Morrison's objective in The Bluest Eye, is to show racial self-loathing by having Pecola perceive that Blue eyes will give her social acceptance and her believing (like everyone around her including her family) that she is ugly. Morrison wants the readers to make a difference in the world by noticing these circumstances and taking a stand to change them so generations will not continue to live in such a negative way. By Morrison showing these situations through the vulnerability of a young, innocent girl, the social problems in society and within families are more poignant.
Also, with having the narrator be a girl, Morrison is able to add her feminist ideas by twisting language in such a way to get what she wants to say across. By juxtaposing the lives led by the prostitutes with the life led by Pecola and her mom, you can really see the contrast in women's roles and where they stand socially. Although the prostitutes would seem to be the outcasts of society, they seem to be living the good life, one even better than Pecola's. In fact, Pecola looks up to them even if they are not the best role models. Well, who else could she turn to? Her mom is not much of a role model either. She quarrels with her husband often and is subjected to the orders of him until she stands up for herself which quickly leads to physical and verbal violence in front of the kids. To deal with these unsettling situations, Pecola's brother simply runs away, while Pecola harbors it inside internally attacking herself with increased self loathing and a longing for beauty because being beautiful would give her a higher social standing. In one spectrum you have the prostitutes who can do whatever they please and seem to be free living the good life while the normal family is deteriorating with bad relationships including a lazy, drunk husband with a wife who wants to free herself from the orders of her husband. Also Pecola's mom would rather work as a housekeeper in a rich, white family's house than in her own. In the white's house she can use all the nice things and pretend to live the life that she wants. This may seem nice, but it just feeds her racial self-loathing which escalates her hatred which she carries out in her own home on her husband and children forever effecting generations to come. Morrison enhances the effect of these circumstances by effectively manipulating language to get the results she wants.
One of the tools Morrison uses is the use of dialect and the slang that the African Americans use in the southern United States. This helps the readers (probably mostly white Americans) to better picture in their minds the people that deal with these circumstances and enlighten their minds to the determination to take action to help dissipate these situations in their society.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Sunday, May 19, 2013
We = The Same
From the documentary, "Race the Power of an Allusion," the idea of "race" is noted as being created socially and is based on the differences that are socially made. These differences can include things like the differences in hair texture and nose structure. In America, other races besides white were at the bottom of the social hierarchy and from this the Eugenics group was made. These Eugenics' goal was to only breed the "best," which were the whites. They called for no intermarriage and believed that if a white intermarried, the kids would have the bad traits of the non-white and therefore would become an outcast to society. In The Bluest Eye, Soaphead Church came from predominately African-American lineage but his family branched out and intermarried with the whites to breed out the black to become a more accepted "white." This is exactly what the Eugenics did not want, but this is what a tribe in Virginia claimed to have done in order to be more socially accepted.
Social acceptance plays a role in the health of human beings. This is explained in the documentary with Hoffman who did not take that into account in his studies of other races. He said the African-American race would become extinct, but there were some major factors that produced these results that if were changed would create alternate results. Hoffman forgot to compensate for the poverty and social neglect that the African-Americans faced. Poverty is unhealthy and can result in death if the poor do not receive enough healthy food and social care. This is what Hoffman based his conclusions on but if the African-Americans were healthy, they would not become extinct. Other scientists in their studies found interesting conclusions about race as well.
As noted in "Race the Power of an Allusion," Cobb found that there were no biological traits to identify African-Americans as negro. It is also noted that there is no way to measure race but people find a way to. This can be seen in the commonly accepted thought that African-Americans have an advantage in sports, as demonstrated by Jesse Owens 1936 Olympics race. However, DNA testing from the documentary showed that 85% of difference in genes is with another person of the same race instead of the commonly held notion that the most difference is with someone from another race. There is also roughly the same diversity within racial groups as without. This leads us to the conclusion that humans are inherently similar and that the differences are between each human being not just between different races. All this being said, racial groups and social astigmatism really affected Pecola in The Bluest Eye.
Pecola really felt the exaggerated differences between her and the whites and even others of her own race. Because she was dubbed as ugly, she desperately wanted a way to feel accepted and loved. She found this by wanting a white person's blue eyes. With these eyes she would feel the needed acceptance and would be able to see the world with "new blue eyes." Also, everyone including herself would be able to see her with "new eyes." However this all becomes superficial with the evidence discussed earlier that humans are essentially all the same. These social differences that are created are a social problem and not really a physical problem.
Social acceptance plays a role in the health of human beings. This is explained in the documentary with Hoffman who did not take that into account in his studies of other races. He said the African-American race would become extinct, but there were some major factors that produced these results that if were changed would create alternate results. Hoffman forgot to compensate for the poverty and social neglect that the African-Americans faced. Poverty is unhealthy and can result in death if the poor do not receive enough healthy food and social care. This is what Hoffman based his conclusions on but if the African-Americans were healthy, they would not become extinct. Other scientists in their studies found interesting conclusions about race as well.
As noted in "Race the Power of an Allusion," Cobb found that there were no biological traits to identify African-Americans as negro. It is also noted that there is no way to measure race but people find a way to. This can be seen in the commonly accepted thought that African-Americans have an advantage in sports, as demonstrated by Jesse Owens 1936 Olympics race. However, DNA testing from the documentary showed that 85% of difference in genes is with another person of the same race instead of the commonly held notion that the most difference is with someone from another race. There is also roughly the same diversity within racial groups as without. This leads us to the conclusion that humans are inherently similar and that the differences are between each human being not just between different races. All this being said, racial groups and social astigmatism really affected Pecola in The Bluest Eye.
Pecola really felt the exaggerated differences between her and the whites and even others of her own race. Because she was dubbed as ugly, she desperately wanted a way to feel accepted and loved. She found this by wanting a white person's blue eyes. With these eyes she would feel the needed acceptance and would be able to see the world with "new blue eyes." Also, everyone including herself would be able to see her with "new eyes." However this all becomes superficial with the evidence discussed earlier that humans are essentially all the same. These social differences that are created are a social problem and not really a physical problem.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Video Blog??? Say What?
So, I am way not a techie. I am dreading that I have to take a full year of technology to graduate...seriously. I really have no idea how to do a video blog. If I tried, I just know it would be a waste of both of our times. So, the good old-fashioned way that is somewhat less techy is the way I have to go.
I just finished reading the chapter on Soaphead Church and I am really disturbed. He is messed up in the head. I do not know how he can believe and do what he does. Nothing makes any sense, but he does a good job rational-(lies)-ing everything that he does. He even judges God. "He, God, had made a sloven and unforgivable error in judgment: designing an imperfect universe." What is this?? Being a Christian, (as he supposedly is), I do not believe that the world is imperfect. It is made exactly how God wants it to be. He designed the universe so that there would be, "...an opposition in all things. If not so... righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad" (2 Nephi 2:11 from the Book of Mormon-Another Testament of Jesus Christ). This is so because we came to earth with free agency to choose good or evil for ourselves.
In his letter to God, (and how do you intend to send this letter to God???) he says that, "I told people I knew all about You. That I had received Your Powers. It was not a complete lie; but it was a complete lie. I should never have, I admit, I should never have taken their money in exchange for well-phrased, well-placed, well-faced lies. But, mark you, I hated it. Not for a moment did I love the lies or the money." This excerpt struck me as very interesting. For one thing, I loved the way the words "complete lie" were repeated but each time with the other word italicized where that one specific word was emphasized. It truly creates a great effect because suddenly "complete lie" jumps out at the reader (in this case God). Also in this excerpt, Soaphead admits that he should not have deceived others and taken money in the name of God. Well, if he knew it was wrong, why did he keep doing it when he had never "...lov[ed] the lies or the money." I guess it can be blamed on human nature and the great effort that has to be put forth to change your ways.
Soaphead's evil side is shown when he deceives Pecola into killing the dog that he hates by saying that after she feeds the dog, the reaction of the dog will determine if she will get the blue eyes that she asks for. As mentioned earlier, Soaphead does not have the power to produce miracles let alone change this girl's genetics. He just manipulated her to get what he wanted and rationalized what he was doing. He didn't actually kill the dog, he just indirectly killed the dog. It was part of the omen. Still addressing God, "I gave her the blue, blue, two blue eyes...No one else will see her blue eyes. But she will....Now you are jealous. You are jealous of me." Yeah, right. God jealous of you?? An almighty powerful God is jealous of a cocky sinner. That makes sense. So, he gave Pecola blues eyes (aka acceptance) by loving and accepting her for who she was. He gave her blue eyes symbolically, and not what she was looking for physically which would have made her feel more accepted.
