Discourses In Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye

This thesis holds that Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye is composed of four different discourses: the discourse of the white aesthetic view, the discourse of black identity, the discourse of racism, and the constructive discourse of the black. The thesis analyzes the formation of the four discourses through such means as overlexicalization, defamiliarization, foregrounding, typography, repetition, and narrative structure. It points out that by using the four discourses, Toni Morrison realizes her writing intentions: the discourse of the white aesthetic view causes the black's self-hatred and self-denial psychology; the discourse of black identity makes the black remain frozen in a world of being-for-the-other; the discourse of racism enables readers to further understand the trauma of the black; and the constructive discourse shows the resistance of white culture and hope in the black.The discourse proposed by Foucault and Fairclough are introduced to lay a theoretical foundation.Firstly, blue eyes, blond hair and white skin are valued as the symbols of beauty in white culture. We see from Pecola and her mother's thoughts and actions that they both lose their identities in the white beauty discourse.Secondly, for the discourse of black identity, the Breedloves remains frozen in a world of being-for-the-other and consequently lives a life of shame, alienation, self-hatred, and inevitable destruction.Thirdly, in The Bluest Eye, Morrison has already explored both white/black racism and black/black racism, and the latter is especially prevalent in this novel.Finally, the constructive discourse of the black shows the resistance of white culture, especially the narrator Claudia, who is the symbol of black cultural revitalization, and we see hope of the black from her. In fact, Claudia represents Morrison herself and her political views.