Too Good to be White: A Journey to Lose Identity in Tony Morrison’s The Bluest Eye

Abstract

The history of African-American is a record of struggle for the right of existence and acknowledgement. An integral part of that struggle is the enforcement of the values and standards of the dominant ideals of white culture that made it impossible for African-Americans to hold on their identity. In The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison focuses on the difficulties, facing women, in obtaining identity and self esteem in a society dominated by white ethnocentrism. This paper aims at displaying the hardships and challenges of Black female characters in a world dominated by a complicated system of race, class and sex oppression which is seen as a threat to black women and their survival. Keywords: African-American Literature, cultural ideals, identity, internalized racism, white ethnocentrism.