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The Bluest Eye Identity Analysis

501 Words3 Pages

In the novel The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison demonstrates how a person’s identity affects a person 's actions. The two character who demonstrates this would be Cholly and Pecola. Cholly is an African American man who was abandoned by his mom when he was little later on, he married Polly and had a daughter Pecola. Pecola is a eleven who is African American and dreams of having blue eye because she believes she will finally be pretty. In this novel Morrison argues a person does not have control over their own identity.

Cholly doesn 't have control over his identity. After Cholly gets discovered by some white men as he is engaged in sexual activity with Darlene, the narrator explains his reaction. The narrator explains, “He was, in time, to …show more content…

When Pecola goes to get candy at Mr. Yacobowski store he ignores her he’s trying not to see her. The narrator explains how Pecola felt when he looked at her, “Yet this vacuum is not new to her. It has an edge; somewhere in the bottom lid is the distaste. She has seen it lurking in the eyes of all white people. So. The distaste must be for her, her blackness” (49). In this quote when Mr.Yacobowski looks at her he see nothing and Pecola noticed this look in not only Mr. Yacobowski but in all the white people 's eyes and it’s because of her blackness. She has no control over identity in this situation because she’s black and that how she view because of her skin color. Later when she’s eating her candy she cames to believe that being white and having blue eyes like the girl in the candy wrapper is pretty which leads her into the action of wanting blue eyes and visiting Soaphead Church.

Just like in this novel Morrison demonstrates that identity have a big effect on a person 's life. Just like in the real world people are judged because of who they are and it affects their action later on in there life. Just like in this novel a person doesn 't have control over identity same goes in the real world we don’t all have control over our

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