The Bluest Eye - a tale of hurt
- Sep 27, 2021
- 2 min read
“We mistook violence for passion, indolence for leisure, and thought recklessness was freedom.”
Written by one of my favourite authors, Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye tells the story of a young girl’s journey to self-acceptance and understanding amidst a background of colourism and sexual abuse. Set in the 1940s, Toni Morrison’s first novel narrates the difficult tale of the after effects of slavery and years of subjugation and the desire it has created in even the youngest elements of our society to attain whiteness. Morrison paints the narrative of a young girl's internalised self-hatred, which is reflected through her immense desire for blue eyes so she can in turn be as loved and pretty as the blond children she sees.
Initially I wanted to read this book after becoming aware that the final pages of Morrsion’s novel inspired the lyrics of Taleb Kweli and Mos Def’s “Thieves in the Night”, one of my favourites songs by the pair, and in particular the following verse which mimics the ending to Morrison’s acclaimed novel:
Not strong (Only aggressive),
Not free (We only licensed)
Not compassionate, only polite (Now who the nicest?)
Not good but well behaved, (chasing after death so we can
Call ourselves brave?)
After putting the book on my yearly reading list, I eventually picked it up from my university library and sped through it in a week. It’s quite hard to find the time to read, but I discovered that if I use my hour long train journey to university I can get a lot of reading done. There’s something about the quietness of the train and its repetitive motion that allows me to read quickly, which is surprising coming from someone who has travel sickness and can barely look at my phone when on a bus/car.
As a fan of Morrison’s style of writing and her storylines, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the novel and exploring the characters she presented. Through vivid descriptions and immense details, Morrison is able to capture the truth of Black existence in America, which is captivating to read as a member of the British Black diaspora. It is no surprise that she has won numerous literary awards including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and Nobel Prize in literature.
Morrison’s final reflection blew me away, and is one of those endings you have to re-read multiple times.
“And fantasy it was, for we were not strong, only aggressive; we were not free, merely licensed; we were not compassionate, we were polite; not good, but well behaved. We courted death in order to call ourselves brave, and hid like thieves from life.”
For lovers of African American literature, rich storytelling or beautifully poetic writing, I would definitely recommend this novel.
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