最蓝的眼睛 论文

Racial Discrimination and Surging Desire in the Bluest Eye Abstract: As one of the most outstanding black writers in contemporary American literature，Toni Morrison is the first African American woman winner of the Nobel Prize for literature. The Bluest Eye is her first novel, which establishes her literary reputation as a renowned black writer. Her works always explore and reflect the black’s destiny. This easy focuses on internalized racism which leads to deep hurt on the black. And in this environment, the undercurrent of desire popples fiercely.

Key words: Toni Morrison; The black; Racial discrimination; Surging desire

摘要：作为美国文坛中一位杰出的黑人作家，托尼.莫里森是第一位获得诺贝尔文学奖的黑人女作家。《最蓝的眼睛》是她的第一本小说，奠定了她

在文坛上的地位，使她成为一个有名的黑人作家。她的作品都以探索和

反映黑人命运为主题。本文主要讨论的是内化的种族主义对黑人造成的

心灵创伤，并且在这种环境下，欲望的横流汹涌澎湃。

关键词：托尼.莫里森；黑人；种族歧视；欲望横流

1. Background

The Bluest Eye is a 1970 novel by American author Toni Morrison. It is Morrison's first novel, written while Morrison was teaching at Howard University and was raising her two sons on her own. The story is about a year in the life of a young black girl in Lorain, Ohio named Pecola. It takes place against the backdrop of America's Midwest as well as in the years following the Great Depression. At that time, although slave system had been cancelled, the black had been unable to get rid of racial discrimination that exists in every corner of American society. The Bluest Eye is told from the perspective of Claudia MacTeer as a child and an adult, as well as from a third person omniscient viewpoint. Claudia and Frieda MacTeer live in Ohio with their parents. The MacTeers take in a boarder, Mr. Henry and Pecola. The protagonist of the novel, Pecola is a troubled young girl with a hard life. Her parents are constantly fighting, both physically and verbally. Pecola is continually being told and reminded of what an “ugly” girl she is, thus fueling her desire to be a Caucasian girl with blue eyes. Throughout the novel it is revealed that not only has Pecola had a life full of hatred and hardships, but her parents have as well. Pecola’s mother, Pauline only feels alive and happy when she is working for a rich white family. Her father, Cholly, is a drunk who was left with his aunt when he was young and ran away to find his father, who wanted nothing to do with him. Both Pauline and Cholly eventually lost the love they once had for one another. While Pecola is doing dishes, her father rapes her. His motives are unclear and confusing, seemingly a combination of both love and hate. Cholly flees after the second time he rapes Pecola, leaving her pregnant. The entire town of Lorain turns against her, except Claudia and Frieda. In the end Pecola’s child is born prematurely and dies. Claudia and Frieda give up the money they had been saving and plant flower seeds in hopes that if the flowers bloom, Pecola's baby will live; the marigolds never bloom. Pecola always eagers to have a pair of blue eyes and hope this pair of eyes gets her out of the pain of life. However, at