RACISM AND RELIGION IN TONI MORRISON’S THE BLUEST EYE
RACISM AND RELIGION
IN TONI MORRISON’S THE BLUEST EYE
Dr.
B. Kathiresan K. Mugeshpillai
Associate Professor & Head i/c M.Phil,
Research Scholar
Department of English Department
of English
Thiruvalluvar University Thiruvalluvar
University
Vellore – 632115 Vellore – 632115
African American writers have not only
represented themselves but also their race. They have established African
American identity through their magnificent writing. Toni Morrison entwines the
concerns of two main themes in her novel The Bluest Eye. She explores a problem
specific to groups targeted by racism, that of internalized racism and religion
which has been part of their culture and taken for granted. Afro- Americans,
begin to believe about themselves and imagine that European Americans are
superior in beauty, morality, and intelligence. In The Bluest Eye Morrison
focuses on this problem of internalized racism as it affects blacks and the
psychological mechanism called religion which is pivotal on the cycle of
oppression.Despite the rising status of African American literature, black
authors have shared a common burden over time that of representing the Afro -
American race.
Maintaining the position of what it means to be black in America
allowed authors to establish an Afro - American identity that transcended the
individuals, by cultivating what authors were able to prove the intellectual
potential of blacks.
Toni Morrison is a
skilled writer. She is the winner of Nobel and Pulitzer prizes. Morrison has
left an enduring mark on American culture with her novels. Toni Morrison has
distinguished herself as an author, editor, and critic who has transformed the
American literary setting with her charisma in the Afro - American literary
institution. When she won the Nobel Prize in Literature (1993), the Swedish
Academy referred to her as one, who characterized her novels by visionary force
and poetic import that gives life to an essential aspect of American reality.
She has delivered her Nobel lecture, on 7 December 1993 in Stockholm , which
demonstrated that the visionary force and poetic import of her novels reflect
her worldview and understanding of how language shapes human reality. Writing
was the most extraordinary way of thinking and feeling for Toni Morrison. It
became the one thing that she had absolutely no intention of living without.
Toni Morrison penned
ten novels, The Bluest Eye (1970), Sula (1973), Song of Solomon (1977), Tar
Baby (1981), Beloved (1987) and Jazz (1992), Paradise (1997), Love (2003) , A
Mercy (2008) and Home (2012). Through her novels, Toni Morrison traced the
plight of black people who have suffered the inferior social and economic
status in a conspicuous culture. Morrison lodges a stern denunciation against
the overriding society for its unfair tyranny of African-Americans. Blacks’ subjugated culture
ismade noticeable by
her literary representation. She has given a voice to the black minority. As an
African-American female writer, her writings are profuse in rank about black
culture. Her accountability as a black artist is to uphold black cultural
perception, to enlighten and reinforce the values of black cultural legacy. The
repressive life experience of African-American women in a racially prejudiced
culture is treated with an eccentric voice in Morrison’s workThe Bluest Eye.
Toni Morrison has
created new spaces for readers through her spoken and written word to bring
their mind’s eye and their intellect to the complex cultural , political ,
social and historical issues. Although her novels typically concentrate on
black women, Morrison does not identify her works as feminist works. She
believes that, “Writers are among the most sensitive, the most intellectually
anarchic, most representative, most probing of artists. The ability of writers
to imagine what is not the self, to familiarise the strange and mystify the
familiar, is the test of their power.”
The Bluest Eye is based on Morrison’s
conversation with a black girl during her childhood. Morrison recommends that
her thoughts about why that black girl pleads for blue eyes are stimulated when
the racial beauty of “Black is Beautiful” is reclaimed. She says, it “wasn’t
that easy being a little black girl in this country--it was rough. The
psychological tricks you have to play in order to get through--and nobody said
how it felt to be that. And I wanted to explore it.” (1970:17). The Bluest Eye
speaks strongly of the tone of the demoralized black females in the
insignificant society which has become mute and it also expresses the victims’
voices.
RACE
Racism, as a distinct fact of the American
social and political scene, was clearly embedded in that period of history
where in, the first Africans were brought as cheap labor on to the American
work force. In her interview to the newspaper TheGuardian Morrison says, “In
this country American means white. Everybody else has to hyphenate” (29Jan
1992). Racial bigotry in The Bluest eye is an obvious indication of Toni
Morrison’s concern to describe creatively the insensitivity of the white folks
towards black. Pecola, the chief character in The Bluest Eye is the most woeful
creation who consistently suffers from racial discrimination. Her own mother
Pauline Breedlove abuses Pecola by treating the white girl of her employers as
superior to her just because of the colour. She has never felt the love of her
mother. She believes that it is because of her colour; her dark skin, dark
eyes, and "woolly" hair that she is not seen as beautiful, and from
these thoughts she begins to hate the beauty of the white children. Pecola once
visits her mother at her working place with her friends; she tries to ouch the
silvery pan near the stove to see if it was hot. Pan tilts under Pecola’s
fingers and falls to the floor, splattering blackish blueberries everywhere.
