In Tony Morrison’s book, The Bluest Eye, she tells a story about a young girl who believes she is ugly because she does not have blue eyes. Pecola Breedlove is an eleven year-old black girl who is found to be ugly by everyone around her. She thinks that having blue eyes will make her beautiful. This book was first published in 1970, and it is still a favorite of many to this day.

In the beginning, Pecola lives with the MacTeer family because her father tried to burn their house down. She befriends the two sisters living in the house, Frieda and Claudia, Pretty soon, she moves back in with her family. We learn that her parents do not get along, and they both have had difficult lives. Her mother, Pauline or “Polly”, is happiest when she is at work, cleaning a white woman’s house, and she enjoys being there more than in her own home. Her father, Cholly, was abandoned by his parents.

Pecola is often tormented by her peers, and she does not receive much respect. One day, Cholly rapes her while she is doing the dishes. Her mom does not believe her when she tells her the story and beats her. Pecola visits Soaphead Church, a man who claims to grant wishes, and she asks him for blue eyes. The whole town soon finds out that Pecola is pregnant, and do not think the baby should live, but Frieda and Claudia do. Her baby does not survive, and Cholly rapes her again and then runs away, soon dying in a workhouse. In the end, Pecola goes crazy and believes that she has blue eyes.

The Bluest Eye was hard for me to understand at first. When I actually analyzed and figured out what the book was trying to say, I started to enjoy it more. However, if I could change one thing about the story, I would make it so that her father does not rape her. I would recommend this book to my friends and family, and I believe young adults and teens would like it more because it is a coming of age story.