Shelf Life

Many people dream of being someone they truly are not, for everyone wants to have their own place in society and not be singled out. Everyone needs to discover their identity at some point in their life.

However, in the novel, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, the protagonist, a young African American girl named Pecola Breedlove, is having difficulty discovering her own identity. Like many children, she wants an intangible gift, blue eyes.

Society is only making it harder for Pecola to understand what she needs to really value. In fact, Pecola prays every night for her eyes to turn blue. She wants to become beautiful and loved like all of the other little children who have blond hair and blue eyes. Pecola is yearning for blue eyes, ultimately ending in a fulfillment, which is unexpected and a tragedy.

You will not know what hit you, when the novel comes to a finish. The novel The Bluest Eye is very powerful, one that everyone can connect to, one way or another. It is difficult understanding our own identity and remaining true to others and ourselves. Discover Pecola’s story behind just wanting blue eyes. Who knows, you might even learn something valuable? I know I for one did.

By Rajvir Chohan