Conflict

Pecola, the main character in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, is facing a conflict in her life.  Of the five types of conflict, Pecola is expressing characteristics of a few.  Hers mainly seems to be man, or girl, vs. self; however her internal conflict is caused by the opinions of society.  She is having an inner struggle about her appearance, which is ultimately driven by the opinions of the members of society at the time.  Her struggle with appearance is caused by the common belief that a person is ugly unless he or she has blond hair, blue eyes, and light skin. “The lighter the prettier.”  Society has caused her to believe that she is not beautiful, which no young girl or boy should be thinking.  Starting at a young age a struggle with society, like the one presented in this book, is what gives kids a complex all through their lives.  If you believe you are ugly starting at such a young age, you will convince that you really are, when in most cases it is the exact opposite.  Nobody is ugly; we just aren’t beautiful in the same ways.  Someone with the biggest, deepest blue eyes, seemingly never-ending, that could captivate you for hours, is just as beautiful as the person with the darkest eyes anyone has ever seen.  The dark, complex eyes that seem to hide so much add just a touch of mystery to the beautiful person who possesses them.  Pecola is so young; however, she does not realize that a stereotype does not have to be met to possess traits of beauty.  Her struggle with society is the cause of the struggle with herself.  If every stereotype of beauty was met, everyone in the world would seem as if they came from a dough and were all cut with the same cookie cutter.  Nobody would possess true beauty.  If Pecola had blond hair, bright blue eyes, and light skin she would not be the Pecola that was born and raised into the Breedlove family.  She would be the Pecola that was cut out of dough.  The puppet made to please the opinions of others.  The girl who would not be teaching others around her life lessons. Possessing the traits that you desire would change fate, which should not be tampered with.  Everything happens for a reason.  Said reason may not make sense at the time, but in the end it will all play out.