Perception Of Oneself Through The Eyes Of The White Culture

Perception of Oneself through the Eyes of the White Culture: A Feminist Perspective Alongside its umbrageous depiction of African American female identity and its shrewd criticism of the internalized racism cultivated by American cultural definitions of beauty, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison has been inspiring a propagation of literature written by African American women about their experience as women of color. Inspired by a conversation Morrison had with one of her students who wished for blue eyes, the novel portrays the subconscious demolition of a young black girl, Pecola Breedlove, who searches for love and acceptance in a world that underrates people of her own race. Pecola hopelessly longs to possess the traditional American standards of feminine beauty—white skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes—as presented to her by the popular icons of the white culture. The Bluest Eye is portrayed as a powerful expression of Toni Morrison’s ethnic cultural feminism, impotence, and loss of positive self-image represented by Pecola who feels that blacknes s has condemned her to ugliness and scorn. The purpose of this paper will further demonstrate how the Bluest Eye makes a withering attack on the dissimulation of white standards of beauty on black women and the creation of cultural debauchery, from a feminist perspective. In the Bluest Eye, the three main female characters Pecola, Pauline (Mrs. Breedlove) and Claudia occupy a climactic place in the novel. The first personShow MoreRelatedReflection Paper On Culture And Structure1309 Words   |  6 PagesReflection Paper Culture and structure do contribute to or reinforce racial inequality. 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