I just finished reading the chapter on Soaphead Church and I am really disturbed. He is messed up in the head. I do not know how he can believe and do what he does. Nothing makes any sense, but he does a good job rational-(lies)-ing everything that he does. He even judges God. "He, God, had made a sloven and unforgivable error in judgment: designing an imperfect universe." What is this?? Being a Christian, (as he supposedly is), I do not believe that the world is imperfect. It is made exactly how God wants it to be. He designed the universe so that there would be, "...an opposition in all things. If not so... righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad" (2 Nephi 2:11 from the Book of Mormon-Another Testament of Jesus Christ). This is so because we came to earth with free agency to choose good or evil for ourselves.
In his letter to God, (and how do you intend to send this letter to God???) he says that, "I told people I knew all about You. That I had received Your Powers. It was not a complete lie; but it was a complete lie. I should never have, I admit, I should never have taken their money in exchange for well-phrased, well-placed, well-faced lies. But, mark you, I hated it. Not for a moment did I love the lies or the money." This excerpt struck me as very interesting. For one thing, I loved the way the words "complete lie" were repeated but each time with the other word italicized where that one specific word was emphasized. It truly creates a great effect because suddenly "complete lie" jumps out at the reader (in this case God). Also in this excerpt, Soaphead admits that he should not have deceived others and taken money in the name of God. Well, if he knew it was wrong, why did he keep doing it when he had never "...lov[ed] the lies or the money." I guess it can be blamed on human nature and the great effort that has to be put forth to change your ways.
Soaphead's evil side is shown when he deceives Pecola into killing the dog that he hates by saying that after she feeds the dog, the reaction of the dog will determine if she will get the blue eyes that she asks for. As mentioned earlier, Soaphead does not have the power to produce miracles let alone change this girl's genetics. He just manipulated her to get what he wanted and rationalized what he was doing. He didn't actually kill the dog, he just indirectly killed the dog. It was part of the omen. Still addressing God, "I gave her the blue, blue, two blue eyes...No one else will see her blue eyes. But she will....Now you are jealous. You are jealous of me." Yeah, right. God jealous of you?? An almighty powerful God is jealous of a cocky sinner. That makes sense. So, he gave Pecola blues eyes (aka acceptance) by loving and accepting her for who she was. He gave her blue eyes symbolically, and not what she was looking for physically which would have made her feel more accepted.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Family Ties
"The Bluest Eye" is magnificently crafted. I love the order of each random mini story that Morrison writes. Even though at first it makes almost no sense, once you read further everything seems to fall in place and create the big, puzzled pieced, picture of the complex life of Pecola Breedlove and why things are the way they are. At the beginning of the story, the reader only gets bad snipits of Pecola's father, Cholly Breedlove's, actions. The reader begins to wonder, "How could a father be like that and what makes Cholly and Pauline "stay together" even though they beat each other up?" Well, if you are patient, (which I am terrible at), you are rewarded with the inside scoop of Cholly's background story.
Long story short, he was abandoned and taken in by his Aunt Jimmy. He started out with an imperfect beginning that continued an imperfect life. Children need a loving father and mother - especially in their adolescent years. It is pivotal for their development as functioning citizens. Cholly got through these hard years making some decisions that may not have happened if he was properly brought up. However, "...knowing only a dying old woman who felt responsible for him, but whose age, sex, and interests were so remote from his own, he might have felt a stable connection between himself and the children [his children]." Only having an old Aunt who died when he was still a teenager as a "mother," really affected him later in life because he had "...no idea how to raise children, and having never watched any parent raise himself, he could not even comprehend what such a relationship should be." He coped with this predicament by "...react[ing] to them, and his reactions were based on what he felt at the moment." Not a very good strategy when you are overcome with sexual desires and your daughter is around. It may not end well, and unfortunately it didn't for Pecola.
As we can see, one break in the chain of familial ties can forever alter generations to come. The song "Astronomy" by Black Star calls for somewhat of a Black unification under Black nationalism. This song employs parallel structure and simile by the repetition of the words "Black like..." I especially like the lines:
[The whites] "...try to civilize you
not walk on by you
like civil (lies do get you black listed)..."
