The Aesthetics of Internalized Racism, As Seen In "The Bluest Eye"

            One of the most striking elements of The Bluest Eye is the sheer number of perspectives; all rounded and fleshed without judgment on the part of the author. As a reader, I am used to a more directed point of view, wherein every character whose point of view we see is either sympathetic or unsympathetic, as guided by the author. Even nuanced characters are ultimately good or bad, and the worse they are, the less we are given to understand them. However, in the case of The Bluest Eye, while the focus is largely on the ‘good’ characters, Claudia MacTeer and Pecola Breedlove, we are also led to understand the ‘worst’ characters, in Cholly Breedlove, Soaphead Church, and the townspeople altogether.