Abstract:The Bluest Eyes is the first novel written by Toni Morrison, who is a world-famous American-African writer and the winner of the Nobel Prize in 1993. Based on the backdrop of the black’s suffer from mental slavery in 1941, The Bluest Eyes tells a story of a black little girl Pecola who suffered abuse and torture. The description of her longing for a pair of blue eyes and craziness after undergoing torments, the novel portrays the living condition of a black community which has internalized white culture values.

This paper aims at analyzing the mental disorder of the black caused by the white culture hegemony in The Bluest Eyes from the perspective of post-colonialism. Pecola’s tragedy symbolizes the tragedy of the whole black community. They gave up their own history and culture. Meanwhile, they denied themselves blindly, trying to erase their black imprints. Therefore, they lost their own subjectivity and became a race of no belonging. This paper points out that only the black retain and stick to their national culture, resisting the internalization of white culture, can they find their real identity and revive the black people.

Keywords:  The Bluest Eyes  Toni Morrison  Post-colonialism

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1A Brief Introduction to Toni Morrison-1

1.2 A Brief Introduction to The Bluest Eyes-2

1.3 Literature Review-2

1.4 The Composition of the paper-3

Chapter Two Post-colonialism-5

2.1The Origin and Development of Post-colonialism-5

2.2The Interpretation of Post-colonialism-5

Chapter Three The Negative Influence of the White Culture Hegemony-7

3.1Losing Identity of the Black-7

3.1.1Pecola’s Abandonment of the Black Identity-7

3.1.2Pauline’s Submission to the White Aesthetism-8

3.2 The Internalization of the White Culture-8

3.2.1 The Black’s Shame of Their Birth-8

3.2.2 The Black’s Acceptance of the White Culture-9

Chapter Four The Reconstruction of Black Culture-11

4.1Adhering to the Black Identity-11

4.2 Subverting the White Value-11

4.3 Embracing the Black Culture-12

Chapter Five Conclusion-14

References-15