Self Identity In The Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison

In The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, the self-identity of Claudia, a young black girl, is traced in comparison to the white standard of beauty American society held high in the 1940’s. Claudia attempts to rebel against the standard of beauty she is presented because she knows she will forever be excluded from this image.
The idea of white women dominating the standard of beauty is established early on when a man named Mr. Henry moves in with Claudia’s family. Upon meeting Claudia and her younger sister Frieda, Mr. Henry says “‘Hello there. You must be Greta Garbo and you must be Ginger Rogers.’” (Morrison 16), instantly comparing the girl’s beauty to two white women. While Greta Garbo and Ginger Rogers are seen as beautiful celebrities and Mr. Henry is meaning to compliment the girls, his comparison of two black girls to two white women sets up the idea that even a black man sees white women as the beauty standard of the time. This simple compliment establishes that Claudia is to see the white movie star as the epitome

It is in this quote that Claudia reveals the unfairness that even black adults, in this instance, Bojangles, must chose white children over their own. She does not understand why a black man would chose to have such a close relationship with a white girl, rather than her, since she would identify more closely with him both racially and culturally. However, her resentment comes with a certain strength. Claudia does not pick her own appearance apart, she merely notes that what Shirley has, should not be. Claudia is shown to be very mature for such a young age because she recognizes what should be hers and does not simply love Shirley because it is the images that is presented for young girls to