Icons of Female Childhood in The Bluest Eye by MorrisonIn The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison weaves together stories of violation and hardship to examine the ugliness that produces racism. In this novel, the childhood icons of white culture are negative representations that contribute to generating internalized racism. For the black child in a racist, white culture, these icons are never innocent. Embodying the ideals of white beauty, they expose the reasons for Claudia's perplexity as to why she is unattractive and Pecola's desperate desire for beauty. They harbor neither innocent desire nor need for acceptance, but denigrate the very idea of ​​blackness. The cult of ideal white beauty, by both adults and children, coalesces into a communal neglect of self-esteem, foregrounding ugliness as a key element of internalized racism. The way in which children react to these cultural representations of beauty is contrasted through the characters of Claudia and Pécola. Claudia rejects the childhood icons of white culture: Shirley Temple and the blonde, blue-eyed dolls she received as gifts. Pecola kisses them to the point of madness. Unloved and unwanted, she believes that her ugliness can only be erased by the virtual incarnation of white beauty, symbolized for her by blue eyes. The very different points of view of Claudia and Pecola are important to understanding the survival of one and the disappearance of the other. This article explores Claudia and Pecola's experiences and responses, as African American girls, in their relationship to white cultural icons of female childhood. As a child star, Shirley Temple embodied the cultural ideals of innocence and instinctive understanding considered inherent in idealized childhood. . A tale...... middle of paper...... White female icons are representative of the cultural ideologies invested in racism, and also representative of the lack of innocence in things that seem innocent to white people in white. culture. The student may wish to begin the article with the quote below: "If an adult with the power to fulfill my desires had taken me seriously and asked me what I wanted, they would have known that I didn't want to own anything. , or own any object. I wanted to feel something on Christmas day instead. The real question would have been: “Dear Claudia, what experience would you like at Christmas?” I could have spoken: "I want to sit on the low stool in Big Mama's kitchen with my knees full of lilacs and listen to Big Papa play his violin all to myself." » » Works cited: Morrison, Toni. The bluest eye. Then by Toni Morrison. New York: Penguin, 1994.