#Summary of the bluest eye full

The prologue begins with this strange paragraph full of short, choppy, abrupt sentences, seemingly narrated by a child: вЂњHere is the house. I didnвЂ™t notice this book breaking any conventions of these somewhat serious genres except for one thing. Additionally, the book was originally published in 1970 but is set in approximately the 1940s or 50s, so some elements of historical fiction occasionally occur, as well. First and foremost, we determined that the book takes some elements of realistic fiction and вЂњslice of lifeвЂќ subgenres with its realistic representation of the mundane, day in and day out of life. The Bluest Eye is a fiction novel, though as a group we determined some more specific subgenres that we feel describe this story a bit more specifically. The wording of my new network is a bit different from our original, but the purposes and contexts are extremely similar. But even so, Pecola has received her wishes: beauty and a friend. PecolaвЂ™s joy doesnвЂ™t last for long, as she eventually asks this other voice, вЂњBut suppose my eyes arenвЂ™t blue enough?вЂќ (Morrison 203). Finally, Pecola is experiencing life as the envied one instead of the outcast, loosely the two sides of my determined network. Do you suppose sheвЂ™s jealous too?вЂќ (Morrison 197). She says, вЂњEver since I got my blue eyes, she look away from me all the time. In the last chapter of the novel, Pecola talks to someone (an imaginary friend, or an internal self, perhaps?) about her new blue eyes.

What matters is PecolaвЂ™s perspective, that she BELIEVES she has blue eyes, which represent the ideal beauty standards (aka whiteness). While this is true in reality, it isnвЂ™t what matters. I had this idea that the new controlling value of the book was about Pecola never meeting the ideals of beauty. Eventually, I ended up right where I started: our network from the first few chapters actually stands throughout the book.

When I sat down to give it a try, assuming that the network would be entirely different in the context of the entire novel, I realized something after spending quite a bit of time working through a new network. The thought of revising our original network of controlling values from our reading of the first few chapters was scary! I was unsure if IвЂ™d be able to do it without the support of my group members. Conversely, a text has a вЂњCounter ideaвЂќ which is an opposite force to the controlling idea (118). McKee argues that every text has a вЂњcontrolling ideaвЂќ that is like a theme: it вЂњnames a storyвЂ™s root or central idea, but also implies function: The controlling idea shapes the writerвЂ™s strategic choicesвЂќ (115).

The network of controlling values is an extension of Robert McKeeвЂ™s method of determining controlling and opposing ideas. The method I most struggle with is the one that seems to be most basic on the surface: determining a network of controlling values. While I can grasp at the feelings of isolation and inferiority (Ummm hello, have you ever been a teenager?), I prepared myself before reading to be hyper-aware of the thematic elements of the text so I wouldnвЂ™t fall into my usual habit. I think that one problem I find in my вЂњreading forвЂќ is that IвЂ™m constantly grasping for ways to relate to the text. Generally, my вЂњreading forвЂќ revolves around this concept of aesthetic emotion, but with this novel, I may have gotten more than I bargained for when I submitted to this text and allowed myself to be consumed by the mimesis. The abuse and neglect are hard to read about, of course, but the feelings of isolation and inferiority are tangible. In one word, reading this book is, well, devastating. Of course, my short summary canвЂ™t do justice to MorrisonвЂ™s beautiful yet harrowing prose. Pecola is sexually abused by her father, and she later miscarries, sinking into the throes of insanity. Pecola suffers from detrimental racial self-loathing, which we see through her desire for whiteness. Through the eyes of another girl in the neighborhood, Claudia, we learn about PecolaвЂ™s hardships and her familyвЂ™s past. With the hope that theyвЂ™ll make her happy, Pecola wants blue eyes. Pecola, because of her strange features and exceptionally dark skin, is ugly and unloved. The Bluest Eye, Toni MorrisonвЂ™s debut novel, is about a young, African American girl named Pecola.