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The Bluest Eye


            
            
            
            
            
            
            
             In the novel The Bluest Eye written by Toni Morrison, the protagonist was Pecola Breedlove and the antagonist was her father, Cholly Breedlove. Although Cholly and Pecola were father and daughter, they did not share the usual bond that is associated with similar relationships. Cholly hated himself because of the color of his skin. His "blackness" was what supposedly made him ugly, which made him in turn, produce ugly children. Cholly and Pecola had no self-esteem because they were "ugly", which only served to tear them apart. Because of Cholly's color and the troubles he endured as a young child, he took all his sadness out on Pecola, which was why both he and Pecola opposed one another. Cholly created many problems for Pecola because he used her as his scapegoat. Pecola faced much emotional distress because of Cholly's perverse actions. One night when Cholly returned home completely drunk, he saw his daughter Pecola, young and helpless standing by the sink. Because he was emotionally unstable and drunk, Cholly raped his daughter. Not only did Cholly force emotional distress on Pecola, but he also caused physical pain. Cholly very often would beat Pecola, her brother, and her mother but was never involved in a situation such as incest. The worst action that Cholly took against Pecola, was the night he raped her and impregnated her. He wanted to feel alive again, and feel loved by his wife. So to give him the feeling of self-worth, he raped his only daughter and left her to be ashamed and scared with a child growing inside of her. Cholly forced Pecola to deal with an obstacle that no 12-year-old child should deal with: having to carry her father's baby. The author explained at the end of the story that Pecola walked around the streets flapping her arms as if she was a bird that could not fly. Pecola went mad by manufacturing an imaginary friend who became her only conversational partner.


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