In these few lines, it clearly demonstrates a relationship between the whites and blacks from the black perspective. I was especially intrigued by the double meaning of civilize. The whites want to change (civilize) the blacks to their way of living while the blacks just perceive this as civil lies. What creative geniuses to manipulate language like that!!!
The very beginnings of humanity begin at home, and when family ties are severed, it is difficult for these people to effectively participate in society and unite as one under lets say "black nationalism." When someone's home life is not stable, it haunts the rest of that person's life.
Long story short, he was abandoned and taken in by his Aunt Jimmy. He started out with an imperfect beginning that continued an imperfect life. Children need a loving father and mother - especially in their adolescent years. It is pivotal for their development as functioning citizens. Cholly got through these hard years making some decisions that may not have happened if he was properly brought up. However, "...knowing only a dying old woman who felt responsible for him, but whose age, sex, and interests were so remote from his own, he might have felt a stable connection between himself and the children [his children]." Only having an old Aunt who died when he was still a teenager as a "mother," really affected him later in life because he had "...no idea how to raise children, and having never watched any parent raise himself, he could not even comprehend what such a relationship should be." He coped with this predicament by "...react[ing] to them, and his reactions were based on what he felt at the moment." Not a very good strategy when you are overcome with sexual desires and your daughter is around. It may not end well, and unfortunately it didn't for Pecola.
As we can see, one break in the chain of familial ties can forever alter generations to come. The song "Astronomy" by Black Star calls for somewhat of a Black unification under Black nationalism. This song employs parallel structure and simile by the repetition of the words "Black like..." I especially like the lines:
[The whites] "...try to civilize you
not walk on by you
like civil (lies do get you black listed)..."
In these few lines, it clearly demonstrates a relationship between the whites and blacks from the black perspective. I was especially intrigued by the double meaning of civilize. The whites want to change (civilize) the blacks to their way of living while the blacks just perceive this as civil lies. What creative geniuses to manipulate language like that!!!
The very beginnings of humanity begin at home, and when family ties are severed, it is difficult for these people to effectively participate in society and unite as one under lets say "black nationalism." When someone's home life is not stable, it haunts the rest of that person's life.
What Is Beautiful?
The lyrics in The Trinikas' song "Black is Beautiful," contradict what Pauline Breedlove thinks of her own daughter. The song says that "black is beautiful" and that they [the blacks] now have "...the chance to be free..." and they "...need determination..." to preserve and do what they want. It just boggles my mind that Mrs. Breedlove would think, "But I knowed she was ugly. Head full of pretty hair, but Lord she was ugly." The voice in my head just reading this sentence has a twitch of a southern drawl and it makes the connotation of the sentence much worse. Just like southerners saying X,Y, and Z about someone and finishing the comment off with, "Bless her heart!" to make everything all better and lighten the blow. Well, it doesn't work. It is what it is, no matter how you try to phrase it or cover it up. If you said she was ugly, you said she was ugly.
It is a shame to not think the best of your own children. What parents say and do highly affect the growth of their children in every way, shape, and form. Pecola needed to grow up in a household that advocated "Black [as] Beautiful" instead of "Pecola is ugly." This sentiment about Pecola physically, heightened Pecola's want for physical features she did not have, and could not acquire, (blue eyes), in order to be respected instead of ignored. Louis Armstrong brings up similar points in his song, "What Did I Do To Be So Black And Blue?" His melancholy lyrics demonstrate the societal perceptions that are heaped upon him and others like him. They [the whites] "...laugh at you [the blacks]..." but I [Armstrong] promise that "...I'm white inside..." But, but, but my "...only sin is my kin..." (emphasis added). The title of the song really almost says it all. What did Armstrong do to deserve being this "terrible" thing of "black" and why does he always live his life blue [sad]? The lyrics to the song then help to demonstrate some of the social conditions of the time and why these questions are ever present in his life.
