The title of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye
is significant because it relates directly to the themes of the novel.
Literally speaking, "the bluest eye" is a reference to the wish that Pecola makes to
Soaphead Church. She dreams of having the bluest eyes because she believes that it will
make her beautiful and wanted. Soaphead Church tells Pecola that he will grant her wish
if she poisons the dog.
Figuratively speaking, "the bluest
eye" is a metaphor for standardized notions of beauty that are discussed throughout the
novel. Early in the text, Claudia says that she does not like to play with white baby
dolls because everyone thinks they are so cute, and this is a reflection of the
standards of beauty that are perpetrated by the media and society. Pecola grows up
believing that she is ugly, and she thinks that her family's troubles are a result of
their ugliness. Again, the physical characteristics of the characters are metaphors for
the family's place in the socioeconomic hierarchy. The novel portrays this complex web,
and "the bluest eye" is a symbol for it.
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