A ditadura da branquitude e o mito da beleza: uma análise do romance O olho mais azul deToni Morrison

Abstract

This paper proposes a literary analysis of the book The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison. The analysis is configured from the perspective of the myth of white beauty, taking into account the concepts of beauty from philosophy, sociology and the present. Morrison's debut novel, released in 1970 in the United States, deals with the negative consequences of racism, which has a detrimental effect on the self-image of black people in the face of white beauty, which is the inverse of black "ugliness". Based on these observations, we sought in this work to analyze, through the main character Pecola, the causes and consequences that racism, racial segregation and social exclusion of black people can have on a person's emotions. Also from this perspective, we seek to understand the process by which this character's identity is affected by narratives created to reproduce racist ideas. The novel highlights Pecola's struggle to be accepted, as she is considered ugly by most people, making her believe that she can only be accepted once she has achieved her dream blue eyes. To support our reading, we used studies by authors such as Djamila Ribeiro (2017), Bell Hooks (2015), Angela Davis 92017), Naomi Wolf (2019), among others who made an important contribution to the development of the work. We understand the importance of black writing based on a reading by black people of their own problems. Morrison's writing reveals the writing of life as defined by Conceição Evaristo (2005) and makes it possible for the black voice to stand out above that of the colonizer.