the bluest eye.doc

Binary Opposition in The Bluest Eye 学院： 外国语专业： 英语语言文学 年级： 2012 姓名： 郑双 学号： 2012010275 Abstract The Bluest Eye written by the famous black woman writer Toni Morrison is through different perspectives. And this paper tries to study this novel through the theory of binary opposition. There are three pairs of binary opposition that has been offered in this paper: the loss and persistence of maternal love, the good and evil of paternal love and the loss and persistence of self-identity. Actually it is just like a comparison of the two families of Pecolas and Claudias and make it sure that the tragedy of Pecola is the result of her family, community and as well as the white-dominated culture.Key words: The Bluest Eye; binary opposition; loss and persistence; self-identityBackground informationToni Morrison (1931- ), the only black woman writer who won the Nobel Prize for the literature, was the most prominent and illustrious novelist in the second half of the 20th century. She was born in a small steel town named Lorain, in the state of Ohio, in a working class family in 1931. Her name was Chole Anthony Wofford, and she was the second child of four in her family. Her father, a manual labor as he is, was a diligent, perseverant and dignified man. Her mother was a deeply-committed Christian and a member of the choir of the church. The family took great pride in their precious black heritage.In 1949, she was admitted to Howard University, which was the most prestigious university for the blacks, studying English and classical literature. There she changed her name to be Toni Morrison, a short form of her second name, because many people werent able to pronounce her name in a correct way. While in Howard University, Toni Morrison was an activist of the repertory association. And with the players of the repertory association, she made some tours into the South. She got the first-hand information of the black peoples plight there, the life that her parents escaped by moving north to Ohio. After graduation, she went to Cornell University, specializing in the works of William Faulkner and Virginia Woolf. She received her masters degree in 1955. She then taught in Texas Southern University and Howard University. She was Senior Editor of the Random House Publishing Company in New York, trying her utmost for the publication of the young black writers works. She was chief editor of The Black Book, which was considered a historical encyclopedia of the blacks. From the 1970s, she lectured on the African American Literature in New York State University, Yale University, and Barrs Academy. All these experiences strongly inspired her to understand the black people, and she began to stress the political functions of her literary creation: as black writers, it is not for aesthetic enjoyment that they write, but for the responsibilities they think they should take up to speak out for their people. To Morrison, a novel “should be beautiful, and powerful, but it should also work” and it “must have something in it that suggests what the conflicts are, what the problems are”, which is an indication of her belief that literature should be aesthetically beautiful as well as politically engaged.Toni Morrison has produced nine novels until now. The Bluest Eye was her first novel, written in the 1960s. Sula (1973), Song of Solomon (1977), Tar Baby (1981), Beloved (1987) which brought her the Pulitzer Prize in 1988, Jazz (1992), Paradise (1998), Love (2003), and her most recent works is A Mercy, which was published in the year 2008. To Toni Morrison, it is the deep-rootedness in the traditional black culture, and her ability to reflect “an essential aspect of American reality” that contributes to her success as a writer. She seeks to speak out“the unspeakable thing”, that is, the racial problem in the American society. Through her works, Morrison successfully shows us that the long duration of the racist society leads to the loss of self-identity, the loss of community sense, the loss of their own precious cultural heritage, and the loss of their own values on the part of some Afro-Americans. The integration with the mainstream society but at the cost of abandoning their own identity is an inappropriate way for the survival of the Afro-Americans. Regarding her works as an important means to disclose problems and to find appropriate methods to solve the problems, Toni Morrison seems to rely on cultural means to help those blacks who expect to integrate into the mainstream society at the cost of abandoning their racial identity, abandoning their traditional cultural heritage.The Bluest Eye recounts a heartrending story of a black girl called Pecola, who has a beauty dream of owning white skin and a pair of blue eyes fragmentizes and results in her tragic ending under the hegemonic white culture. The bitter and miserable experience of the heroine arouses much interest among the literary critics and there have been considerable studies done both at home and abroad on the political as well as the cultural dimensions, and many studies have made remarkable achievements. And in this paper I want to analyze it with the binary opposition.The theory of binary opposition applied in this novel is developed from the structural linguistics. The theory of binary opposition is taken from the structural linguistics. It was firstly put forward by the famous linguistics Ferdinand de Saussure, and then was developed as one of the key concepts in structuralism. It is seen as a fundamental organizer of language, philosophy and culture so far. The theory of binary opposition has been applied in literature quite recently. Its sweeping influence comes from its help to explore the deep meaning of the literary works which it is applied to. Therefore, it has drawn scholars attention and the research work has already