Mrs. Breedlove enters and slaps her and in a voice thin with anger says, “Crazy
fool my floor, messlook what you work get on out now that crazy my floor, my
floor my floor. Her words were hotter and darker than the smoking berries, and
we backed away in dread.”(1970:109)
When Pecola walks to the grocery store to buy
candy, Mr. Yacobowski the shopkeeper cannot bear Pecola’s presence and he
cannot look at her, “How can a fifty-two-year-old white immigrant storekeeper…
see a little black girl?” (1970:36) .This shows the influence of the
white-beauty. Claudia, the 11 year old girl, narrator of the story apprehends
white beauty as horrible. She doesn’t like the admiration of Frieda and Pecola
towards Shirley Temple; an icon of white beauty. Another evidence for racism in
The Bluest eye is Young Junior’s wicked deed towards Pecola. Geraldine who is
also a Black (light skinned) does not allow her son Junior to play with other
black children which made him dislike his own race. Once Young Junior observed
pecola taking shortcut through play ground. He had seen her many a time
standing alone at recess. Nobody ever played with her because she is very black
and ugly. One day Young Junior talks to her so gently and invites her to his
home. He says that he has something to show her at home. Believing him Pecola
follows him. He opens the door for her and fosters her to get in. She is scared
but still goes in, because she finds a big red-and-gold coloured Bible on the
dining-room table and a colour picture of Jesus Christ on a wall. Hence she did
not anticipate any disaster to her. But Young Junior discloses his original
wicked character. He pulls her into another room and throws a big black cat
right on her face. He guffaws cruelly runs around the room and says “You can’t
get out. You’re my prisoner,” (1970:89) When his mother Geraldine sees the girl
trapped in her house, insults her emotionally. She says, ““Shut up!” Hair
uncombed, dresses falling apart, shoes untied and caked with dirt. The end of
the world lay in their eyes, and the beginning, and all the waste in between.
They were everywhere. They slept six in a bed, all their pee mixing together in
the night as they wet their beds each in his own candy-and-potato-chip dream.
“Get out,” she said, her voice quiet. “You nasty little black bitch. Get out of
my house.”(1970:90)Cholly, the father of Pecola has also been a victim of
racism and emotional abuse since his childhood; it makes him person who cannot
show love or express his feelings. He suffers from racism when he is caught
having sex with his friend Darlene. Two white men catch him in the act and
scream,‘‘Get on wind it, nigger. An’ make
it good, nigger, make it good’’ (1970: 148). Toni Morrison illuminates on the
sufferings of black females in a white society in The Bluest Eye. This novel
“…shows racism’s damaging effects on the black community at large and on black
families” (Kubitschek, 27). In The Bluest Eye, Pecola Breedlove realizes the
supremacy of white society and longs to have the features of white females. She
prays to God to give the bluest eye in the world. This word itself reveals the
eagerness to have even more finer features than white women.
RELIGION
Religion is the faith in God who is
Omnipotent. The comprehensive study of religion would disclose the implicit
body of human activity cannot pay to overlook the implied significance of
religion. Religion insists on the democratization of society, offering freedom,
sameness and fraternity.Almost all of Morrison’s novels are filled with
religious themes. If we keenly examine her novels, we can find number of issues
related to religion either Catholicism or Christianity. The use of The Holy
Bible is seen very often in her novels. It can be a direct Biblical reference
or scriptures from the Bible. Sermons and songs are also found in her novels.
There is a strong basis for this in her life. In one of her interviews Morrison
said that there are people who used to speak sermonic language in her family.
People used to quote Bible, they have Biblical phrases in regular conversation
or they had lyrics or songs. Morrison’s mother herself was a singer. So there
was nothing so strange about religion to Morrison.
