Essay on Search for Perfection in Toni Morrisons The...

Search for a Perfection in The Bluest Eye The concept of physical beauty and desire to conform to a prescribed definition of what is considered beautiful can destroy a persons life. In Toni Morrisons novel, The Bluest Eye, many characters are obsessed with attaining the idealist definition of what is considered beautiful. The characters of Geraldine, Pauline, and Pecola all believe that physical perfection leads to acceptance; however, it is the same belief that causes their personal downfalls and prevents them from recognizing their own inner beauty. Geraldines anxieties over wanting to comply with what others think is beautiful, damage her existence. For example, the character of Geraldine is so consumed with physical†¦show more content†¦She thinks his appearance is more important than her affection because she also wants to have a family that looks white. Geraldine thinks brushing her sons hair and oiling his skin will help to make his black features vanish. Geraldines concern and obsession over what is regarded by others as beautiful demolish her life. The character of Pauline tries so desperately to fit into societys typecast of beauty that she loses the ability to love herself for who she is as well as her ability to appreciate what she does have. For example, when Pauline is made to feel inferior by other black women, Morrison emphasizes, Pauline felt uncomfortable with the few black women she met. They were amused by her because she didnt straighten her hair. When she tried to make up her face as they did, it came off rather badly. Their goading glances and private snickers at her way of talking... and dressing developed in her desire for new clothes (Morrison 118). Pauline is aggravated because of her physical appearance. She feels ugly and wants to fit in with societys women. She tries fitting into what is thought by those around her to be the ideal characterization of beauty instead of accepting herself for whom she is. Pauline Breedloves insecurities only deepen as a result of her attempts to look a certain way. In ad dition, when Morrison explains how Pauline would rather be around nice things at work than at her ownShow MoreRelatedRacism in Toni Morrisons The Bluest Eye Essay1955 Words   |  8 Pagesequal.† In fact, Americans are praised for the so-called equality they possess. However, renowned author Toni Morrison sheds light on the sheltered and unspoken truth that everyone—to some extent—is racist. â€Å"Home† is a reflective essay in which Morrison explains that her triumphs against racist ideologies are evident throughout her various novels (â€Å"Home† 3). In Morrison’s first novel,  The Bluest Eye, instead of establishing a home where race does not matter—a home which she dreams of in her essay—sheRead MoreAnalysis Of The Great Gatsby And Morrison s The Bluest Eye 1874 Words   |  8 Pageswho know how to find it—the Emersonian genius, present in Ayn Rand’s Anthem, is by far more prone to salvation than that of t he coexisting counterpart who will reach an inevitable self-damnation, found in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Morrison’s The Bluest Eye. Those who focus not on the method of acceptance into society but rather upon the idealism of the importance of solitude are capable of invention—â€Å"for only the individual can produce new ideas† (Isaacson 33). Prometheus, from Ayn Rand’s