obtained great achievement. In the Oxford Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms, the binary opposition refers to the principle of contrast between two mutually exclusive terms, an important concept of structuralism, which sees such distinctions to structure and stabilize them in the texts. The critique of binary oppositions is an important part of third wave feminism, post-colonialism, post-anarchism, and critical race theory, which argue that the perceived binary dichotomy between man/woman, civilized/savage, and Caucasian/non-Caucasian have perpetuated and legitimized Western power structures favoring “civilized” white men. In the last fifteen years it has become almost a routine for any good social and or historical analysis to address the variables of gender, class, sexuality race and ethnicity.1. The loss and persistence of maternal loveA. The losing of maternal love and its influence on the child.It is well-known that maternal love plays a very important role in the process of childrens growing up. In The Bluest Eye Pauline is a mother, who lacks of self-identity and losses herself in the White- oriented authentic and value. Pauline is the ninth of eleven children in her family and they originally lives in the south and an accident made her cripple. Such physical deformity led the other children intentionally ignored her existence and her growing alienation and development of inadequate personality for parents. In the book “why she alone of all the children and had no nickname; why there were no funny jokes and anecdotes about funny things she had done; why Her general feeling of separateness and unworthiness she blamed on her foot”. Actually her physical deformity excluded from her own racial group and it lays a foundation for her future self-hatred toward black people in the white world. Later Pauline and Cholly move northward to Ohio. Usually the southern America is viewed as the homeland of black people while they move northward everything changed. Paulines life was surrounded by the White and she was insulted by them even the few black women. “They were amused by her because she did not straighten her hair. When she tired to make up her faces as they did, it came off rather badly”. Since then she began to lose her own authentic and more and more uncertain about her identity. She spent money on clothes and make up just for “other women to cast favorable glances her way”. She went to the movies and admired the Whites in the movie, fixed her hair like Clark Gable and Jean Harlow on a magazine. From all her actions we can see that Poline had been brainwashed by the White culture and lost her own identity and believed that she is ugly. Just because of Paulines thought she dose not love even hates her baby, Pecola. When Pecola was born Pauline says “a cross between a puppy and a dying man. But I know she was ugly. Head full of pretty hair but Lord she was ugly”. How can a baby grow up healthily without the love of mother? Pauline couldnt change the reality of black so she resorted to serving the Fishers to get her self-identity and self-accomplishment. She worshiped the White culture and it affected her motherhood. She spent her time and efforts that should be shared with her own children and family on the little Fisher girl. “she bathed the little Fisher girl, it was in a porcelain tub with silvery taps running infinite of hot, clear water. She dried her in fluffy white towels and put her in cuddy night clothes. Then she brushed the yellow hear, enjoying the roll and slip of it between her fingers”. This description shows that Pauline has put her maternal love on the White girl instead of her own child, Pecola. In Paulines eyes, Pecola is ugly and inferior so she does not fulfill her motherhood very well to protect her child. When Pecola splashed the pan and most of the juice splashed on Pecolas legs, Pauline yanked her up by the arm, slapped her again, and in a voice thin with anger, abused Pecola directly. On the country, Pauline dashed to the Fishers daughter to see if she was ok and comforted her. All the actions that Pauline had done makes Pecola think that the reason why mother does not like her just because she dose not have the beautiful blue eyes. She thinks that is she has the pretty blue eyes everything will be different. So Pecola prayed “please God, please make me disappear”. “Almost done, almost. Only her tight, tight eyes were left. They were always left. Try as she might, she could never get her eyes to disappear.” Because of Paulines so-called “maternal love”, Pecola lives in fancy and grows without confidence and self-identity. Just dreams of having a pair of blue eyes. So each night, without fail, she prayed for blue eyes. Fervently, for a year she had prayed. Although somewhat discouraged, she was not without hope.” And finally the abnormal thought and giving birth to her fathers dead baby drives Pecola crazy. All in all, just because Pauline does not plays a good role of a mother and also does not offer her children the deserved love and protection that Pecola could not grow up healthily. That is lacking of maternal love is the root of Pecolas tragedy. B. The persistence of maternal love and its influence on the child.Claudias family and Pecolas family belong to the same class and they both have to suffer the depression and poverty. On the country to Breedlove family, the Macteers are bond together to live a dignified life. Since underprivileged and living at the bottom of the society, Mrs. Macteer has to struggle for the survival of the whole family. Inevitably, she complains about the plight of the family. Sometimes she even courses or beats her two daughters for their mischievousness or misdeeds. Nonetheless, she spares no effort to show her selfless maternal love towards her daughters, and even to the “outsider” family Pecola. For