The Bluest Eye Irony Analysis

The Bluest Eye is a satire that criticizes the American society in 1940. The black characters are interested in their own affairs abandoning other characters issues. As a matter of fact, the idea of neighborhood is a brilliant one as well as it shows the destruction of the African American society. To exemplify this, the neighborhood is fully aware of the miserable conditions of the Breedloves; the father, Cholly, is drunk and unemployment, the mother, Pauline, is brutal against her children and the daughter, Pecola, is victimized and lost. Although this full awareness of this horrible circumstances, no one gives them his hand even when they know that Cholly raped his daughter. In fact, the only reaction they take is gossiping; they

There are lots of examples of irony appeared in The Bluest Eye. To exemplify this, irony appears in the novel when Cholly raped his daughter Pecola and no one blames him. The irony is that although Pecola is a victim, no one helps her and keeps mocking at her. Besides, Cholly, when he was young, was embarrassed when he was forced to do a sexual act in front of white men. The irony is when he does the same thing to his daughter and makes her embarrassed as well. Besides, the term "ruined" depicts another example of irony in the novel. The prostitutes in the novel are ruined and they have no right to live. However, they are independent unlike, Pauline, Pecola's mother who is depended on her job because of money. Furthermore, the name of Pecola's family (Breedlove) is very ironical. As a matter of fact, this family has no relation with love; Cholly, the father, hates his children and Pauline, the mother, prefers the Fisher family whom she works at because "power, praise, and luxury were hers in this household", (Morrison, 128). In addition, there is a whole chapter in the novel which represents a great example of irony in page 132. Morison begins some of her chapters with parts of Dick and Jane story which contradicts with character's real life. For example, “SEEFATHERHEISBIGANDSTRONGFATHERWILLYOUPLAYWITHJANEFATHERISSMILINGSMILEFATHERSMILESMILE". This part contradicts with the nature of Pecola's father which associates with weakness and hatred. The chapter also explains Cholly's miserable childhood; the denial of his father to him and his shame at the hands of white officers when they oblige him to have sex in front of them, the thing which led him to rape his daughter twice in order to take revenge of this painful memory. Consequently, the parts of Dick and Jane story are used by Morrison to show the irony in the character's