Music is a great way to get messages into people's minds, maybe without them even noticing until later. Naturally we just catch on to the high beat or the solemn tune and "forget" or "not pay attention to" the lyrics. With repetition, we soon fall into the trap of almost unconsciously memorizing the whole song and having it on constant replay in our heads all day. Well, are brains are just that good. So, music is a great way to "trick" others into listening to your message no matter how controversial. Once something is published, it is forever out there in the cruel world to be judged, critiqued, and debated. You have to be one courageous soul to put yourself out there, especially when you know you may be ridiculed by others. Armstrong was not afraid to sing what he felt. In the magically crafted lyrics, his hidden message is proposing a course of action for increased equality for blacks. This is the art and craft of a true artist.
Many of the characters in "The Bluest Eye" can relate to Armstrong's song in one way or another. Especially poor Pecola. She always seems to be "blue" because she is "black." And, she doesn't even live around any true whites, only lighter skinned blacks. How much more would she suffer if she was surrounded by whites? This is exactly what happened to her mother, Mrs. Breedlove, which started her down a path that led to deteriorating marital relations and adverse conditions for Pecola and her brother to be born into. Society really takes a toll on a person - that is for sure.
It is a shame to not think the best of your own children. What parents say and do highly affect the growth of their children in every way, shape, and form. Pecola needed to grow up in a household that advocated "Black [as] Beautiful" instead of "Pecola is ugly." This sentiment about Pecola physically, heightened Pecola's want for physical features she did not have, and could not acquire, (blue eyes), in order to be respected instead of ignored. Louis Armstrong brings up similar points in his song, "What Did I Do To Be So Black And Blue?" His melancholy lyrics demonstrate the societal perceptions that are heaped upon him and others like him. They [the whites] "...laugh at you [the blacks]..." but I [Armstrong] promise that "...I'm white inside..." But, but, but my "...only sin is my kin..." (emphasis added). The title of the song really almost says it all. What did Armstrong do to deserve being this "terrible" thing of "black" and why does he always live his life blue [sad]? The lyrics to the song then help to demonstrate some of the social conditions of the time and why these questions are ever present in his life.
Music is a great way to get messages into people's minds, maybe without them even noticing until later. Naturally we just catch on to the high beat or the solemn tune and "forget" or "not pay attention to" the lyrics. With repetition, we soon fall into the trap of almost unconsciously memorizing the whole song and having it on constant replay in our heads all day. Well, are brains are just that good. So, music is a great way to "trick" others into listening to your message no matter how controversial. Once something is published, it is forever out there in the cruel world to be judged, critiqued, and debated. You have to be one courageous soul to put yourself out there, especially when you know you may be ridiculed by others. Armstrong was not afraid to sing what he felt. In the magically crafted lyrics, his hidden message is proposing a course of action for increased equality for blacks. This is the art and craft of a true artist.
Many of the characters in "The Bluest Eye" can relate to Armstrong's song in one way or another. Especially poor Pecola. She always seems to be "blue" because she is "black." And, she doesn't even live around any true whites, only lighter skinned blacks. How much more would she suffer if she was surrounded by whites? This is exactly what happened to her mother, Mrs. Breedlove, which started her down a path that led to deteriorating marital relations and adverse conditions for Pecola and her brother to be born into. Society really takes a toll on a person - that is for sure.
A New Spin
"La Tempestad," simply put, was amazing. I really enjoyed it even though I was apprehensive about going through with it when I saw the type of people that hung around there. However, I was still excited about seeing a play in Spanish and I could not turn it down! It was a perfect excuse to actually "go out" and at the same time earn extra credit for an AP class! I really enjoyed how the actors incorporated acrobatics and tricks into the scenes because it made it way more entertaining than a regular play. They put their own unique spin on it that not many people can do. I really liked how the scenes went kind of quickly because I was super tired, but either way I was relieved that I understood what was going on because of studying it in class. Otherwise, I would probably be doomed like my mom was. Don't worry, I was able to explain the whole thing to her. I thought it was interesting that Gonzalo had crutches because in the Tempest scenes I was him, and I definitely did not act like I needed crutches. That is the beauty of art! Different people can interpret and reinterpret the same pieces to their heart's desire. I also enjoyed how the whole play was not just boring rattling off of lines! The whole Stephano/Trinculo/Caliban scene was filled with juggling the alcohol bottles around. What a great interpretation!! I really enjoyed the play and seeing it all acted out made everything from the play and what we learned in class finally all come together in one piece.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)