the first time Claudia realizes that she receives maternal love from her mother is during an illness when she got a cold. Her memory about maternal love and her understanding of it are the mothers large and rough hands rubbing the Vicks salve on her chest. Claudia recalls that when she thinks of autumn, she thinks of somebody with hands who does not want her to die. The mothers hands are the symbol of Mrs. MacTeers special “thick and dark” maternal love which supports her children and lasts through the whole of their lives.Not only Mrs. MacTeer shows her maternal love physically but also spiritually. Mrs. MacReer is a very optimistic and kind woman. She likes singing the blacks traditional blue songs, which gives great impression on Claudia. She always remembers her mothers song and grows up with the songs. Mrs. MacTeer sings about hard times, bad times, and it has become a way to release their emotions. But such hobby shows Mrs. MacTeer admits their black culture and also inherits. Mrs. MacTeers maternal love finds a best proof in that they take in Pecola. When the community people know that Pecola has been pregnant of her fathers baby they couldnt tolerate it. “They were disgusted, amused, shocked, outraged, or even excited by the story.” Nobody say “poor little” or “poor baby”. Their eyes creased with veils instead of concern. Under such conditions, Mrs. MacTeer accepts Pecola. She makes big fusses when Pecola has drunk three whole quarts of milk, yet she still provides accommodation for her and does not put her outdoors. When Pecola has the first menstruation, Mrs. MacTeer patiently and even cheerfully helps her overcome a complicated feeling of tension and fear, and makes her understand that she has gone from little girl to woman. And in the novel Frieda and Claudia heard “the water gushing, and over its gushing they could hear the music of their mothers laughter.” Mrs. MacTeer such a maternal love helps foster the sense of dignity and self-love in Frieda and Claudia. It is completely opposite to Paulines lack and misplacement of maternal love. Because of such maternal love that Frieda and Claudia could grow up happily and keep their purity and kindness survive from the White cultures erosion. 2. The good and evil of paternal loveA. The evil of paternal love and its influence on the child.Pecolas father, Cholly, plays a very important role in Pecolas tragedy. We can not say that Cholly does not love her daughter but does not know how to be a good father. So Chollys love of his daughter can be called “evil paternal love”.Cholly was abandoned by his mother when his was four days old. It was his aunt Jimmy who rescued him and raised him up. After the death of aunt, Cholly felt lonely and feared, he thought only his runway father could understand and help him. So he tried to find his father but to his disappointed that his father refused to be his father. Later Cholly got married with Pauline and had their children. The first time Pauline got pregnant Cholly tried to tolerate Paulines behavior and got home earlier and less quarrel with her for the sake of child. From this point, we can see that Cholly indeed cared his child and tried to keep his family more warm. But we can not deny that he did not enjoy the paternal love so he does not know how to be a father. In the novel, Morrison says that “Nothing, nothing, interested him now. But the aspect of married life that dumbfounded him and rendered him totally dysfunctional was the appearance of children. Having no idea of how to raise children, and having ever watched any parent raise himself, he could not even comprehend what such a relationship should be.” The result of such confused idea leads to his evil paternal love for his daughter. The paternal love toward his daughter changed into the evil love and finally raped his own daughter. When he got drunk and went home, Cholly saw Pecola was washing dishes in the kitchen. “Then he became aware that he was uncomfortable: next he felt the discomfort dissolve into pleasure. The sequence of his emotion was revulsion, ugly, pity, then love.” The reason why he was revulsion was because his daughters young, hopeless presence. He wondered why his child unhappy and seemed miserable. Her presence made him guilty and having no idea of what to do. In the novel, this part says “What could he do for her-ever? What give her? What say to her? What could a burned-out black man say to the hunched back of his eleven-year-old daughter?” what more irritated him was “If he looked into her face, he would see those hunted, loving eyes. The hauntedness would irritate himthe love would move him to fury. How dare she love him? Hadnt she any sense at all?” Cholly feared his daughters love towards him and really does not know how and what to do with it. “What was he supposed to do about that? Return it? How? What could his calloused hands produce to make her smile? What of his knowledge of the world and of life could be useful to her? What could his heavy arms and befuddled brain accomplish that would earn him his own respect, that would in turn allow him to accept her love?” All these thoughts make him more and more guilty. How to release his emotion? One way, that is to love Pecola as he loved Pauline! Then the tragedy happened-Cholly raped his own daughter! After that when Cholly saw Pecola, he was filled with hatred and tenderness, the tenderness forced him to cover her. We all know that the paternal love is really very important in the process of children growing up. Chollys abnormal paternal love leads to his daughters miserable tragedy. Being raped by the father, Pecola was pregnant and born a dead baby and finally she could not bear all the society and got mad. B. The good of paternal love and its influence on the child.Compared with the evil paternal love of Pecolas father there is another