The Bluest Eye

Rating:
Summary: my 2 cents
Review: I found a trend in the reviews- people appreciated the story, but did not think the violation of Pecola was necessary. It may be difficult to take, but I think it conveys an important message. That scene, as well as the author showing us the trials and "evils" of other characters, shows the reader how the pain and prejudice felt by the African-American characters transforms them and makes them more likely to devalue their own people in order to feel some power themselves. Power that is taken away by the opressors. Cholly, her father, passed on his humiliation and powerlessness(his first sexual experience interrupted by the white people in the field) to his daughter. Morrison's portrayal of others also supports the point I am trying to make. Even Freida and Claudia find satisfaction knowing they have it better then Pecola and that gives them a sense of superiority. Superiority not felt when they compare their situations to that of the white neighborhood, or interactions with others who disregard them due to color. I think this book was wonderful and the "uncomfortable" portions are necessary to its impression on the reader.

Rating:
Summary: my thoughts...
Review: I regret the fact that it took a reading assignment to get me to read this novel. The Bluest Eye is one of the greatest pieces of literary art I have ever read. Toni Morrison's style and diction are the foundation for this great story, while the plot develops it. By including some of the more taboo situations in our society ( i.e. sexual abuse, social acceptance, broken families) into the novel, Toni Morrison is able to not only tell a story, but make a point. I reccommend this book to any type of person who is able to grasp a novel and learn a life lesson from it.

Rating:
Summary: Serious subjects
Review: The Bluest Eye is a realistic account of what could happen to poor black children living in the deep south in the early 20th century. Toni Morrison includes many details, which are necessary to make the reader feel like he is in the setting. The subjects the book deals with are very serious and mature. I believe the book is overall a decent book as far as plot structure, description, and basic story imaginativity. But as far as liking the book, I didn't enjoy how everything was so sad, and depressing. But I am the type of person who likes more adventurous and exciting books. I am not sorry I read it.

Rating:
Summary: A First of Its Kind First Novel
Review: The Bluest Eye was one of the best novels I have ever read. But the fact that it was written in the 1960s, well before Alice Walker and other writers told similar stories, made it particularly noteworthy. Morrison dealt with a number of subjects that were rarely discussed in novels, but have since become more common themes:

· The inner lives of black people, particularly black girls

· The class struggle among blacks

· Child rape (almost uniquely portrayed from the perpetrator's point of view)

Perhaps Morrison was just years ahead of her time, because the book has been almost constantly in print during the '80s and '90s. Morrison made abusive parents sympathetic by introducing the reader to their inner lives, to their needs, wants, and cares. While it was not a simple task, Morrison accomplished it to great effect by telling each character's story in turn.

The Bluest Eye is a thrifty and evocative novel, shifting from the world as presented by a standard primary reader, to the world as seen by a number of black girls in the poor Cleveland suburb of Lorain, Ohio in 1940. But even if Claudia and Frieda's family are black and do not have much money, they were not at the bottom of the social ladder. That position went to their friend Pecora, and her family, who "...did not live in a storefront because they were having temporary difficulty adjusting to the cutbacks at the plant. They lived there because they were poor and black and they stayed there because they believed they were ugly. Although their poverty was traditional and stultifying, it was not unique..."

Pecora had only one desire in life - to have blue eyes. The popular culture in the 1930s, as represented from candy bar wrapers to primary readers, used little round-cheeked white girls as the supermodels of the day. Since the culture promoted the "Shirley Temple look" as the ideal for little girls, black girls in America could not help but to have felt left out. Nowhere was black called beautiful, except by millions of internal, quiet voices.

Claudia and Frieda did not buy in to the belief that they were ugly because they were black; Claudia rebelled against it by destroying her white baby dolls one Christmas. Claudia and Frieda were both tough enough to survive living in a bigoted, sexist world. They even helped to rescue Pecora when some boys were taunting her. But they could not rescue her from the violence in her own family, and, ultimately, Claudia felt guilty about it.

The quiet, particular madness of a girl who wanted blue eyes to blot out the misery of her life was striking. Pecora's life became so impossible that the only thing that mattered was this dream of blue eyes. Ultimately, Morrison's novel presents the tragedy of racism and abuse as mirrored in the downcast black eyes of a poor young girl.

Rating:
Summary: Mental Mishaps
Review: TBE was a well written book. Toni Morrison did a wonderful job conveying the sad happenings that unrealistic standards set by society can have on young African-American women. I give it four stars because the morals of the book could have been conveyed without the [violation] of Pecola and the other mental mishaps that the other characters went through.

