The Bluest Eye
by Toni Morrison
Literary Merit
"If those eyes of hers were different, that is to say beautiful, she herself would be different" (Morrison 46).
"She was never able, after her education in the movies, to look at a face and not assign it some category in the scale of absolute beauty, and the scale was one she absorbed in full from the silver screen" (Morrison 123).
History of the Controversy
"(Black people) are constantly reminded of their marginality. In order to sustain their domination, the white, after the demise of slavery, propagated their own stereotypes concerning beauty" (Kochar)
Why was it Banned?
"a white standard of beauty that excludes most black women and that destroys those who strive to measure up but cannot" (Furman).
strong sexual content, violence, and pornogrophy
Who wanted it banned?
government organizations, parents, activist groups
- Livingston Organization for Values in Education (LOVE)
- Ohio Board of Education president
Where was it banned?
Banned from school curriculums and libraries nationwide
- Livingston county, Michigan
- Ohio
Outcomes
- Remains part of 11th grade curriculum in Ohio
- book did not violate criminal laws and school and parents could make final decision
Works Cited
- Freadom. Digital image. American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. N.p., 27 Sept. 2015. Web. 6 Mar. 2016. <www.aclutx.org/2015/09/27/banned-books-in-texas-2014-2015/>.
- Furman, Jan. "Black Girlhood and Black Womanhood: The Bluest Eye and Sula." Toni Morrison's Fiction. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, 1996. 12-33. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 194. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resource Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
- Gates, Sara. "Ohio Schools Leader Calls For Ban Of 'The Bluest Eye,' Labels Toni Morrison Book 'Pornographic'" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 13 Sept. 2013. Web. 06 Mar. 2016.
- Knapp, Susan B. The Bluest Eye. 2007. Quilt. N.p.
- Kochar, Shubhanku. "Chapter 2: treatment of violence in The Bluest Eye." Language In India Jan. 2013: 563+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
- The Bluest Eye. Digital image. Thinkprogress.com. Think Progress, 30 Aug. 2013. Web. 6 Mar. 2016. <http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2013/08/30/2557951/bluest-eye-alabama/>.
- "The Bluest Eye | Top 10 Book Controversies | TIME.com." Entertainment Top 10 Book Controversies Comments. Time Magazine, 1 Oct. 2007. Web. 06 Mar. 2016.
- "The Bluest Eye." YouTube. YouTube, 7 Apr. 2011. Web. 06 Mar. 2016. <
My Favorite Scene
Claudia is confused about why she should love a doll that she cannot relate to. She does not understand why the doll is considered beautiful and is what she should aspire to look like.
"all the world had agreed that a blue-eyed, yellow-haired, pink-skinned doll was what every girl child treasured" (Morrison 20).
The Bluest Eye
The Bluest Eye is set in 1942 in Lorain, Ohio and is told from the point of view of a nine year old girl named Claudia. Claudia, her sister, and their friend Pecola feel lesser and ugly because they do not have blue eyes and blonde hair and idolize white girls and talk about their experiences that have made them feel insignificant. Pecola Breedlove in particular has a very difficult life and the story follows her struggles with her home life and eventual rape by her own father.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison should not be banned because it shows the emotional damage that beauty standards have on young black girls in a society that favors the white.
Book Intro