Student Question

Why does Claudia in The Bluest Eye say "I like Jane Withers"?

Shirley Temple was an extremely popular star of many films during the thirties. She often appeared with the black dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and with another child actress named Jane Withers. Withers portrayed nasty little girls who tried to get Temple into trouble.

Quick answer:

Claudia's preference for Jane Withers over Shirley Temple reflects her rejection of the idolization of white beauty. Unlike Pecola, Claudia consciously resists the societal standards that equate beauty with whiteness, symbolized by Temple. Claudia's dislike for Shirley Temple stems from her association with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, whom Claudia considers a personal figure. Her identification with Jane Withers, a less popular actress, underscores her rebellion against the dominance of white beauty ideals, facilitated by her supportive family environment.

Expert Answers

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It is important to see Claudia's remark in the context of the novel as a whole. What is key to realise is the way that Claudia, because she is much stronger than Pecola, with who she is compared, is a character who is able to consciously reject the way beauty is so strongly linked to Shirley Temple and whiteness. This is why she defies the trend of idolising Shirley Temple, in a way that Pecola does not, and tries to identify with other less popular figures, such as Jane Withers. Note what Claudia says in the following quote:

I hated Shirley. Not because she was cute, but because she danced with Bojangles, who was my friend, my uncle, my daddy, and who ought to have been soft-shoeing it and chuckling with me. Instead he was enjoying, sharing, giving a lovely dance thing with one of those little white girls whose socks never slid down under their heels.

Part of her rebellion against the tyranny of white beauty is expressed in her self-confessed hatred of Shirley. The fact that she identifies more with Jane Withers, who as this question identified, played a much less popular character who tried to get the character that Shirley Temple played into trouble, is another statement of her hatred of Shirley Temple and her rejection of white beauty. It is important to remember, however, that Claudia is only able to think this because of her supportive and loving family environment. Pecola, who has no such support, finds herself particularly vulnerable to white beauty.

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