The Bluest Eye, The Woman Warrior

The Bluest Eye was published at the turn of the decade of 1970, the novel explores race, sexuality and the powerful notion of beauty that could affect the construction of an individual’s identity and in this case Toni Morrison challenges self-image representations of children who experience gender oppression (Werrlein, 2005). Similarly to The Bluest Eye, The Woman Warrior explores a young woman who experiences gender oppression, Kingston reveals how cultural conflicts in society could affect her identity as a Chinese American women and through this Kingston created a heroine who transgresses traditional gender boundaries in a Chinese community.

Maxine Kingston’s novel tactically complicates notions of identity construction as the narrator

These stories are told to present the ways that they have constructed or shaped the person Kingston has become. Kingston struggles with her identity as a Chinese American woman. The character in No Name Woman shares qualities in Kingston as they are rebellious and go against the oppressive Chinese culture and go against being a subjective female. To avenge herself against the Chinese culture, Kingston breaks the silence taboo and tells her story. She writes as a Chinese American woman who challenges and battles with patriarchy but critics have argued that she does so from a position that is radically unstable (Marotti,

It involves confronting her otherness- first, as a woman in patriarchal society; secondly as a member of an ethnic minority in America; and finally, as an English speaking American within a “real” Chinese family. It is only through painfully confronting, acknowledging, and validating her otherness at all three levels that she discovers her true individual self and its connections with and place within community and family. In The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison illustrates how gender identities are formed and replicated in an individual’s life. Pecola used as an example presents the extent to which rejection can be greatly formative. Morrison’s portrayal of a young broken girl sheds light on gender identity as Pecola struggles to obtain her identity as a female. Through the protagonist Pecola, readers can see how society and media plays a heavily influenced role on females from a very young age and plays a part in the construction of their identity based on their appearance. Morrison’s writings are truly an exemplary display of the difficulties involved in obtaining a positive social identity as