In the very beginning of the novel the author
writes: “Quiet as it’s kept, there were no marigolds in the fall of 1941. We
thought, at the time, that it was because Pecola was having her father’s baby
that the marigolds did not grow.”(1970:5)It is obvious in the above quoted
lines that there is something that is against God’s will has been done. That is
the reason why the land is cursed.Marigolds did not blossom, “Not even the
gardens fronting the lake showed marigolds that year.” (1970:5). This means,
marigolds did not blossom even though there is water. It reminds us of God’s
judgement in Genesis chapter: 3:17, 18(Old Testament) God has cursed the land
for the sin committed by Adam and Eve.
Characters in this
novel are born Christians. Some are very loyal to the Lord but some are very
far away from the Lord both in their thoughts and deeds. For name sake they
have Bible in their houses. They hang the picture of Christ on their walls
(Geraldine). When Pecola is teased by Young Junior, she saw the picture of
Jesus and felt that Jesus looking down at her with sad and unsurprised eyes,
his long brown hair parted in the middle, the gay paper flowers twisted around
his face. (1970: 93). These folks know in and out of the Bible. After Aunt Jimmy’s
death, all the ladies have cleaned the house, aired out everything. They
stitched together a white wedding dress for Aunt Jimmy, a maiden lady, to wear
because they believed that she would meet Jesus (1970:140). People who came to
see Aunt Jimmy’s funeral say the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. This is
symbol of unbreakable faith that job has in theBible, “20Then Job arose and
tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped.
21He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return
there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the
LORD."22 (Old Testament Job: 1:21)
The characters in the novel are projected as
Christians, god-fearing and faithful. They seek god for help. They use the
scriptures to correct their conduct.The narrator says “Bible says watch as well
as pray” (Morrison Pg 25) . In Claudia’s opinion folks don’t care for their
children. They don’t even bother whether their child has had a loaf of bread or
not? Mr Cholly Breedlove has been released from the jail.But he did not bother
his daughter. Claudia’s family takes care of Pecola. Claudia feels “. Bible
says feed the hungry. That’s fine. That’s all right.”(Morrison Pg.27). All the
Characters in the novel know that they should follow scriptures, but some
characters in this novel (Soap, head of the Church) live as Christians for name
sake.
Soap, head of the Church, a self-proclaimed
Anglophile, (a term applied to someone who has an enormous admiration for and
devotion to things British) is a damaged character. He is the storehouse of all
the sickness of internalized racism. He comes into the narrative only at the
end of the novel, where Morrison attempts to give his full history in too short
a space before continuing the narrative about Pecola. He is `` disgraceful
African-American character in the novel and a child molester who believes he is
better than God. Having dallied with the priesthood in the Anglican Church, he
abandoned it to become a caseworker. He became a “Reader, Adviser, and
Interpreter of Dreams.” It was a profession that suited him well. (1970:165)
He was called by the
townspeople Soap head Church. No one knew where the “Church” part came
from—perhaps somebody’s recollection of his days as a guest preacher—those
reverends who had been called but who had no flock or coop, and were constantly
visiting other churches, sitting on the altar with the host preacher. But
everybody knew what “Soap head” meant—the tight, curly hair that took on and
held a sheen and wave when pomaded with soap lather. A sort of primitive
process. (1970:167). Soap head Church is the deceitful spiritualist; He is wise
enough in his own mad way, though, to recognize the pathos of Pecola’s
situation. Morrison uses Soap head Church's letter to explore how some of these
forces cannot find redemption, even in the presence of the divine. He questions
God for not giving blue eyes to Pecola and creating her so ugly.
He is blaming God for all his sins. The letter, itself, is far from
clear. In a traditional letter to the divine, one would conventionally express
some type of fundamental regret and remorse. The hope would be one would lose
one’s ego in the face of the divine. But if we observe Soap head’s letter, he
showed his ego by blaming God as responsible for his sins. He even feels that
God did not take care of Pecola. He created her very ugly and he left her. Tell
me, Lord, how could you leave lass so long so lone that she could find her way
to me? How could you? I weep for you, Lord (1970:180).
The lack of
coherence in the letter and lack of admission for wrong in the letter is seen
not only in the case of Soap head’s letter but in Morrison's way of inverting
this traditional understanding. Soap head does not admit his mistakes. The
letter serves as a way to show how Soap head Church embodies hypocrisy and a
lack of authentic embrace of individual responsibility. Moments in the letter
such as comparing himself to God for being able to grant Pecola's wish. He
enquires God, how He could be so forgetful in the case of Pecola for not
granting herBlue eyes. “You have to understand that, Lord. You said, “Suffer
little children to come unto me, and harm them not. Did you forget? Did you
forget about the children? Yes. You forgot. (1970:181). Soap head thinks that
he can "work miracles”. He believes that he has received power from God.
