The Bluest Eye Analytical Essay

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison tells the personal story of young, African-American girls who suffer monstrous amounts of oppression and doubt from their community during a time where African Americans were viewed as second class citizens. Throughout the book, we begin to understand the amount of discredit, oppression, and neglect minorities face in society. Claudia, Freida, and Pecola all face oppression due to their age, skin color, and sex. This quotation from Claudia does a phenomenal job of displaying the ethos of the MacTeer girls, while the diction also shows the evolution of Claudia from a young girl to a mature, independent woman. In this specific passage Claudia does an excellent job of portraying the ethos of her and her sister. Throughout The Bluest Eye, the MacTeer girls constantly take an active stance against whatever they perceive as a threat. We saw this illustrated with the Shirley Temple mug, the white baby-doll, the boys making fun of Pecola, Henry’s molestation of Frieda, and ultimately the community’s rejection and shaming of Pecola. Even though Claudia and Frieda’s actions are juvenile and often lead to failure, they are still testimonials to their vigorous response to the oppression they constantly face.

Claudia was a child and told the story through a child’s perspective. It’s at this point in the book that Claudia, Pecola, and Freida mature almost instantly, and the diction Claudia uses reflects her evolution. They are all surrounded by incidents and circumstance that force them to mature. Claudia’s diction evolves along with the characters. This evolution of diction is especially noted when she saidThis quotation is significant because Claudia begins to define herself, instead of submissively accepting the identity her community gave her. This quotation also uses complex grammar that a child typically would not