Abstract

In The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison explores a lot of themes, among which the misconstruction of love and the lack of self-esteem that are rampant in African American communities. Family love is crucial for the right emotional and psychological development of the offspring. When the parents are not virtuous and loving, the children will certainly grow up without being proud of who they are. They are also likely to lose their self-esteems, while longing for the white dominant culture in a racist society. That is the case of Pecola who craves for blue eyes because they represent the signs of real beauty that girls like her, who are ‘’ugly’’ dream of possessing. Pecola is so traumatized by the lack of family love and pride that she believes that she is less worth than the other girls. The consequences of that misconstruction of love and the lack of self-esteem have led the little girl to insanityin the racist white dominant American society.