The Bluest Eye scrutinizes color consciousness by highlighting the internalized racism among African Americans before the black pride movement. Through Pecola's struggle to attain white beauty standards, Morrison shows how African Americans suppressed their racial identities to survive in a prejudiced society, lacking pride in their heritage and striving for an unattainable ideal of beauty.

The symbols of white baby dolls, blue eyes, and Shirley Temple in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye represent the destructive idealization of white beauty standards and their impact on African American identity. Claudia resents these symbols because they embody unattainable ideals imposed by a Eurocentric society, leading to feelings of inadequacy and rejection of one's heritage. These symbols highlight the pervasive racial oppression and internalized racism experienced by black communities.

Morrison uses candy in The Bluest Eye to symbolize the intersection of innocence, shame, and sexuality. Pecola's consumption of Mary Jane candies, which feature an image of an idealized white girl, reflects her internalization of societal beauty standards. This act represents her yearning for an unattainable ideal, linking sweetness to forbidden desires. Candy, often associated with childhood innocence, becomes a vehicle for Pecola's confusion over beauty, identity, and sexuality, leading to self-loathing and shame.

Pecola Breedlove's isolation and alienation are conveyed through her interactions with other characters. In one scene, Geraldine's son, Louis Junior, invites Pecola to his home and falsely blames her for killing Geraldine's cherished cat, leading Geraldine to insult Pecola without even looking at her. Additionally, Pecola's feelings of alienation are exacerbated by her comparison with the well-cared-for, light-skinned Maureen Peale, highlighting Pecola's desire for love and acceptance associated with having blue eyes.

Pecola's self-hatred, which results in madness, starts off as a consequence of absorbing the messages that the world sends her: "you are black and therefore unlovable." Meanwhile, lighter-skinned girls are to be showered with admiration. Everything that Pecola sees in her world sends her this message. Her classmate, Maureen Peal, is light-skinned and beloved. The black boys in their class not only admire Maureen but submit to her. Morrison uses language to convey the influence that Maureen has over others. Her name, Peal, is literally the sound of a bell. She is a clarion call. The narrator tells the reader about how boys's eyes "genuflect"

Point 1: Society as a whole is white supremacist. Point 2: The Breedloves buy into their own inferiority. Point 3: Pecola represents the hatred that other blacks internalize and transfer onto her. Possible essay topic: Paragraph about the social standard of beauty and how it impacts those who do not fit into it. Possible essay topic: Paragraph about internalized racism/colorism and how it affects Pecola’s life. Possible essay topic: Paragraph about the Breedloves’ internalization of their own inferiority and how they project that onto Pecola.

The theme of rejection in The Bluest Eye profoundly influences character development and the narrative. Characters like Pecola Breedlove experience societal rejection due to their race and perceived lack of beauty, leading to internalized inferiority and a yearning for acceptance symbolized by blue eyes. This rejection manifests in various forms, including familial abuse and societal neglect, shaping their identities and responses. Morrison uses these experiences to highlight the destructive nature of societal standards and the coping mechanisms individuals adopt.

Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye explores internalized racism, where black characters devalue themselves and idolize whiteness. Pecola Breedlove, the protagonist, experiences both intraracial and interracial racism. She is deemed ugly by her community and even her mother, Pauline, who favors a white child she cares for. Characters like Geraldine and Mr. Yacobowski illustrate how racism from whites and within the black community affects Pecola, reinforcing societal ideals of beauty and worthiness.

In The Bluest Eye, Frieda and Pecola might be fascinated with Shirley Temple because of internalized racism. They could be consciously or unconsciously accepting the racist norms that Shirley Temple symbolizes. Conversely, their fascination with Shirley Temple might have less to do with race and more to do with their perceived maturity or advanced ways of thinking.

In The Bluest Eye, Pecola Breedlove prays for blue eyes as she believes they symbolize beauty and acceptance in a society that idolizes white features. This desire stems from her abusive upbringing and internalized racism, which lead her to equate blue eyes with love and worth. As the novel's central character, Pecola embodies the destructive impact of these societal ideals on African American self-image. Her tragic quest for blue eyes highlights themes of racial identity, beauty standards, and victimization.