He even made the people believe that he has God’s power within him. “I told
people I knew all about you. That I had received Your Powers. It was not a complete
lie; but it was a complete lie. (1970:179).When he has used his knowledge for
Pecola’s wish he feels so proud of him and says, “I, I have caused a miracle. I
gave her the eyes. I gave her the blue, blue, two blue eyes. Cobalt blue.A
streak of it right out of your own blue heaven. No one else will see her blue
eyes. But she will. And she will live happily ever after. I, I have found it
meet and right so to do Now you are jealous. You are jealous of me. You see? I,
too, have created” (1970:182)
Finally the purpose
of Soap head Church's letter is to reflect how the order of things does not
eradicate evil and that some of its forms exist. While there is sadness, pain
and suffering in the world, evil exists. When the dog is found dead, Soap head
Church is asleep, as if nothing is wrong. The letter to God highlights the
condition of being in which evil exists and a lack of self- reformation is a
part of it.
Mr. Henry is the
most awful character in the novel. His full name is Henry Washington. He is not
part of the MacTeer family, but simply boards in their house. Mr. Henry spends
much of the book endearing him to both Claudia and Frieda. One day, Henry gives
the girls money to buy ice cream and sends them on their way. When Claudia and
Frieda return, they find Mr. Henry with two women of questionable reputation
(Maginot Line and China). Even though the two women are widely known as
prostitutes, Mr. Henry convinces Claudia and Frieda that they are part of a
Bible Study group together. Yet, he still reminds them not to tell their mother
about him. “Oh.” He laughed the grown-up getting-ready-to-lie laugh. A heh-heh
we knew well. “Those were some members of my Bible class. We read the
scriptures together, and so they came today to read with me.” “Bed’ not
mentions it to your mother. They don’t take to so much Bible study and don’t
like me having visitors, even if they are good Christians.”(1970:78-79)
Mr.
Henry once misbehaves with Frieda, the sister of Claudia. When Frieda informs
about this to her parents, they bashess him badly and finally throws him out of
the house. When he was beaten he sings a song, “He got up and started singing
‘Nearer My God to Thee.’ This shows how malice he is and he uses God’s name for
his evil doings. This is very much against the Lords Commandment.7 “You shall
not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone
guiltless who misuses his name. Exodus: 20:7 (Old Testament). In The Bluest Eye
there are people who are faithful and are called true Christians in the
society. But there are people who seem to be faithful and pious outwardly like
decorated tombs which stink. Through this Morrison attempts to project stark realities
she has witnessed in Afro- American community.
The Bluest Eye is
Toni Morrison's first novel for its vivid sketch of the fear and loneliness at
the heart of a child's yearning, and the tragedy of its fulfilment, domination
of white race and hypocrisy of people in and out of the community. This novel
remains one of Tony Morrison’s most powerful, unforgettable novels- and a
significant work of American fiction especially remarkable for its projection
of racial prejudices and biblical illusions.
WORKS CITED
Ashby,
Ruth. 1991. Her Story: Women Who Changed theWorld. New York: Penguin Books.
Andrea O'Reilly.2004. A Politics of the Heart.Albany
Sate.University of New York Press.
Collins,
Patrica Hill. 1987. “The Meaning of Motherhood inBlack culture and Black Mother/Daughter Relationships”.A
Scholarly Journal On Black Woman. Vo l.
4(2).
Derek
Attridge Rutledge 2004. The Singularity ofLiterature . Taylor Francis Group
Elizabeth
Ann Beaulieu - 2003 .The Toni MorrisonEncyclopaedia .Library congress.
Kubitschek,
Missy Denn. 1998. Toni Morrison, London: Greenwood Press
Lorde,
André,“Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women,2007.
Redefining Difference.” Sister Outsider:Essays and Speeches Berkeley,
California: Crossing Press,
Montgomery,
Maxine Lavon.1996. The Apocalypse inAfrican-American Fiction.Gainesville:UniversityPress ofFlorida, 1996.
Morrison,
Toni. 1994. Conversations with Toni Morrison ed. Danille Taylor- Guthrie. Jackson: U P of Mississippi.
Morrison,
Toni. 1999. The bluest eye. Great Britain: Vintage
Morrison,
Toni. 1994. The Bluest Eye. Afterward by ToniMorrison.New York:
Penguin, 1994
Morrison,
Toni. The Guardian Jan 29.1992
Nellie
Y. McKay.1988 Critical Essays on Toni Morrison. Boston: G K Hall.
Posts
No comments: