The Bluest Eye—by Toni Morrison

Liking an Author, Disliking a Book

March 24, 2008

The Bluest Eye—by Toni Morrison
Washington Square Press, 1972
Reviewed by Kris Newman

My distaste for the work of Toni Morrison has many facets. I had to consider the source of this distaste since I was required to read, analyze, and report upon The Bluest Eye for my English course. In The Bluest Eye she begins with the end so there are few surprises. The conflict is over before the story begins.

I like her verbs. I like her adjectives. I like some of her characters. I even like the way she strings a story together. However, I intensely dislike her subject matter and the awful imbalance of her characters. I have known too many people of varying degrees of society who simply do not behave like Morrison’s characters. If one were to believe Morrison’s world were a fact, it must be assumed that all, or at least most, African American men prefer children to women and those who prefer women, beat them. Further, I dislike the way she attempts to cause her reader to sympathize with a child molester. It’s wrong. Perhaps the events that lead to the demise of those characters is factual to someone she knows. Does that make it necessary to smooth over their actions so that a reader with the same difficulties might excuse their perversion?

I just don’t like it. I think that a man or woman whose ideations are harmful to a child ought to be held accountable. Perhaps they need mental help. That’s fine. But to excuse the behavior to make it understandable in the circumstances is wrong.

Bluest Eye = Lovely Bones?
The Bluest Eye is similar to Lovely Bones in my estimation. Both of them are filled with references too intimate for print. What is the point? What are they trying to prove? Who are they talking to?

Perhaps authors such as Morrison feel the need to clear the dust of their mental closets. Perhaps they are close to someone who has suffered the humiliation and degradation of which the perpetrating characters were guilty. Okay. Write the book. Chase away the demons. But don’t make the same demons resurrect in each piece to which you pen your name.

The Book and the Author
Had it not been for the in-depth characterization of three child molesters, I might have liked The Bluest Eye. I did like the way Morrison portrayed Pecola and created a sympathetic view of Pecola’s escape from reality. Rather than paint Pecola as a throw-away element of the town, Morrison shields her in a cocoon of knowledge. Everyone is forgiving of Pecola’s actions because they know the story behind her insanity.

I don’t like Toni Morrison’s characterizations, but I do like her writing. I suppose an author like Morrison gains acclaim by the stir created. However, I hope to be the kind of writer who gains acclaim by the compassion generated.

ninetyandnine.com

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Kris Newman's favorite way to break the monotony of intellectual study is to read classics, such as "Blueberries for Sal" to her angel babies, Mavrik and Anna. Not since her boys were little has such a captive audience been found!