Rating:
Summary: The Bluest Eye
Review: Review of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye

Imagine yourself a young, unattractive black girl in Ohio in 1941. Imagine that your only wish in life was to have blue eyes and for people to notice you. This is what you find in the book's main character, Pecola Breedlove. The book focuses on Pecola's unfortunate young life. She wishes for a life completely opposite than the one she is born into. I felt that Morrison's use of plot in this book helped to keep the book from being a pity-party for Pecola. Her actual rape and pregnancy by her father isn't mentioned until after it happens chronologically in the book. You do feel sorry for the poor young foster child that everyone thinks is terribly ugly, but for those reasons. She was a foster child and she was ugly. You don't learn the reason her parents are gone until the mention of the rape. Her use of plot keeps the reader interested to see what type of family life she did have and what made her become a foster child in the first place. When I first looked at The Bluest Eye, it looked like very easy reading, but I was wrong. There are many well-hidden messages throughout the pages of this book. Some of which may include that beauty is in the eye of the beholder or that if you think you are beautiful, you are. Once Pecola thinks that she does actually have blue eyes, her happiness is seen through her conversation with her imaginary friend. She feels that people stare at her now because they are jealous, not because they are gawking at her ugliness. This book contains very adult-orientated situations and probably wouldn't be suitable for younger readers. However, I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in a book that will toy with your emotions and make you realize how lucky you are to have lived the childhood that you did.

Rating:
Summary: Great detail
Review: I am not much of a bookreader, but a friend recommended this book. From the moment it started I found myself feeling like I was in the environment. Morrison writes very detailed, and precise even with the natural language.

That is another thing - the language. I was suprised at how she was able to incorporate the slang, horrid southern grammar, etc while still being tactful.

It is a drawn out book therefore I have managed to put it down, and weeks later come back and feel like it is a whole new book again. There tends to be a lot of characters toward the middle of the story, and therefore gets confusing if you stop reading it for weeks at a time.

I'd still recommend the book if you want to learn about the southern life relating from a younger aged women perspective. I even found that I was laughing at a few parts of the book, then a few pages later I'd be almost crying.

Rating:
Summary: The Bluest Eye
Review: Toni Morrison is an excellent writer but I don't care for her book The Bluest Eye. I think it was wonderfully written but I didn't like what she wrote about. Morrison conveyed many powerful messages throughout the book. She wrote about society's view of beauty, and emotions, such as love. She also touches on the subjects of wealth, racial, and social problems. Toni Morrison writes a story about incest, domestic violence, prostitutes, alcoholics, and racists. The Bluest Eye is a powerful book. Pecola is struggling with her identity. She wants blue eyes and to fit in with the rest of society. Throughout the story we don't get a good sense of who she really is. Morrison focuses on Pecola' s family and friends and we don't really know just who Pecola is or why she wants blue eyes. Pecola becomes just another character in the book. We lose focus of who she is and what she wants.

We never read from Pecola's point of view. I think that Morrison wanted us to see what her life was like and what the people around her were like with out her coming out and telling us. Toni Morrison is very descriptive in her book. We are able to see the setting of the story and what the people are like from her descriptions.

In Toni Morrison's book The Bluest Eye, she describes people in detail. They are judged by their skin color, social standing, and amount of salary. Kids are only able to play with certain kids, not allowed to go to certain houses because they feel that they have to stay within their social class. Toni Morrison wrote a good book. It doesn't have a very good ending but it has many powerful messages. Morrison wrote about Pecola wanting to be accepted by society. She describes people in Pecola's life that affect her desire for blue eyes.

Rating:
Summary: Inspirational
Review: though i have not read the book completly.....i was deeply inspired by the few pages, that i did happen to read.there were times in my life where i was confused about who i was , where i was going and where i would end up...but after my encounter with the few pages i was able to realize that i am not the only person in the world with questions about their identity....For me ,I found God ,a saviour, who helped me along my path but the book The Bluest Eyes was a effective factor of getting me on the path of self identification. Cher

Rating:
Summary: The Bluest Eye
Review: Toni Morrison's book, although difficult to understand, is good.Oprah put it on her list and gave it a lot of attention--otherwisethis story may have been overlooked. I didn't particularly"enjoy" this book; I don't care for the writing style and itmade me feel uncomfortable--but it did teach me a lesson. I seePecola in the mirror everyday, and more importantly, I see her in myclassroom. When are we going to realize beauty is not determined byeye color or the color of our skin or hair? It is not about whatclothes we wear or the size we fit into. This story did not have a"happy ending".... And finally, it's a tremendous work ofliterary art, with Morrison hitting all the lyrical, indignant,sorrowful, scarifying notes as though this were her fifteenth and notfirst published work.