ABSTRACT:As the most outstanding black woman writer in American literature, Toni Morrison creates a lot of well-known novels and becomes the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize for literature. The Bluest Eye is Morrison’s first novel, which establishes her position in literatus. This thesis is aimed at analyzing the roots of Pecola’s tragedy in The Bluest Eye from Maslow’s need hierarchy theory. Maslow’s need hierarchy theory is divided into five parts, physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness and love needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs. According to the theory, if a person’s lower level of needs can not be met, his higher level of needs are unable to realize. In the novel, the reason why the heroine Pecola can not reach the highest level of needs-- self-actualization needs is because the deficiency of needs in her life. Additionally, Pecola’s self-denial and the insistent demand of the blue eyes lead the heroine’s tragedy directly. All in all, the deficiency of the needs leads to Pecola’s tragedy.

Keywords: need hierarchy theory; Pecola; lack of needs

TABLE OF CONTENTS

摘要

ABSTRACT

1 INTRODUCTION-1

1.1 A Brief Introduction to Toni Morrison-1

1.2 A Brief Introduction to The Bluest Eye-2

2 LITERATURE REVIEW-4

2.1 Overseas Researches-4

2.2 Domestic Researches-5

2.3 Summary of this Chapter-5

3 ABRAHAM H. MASLOW AND HIS NEED-7

HIERARCHY THEORY-7

3.1 Physiological Needs-7

3.2 Safety Needs-7

3.3 Belongingness and Love Needs-8

3.4 Esteem Needs-8

3.5 Self-actualization Needs-9

3.6 Summary of this Chapter-9

4 LACK OF PECOLA’S NEEDS-10

4.1 A brief Introduction to Pecola-10

4.2 Lack of the Safety Needs-10

4.2.1 Manifestation of the lack of the safety needs of Pecola-10

4.2.2 Hurts made by Pecola’s father-12

4.3 Lack of the Belongingness and Love Needs-13

4.3.1 Deficiency of Pecola’s family love-13

4.3.2 Abnormal mother love-14

4.3.3 Insufficiency of the love from black community-16

4.4 Lack of the Esteem Needs-18

4.4.1 Pecola’s self-hatred-18

4.4.2 Blind adoration of the whites-18

4.5 Lack of Self-actualization Needs-20

4.6 Summary of this Chapter-20

5 CONCLUSION-21

REFERENCES-22

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS-23