even destroyed by the patriarchal capitalist society that gives whites privileges over blacks and fosters racism. At one point in the story, Pecola wants beauty to “Rise up out of the pit of her blackness and see the world with blue eyes” (175). She got her blue eyes when she went crazy from the insanity of the world around her. We all need to rise up out of the pit of discrimination and see the beauty in every person, regardless of race, class, or sex.

-Kristin Fimian