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Allegory
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Prologue Section 1
Explanation and Analysis—Dick and Jane:
Section 1 of The Bluest Eye's prologue is comprised entirely of text taken from the "Dick and Jane" early childhood books, to which Morrison alludes:
Here is the house. It is green and white. It has a red door. It is very pretty. Here is the family. Mother, Father, Dick, and Jane live in the green-and-white house. They are very happy. See Jane. She has a red dress. She wants to play.
The above text comes from a popular American book series created between 1930 and 1965 by William Gray to teach children how to read. The two main characters in the series are Dick and Jane—White children raised in a so-called "nuclear family," emblematic of White-centric, American middle-class ideals. Morrison uses excerpts from this book throughout the novel to punctuate other writing segments, or introduce chapters.
The "Dick and Jane" books, along with many other icons of White American middle-class culture, represent a blueprint for living life that many people feel pressured to adhere to. Those unable to achieve it (poor, Black people, for instance) are deemed "lesser" by society. Throughout The Bluest Eye, Morrison deconstructs these White-centric ideals of beauty, family, and home. In the first section of the prologue, Morrison parallels her thematic deconstruction of Whiteness with a literal deconstruction of the "Dick and Jane" sentence text, gradually removing spaces, capitals, and punctuation until the writing becomes nearly unreadable.
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Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Hollywood:
Peppered throughout The Bluest Eye are a series of references to White pop cultural icons—female celebrities, in particular, whom White-centric American culture hailed as the ideal. These women represent unrealistic standards to which all American women and girls are held, even if the tenets of the ideal are impossible for them to achieve. In Chapter 1, Morrison alludes to two such figures, Hollywood actresses Greta Garbo and Ginger Rogers:
“Hello there. You must be Greta Garbo, and you must be Ginger Rogers.”
We giggled. Even my father was startled into a smile.
“Want a penny?” He held out a shiny coin to us.
In this passage, Henry speaks to Claudia and Frieda, paying them the compliment of comparison to the two Hollywood stars. This comparison is not framed in a negative light. Henry genuinely wishes to flatter the two girls; but in doing so, he unwittingly reinforces White-centric standards of female beauty. Children do not lose their sense of self-worth in isolation. Claudia and Frieda absorb the words and attitudes of the adults around them, taking their cues from people like Henry. When he compares Claudia and Frieda to Greta Garbo and Ginger Rogers, the two girls surmise that the Hollywood stars in question are a standard for comparison. They apply this standard to themselves.
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Explanation and Analysis—Shirley Temple:
Over the course of The Bluest Eye, Morrison introduces readers to several important White cultural icons, each of whom represents some kind of standard against which Black people are measured. One such cultural icon is Shirley Temple, to whom Claudia alludes in Chapter 1:
Frieda brought her four graham crackers on a saucer and some milk in a blue-and-white Shirley Temple cup. She was a long time with the milk, and gazed fondly at the silhouette of Shirley Temple’s dimpled face. Frieda and she had a loving conversation about how cu-ute Shirley Temple was.
Shirley Temple was a White child actress who rose to fame in the 1930s. In this passage, she represents yet another ideal of White-centric girlhood and beauty that these young Black girls compare themselves to. Pecola is singularly fascinated with Shirley Temple, "gaz[ing] fondly" at the silhouette of her face as one might look upon a loved one or family member. The child actress possesses everything that Pecola does not: she is White, she has blue eyes, she adheres to cultural standards of "cuteness," she is loved and well-regarded by adults.
Shirley Temple's cuteness is not benign, for these girls—it represents a standard of which they will always fall short, simply because they cannot become White. Morrison takes care to emphasize the toxicity of these beauty standards for young Black girls and women.
Related Themes:
