The Fight for Change
Ever since human beings have walked this Earth, they have formulated various standards and stereotypes towards what they believe are truly sublime in human appearance. As for the others who are believed to not reach these standards, they suffer from self-degradation and the cruelty of others. In Toni Morrisons novel The Bluest Eye, she tells the story about a young black girl who believes she is ugly and wishes for blue eyes because the community bases their ideals of beauty on whiteness. Throughout her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou gives an account of her journey of becoming a woman and dominating the misfortunes and racist oppressions of her life. Both authors illustrate the idea that because of oppression the victim develops a self-hatred that enforces a desire to change.
Within The Bluest Eye, Morrison utilizes the Breedlove family as a prime example of people who desire to be anyone but themselves. Cholly, Pauline, Sammy and Pecola Breedlove have all experienced different devastating and painful moments in their life, but they all are unified by one idea: they are ugly. As the narrator explains, you looked at them and wondered why they were so ugly; you looked closely and could not find the source. Then you realized that it came from conviction, their conviction. It was as though some mysterious all-knowing master had given each one a cloak of ugliness to wear and they had accepted it without question (Morrison 39). In order to understand the characters and the unstable family situation, Morrison provides a background story for each character. Cholly Breedlove for example was abandoned at birth and was humiliated by two white men while making love for the first time. Paulines love for watching movies causes her to internalize the white definition of beauty and despises herself for not meeting the standards of beauty. The family has been trapped in their cycle of self-induced hatred from all the struggles and losses they have endured, but one family members experience exposes the ugliness within society and that is Pecola Breedlove.
It occurred to Pecola some time ago that if her eyes, those eyes that held the pictures, and knew the sightsif those eyes of hers were different, that is to say beautiful, she herself would be different (Morrison 46). By wishing for blue eyes the protagonist Pecola Breedlove implicitly indicates that she yearns to see things differently as much as she wishes to be seen differently. Everyday shes exposed to racism from both the black and white community, for her ugliness was used as a scapegoat for many peoples self-hatred, but she believed having blue eyes will make everyone love and accept her. For example, Pecola passes some dandelions and questions why they are considered ugly, but as she approaches the counter at a candy store, the owners speaks harshly and humiliates her. As she passes by the dandelions again she decides they are ugly and the blonde-hair, blue-eyed Mary Jane candy wrapper was beautiful. Morrison uses Pecolas easy susceptibility to the worlds cruelty to verify how ones atmosphere can influence how they see themselves. As the novel progresses, Pecolas determination for beauty and approval causes her to increasingly fade away from reality, but there are two tragic and traumatic events that seal her fate. It begins when Cholly Breedlove comes home drunk and rapes his own daughter, later resulting in pregnancy. The second event is when Pecola, in her desperation to achieve blue eyes, goes to a man named Soaphead Church, a supposed Reader, adviser, and interpreter of dreams. Although Soaphead knows he cannot help her, he tells her to feed meat, which is secretly poisoned, to a dog and promises if anything happens to the dog her wish will be granted. Innocent Pecola agrees and feeds the dog, who shortly after dies. The ironic tragedy was that even after all the cruelty that was thrust upon her, Pecola achieves her dreams for blue eyes, but at the cost of her sanity. Morrison illustrates that blinding oneself with desires will blind them from reality and true happiness.
In the novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou reveals her struggle to become someone she can accept and her desire to be viewed as a strong independent African American woman. As a young girl growing up in the South, Maya was faced with many obstacles. Such as white prejudice, black powerlessness, and female subjugation. Young Maya states because I was really white and because a cruel fairy stepmother, who was understandably jealous of my beauty, had turned me into a too-big Negro girl, with nappy black hair, broad feet and a space between her teeth that would hold a number-two pencil (Angelou 2). It is obvious how white societys constructed standards of beauty around whiteness had impacted Angelou to believe blackness was ugly and made her very insecure towards her looks. In addition to these obstacles, Maya endures many personal traumas in her life. When she and her brother were very young, their parents abandoned them and they are left with their grandmother in Arkansas. During their stay, Maya is exposed to the threat of the Klu Klux Klan and the powhitetrash childrens mockery of the ones she loves. Her Momma and Uncle Willy both possess the ability to bear the ill treatment and stay firm towards their beliefs, which is a prime example of how Maya wishes to be perceived. If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. It is an unnecessary insult (Angelou 6). One of the principle influential factors is the displacement she encounters. Throughout her childhood, she lives in seven different places, which makes her unable to establish a sense of belonging. With the constant changing surroundings from her grandmothers countryside of Arkansas to her mothers city in Los Angeles, she is left unsure and insecure towards the people and her surroundings. The most important factor that impacted the outlook towards herself was being raped as a child by Mr. Freeman. Angelou explains that after the rape, she proclaimed herself a hermit to hide her shame, but she implies that silence did not satisfy her.
In order to show her progress, Angelou states various events where she stood up for herself. For instance, at Mayas first job, she served a white lady, who insisted on calling her Mary. Angered and annoyed by her insensitive nature, Maya decides to stand up for herself by breaking one of the ladies most valuable pieces of china. Angelou acknowledges that she will no longer continue her passive nature and will confront her problems. Another example was when she lived with her father and her stepmother in the summer. The conflict between the stepmother and her grows to an extent where Maya is forced to leave her fathers house with a scissor stab wound to the leg and lives on her own in a junkyard for the rest of the summer. Angelou demonstrates her determination to appear strong and independent and wants to ensure that she can handle difficult situations. Unfortunately, Mayas insecurity returns with her fear of being a lesbian (as she associates it with being a hermaphrodite) when she realizes that her body has not matured for her age. Instead of concealing her fears like usual, she approaches her mother in order to show that she is no longer the hermit she once was. Angelou expresses her pride of her accomplishments by stating the Black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common forces of nature at the same time that she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice, white illogical hate and Black lack of power (Angelou 268). Finally, she succeeds at changing how others view her when she stands up for herself and attempt to acquire a job as a streetcar conductor despite the racist hiring policies. Angelou displays the idea that if one remains determined, they can change how they are seen and how they see themselves.
Throughout both novels, the authors express the concept that due to unfortunate circumstances, one yearns to transform into some one seen differently by others and by themselves. By using the Breedlove family, Morrison demonstrates that ones situation can force them to want to change something they cant control. Angelou makes it apparent with Mayas ability to stand up for herself and to become stronger. As society continues to set limitations on those considered beautiful, more people will have to choose to rise above or fall below the vicious circle of humanity.
Works Cited
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Bantam Books, 1983.
Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Vintage Books, 1970.
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