The Breedloves all suffer from debilitating low self-esteem which is rooted in the idea that they are unquestionably ugly. “The master had said, 'You are ugly people.' They had looked about themselves and saw nothing to contradict the statement saw, in fact, support for it leaning at them from every billboard, every movie, every glance.” Narrator, p. By the end of her recounting (and the novel), perhaps the reader can deduce for themselves why the undoing of Pecola has occurred, thus realizing Morrison’s reason for writing The Bluest Eye. Why did Cholly Breedlove rape his daughter and impregnate her? Why did that baby, like the marigolds, shrivel and die? Claudia claims that she knows why, but it’s difficult to handle, so she’ll show us how the events played out.

In a way, this line serves a state of purpose for the novel. But since why is difficult to handle, one must take refuge in how.” Claudia, p. “There is really nothing more to say-except why. Through its use, Morrison attempts to establish instant intimacy with the reader, treating us as if we’re old friends or fellow neighborhood gossips exchanging shocking yet juicy gossip. “Quiet as it’s kept” is a fitting beginning to Claudia’s recounting of Pecola Breedlove’s undoing, because it’s a graphic, horrifying, and scandalous story that is whispered and spread through the kitchens and living rooms of Lorrain, Ohio’s Black American community. The words are conspiratorial, and the tone is hushed, as the story or gossip being told is supposed to be a secret, something to keep quiet. For Morrison, it’s a phrase she remembered as a child when she listened to black women conversing with one another, telling a story, an anecdote, or gossip about their families or their neighborhood. 3Īccording to Toni Morrison’s Afterword in the 1993 edition of The Bluest Eye, “quiet as it’s kept” is a familiar phrase in the Black American dialect. “Quiet as it's kept, there were no marigolds in the fall 1941.” Claudia, p.

The bluest eye pages