Beauty as a tool of oppression in Morrison’s The Bluest eye and Walker’s The color purple

Abstract

This dissertation looks at how beauty used to oppress people because of their race and gender in Toni Morrison the Bluest Eye and Alice Walker the Color Purple. It says that beauty in the literature written by American women is not just about how something looks but it is actually a way of thinking that is shaped by European standards and men having power over women. The research uses ideas from different fields, including what Frantz Fanon said about racism and how it affects our minds what Antonio Gramsci said about how some groups of people have more power over others and what bell hooks and Patricia Hill Collins said about feminism and being black. This study is based on reading and comparing the texts. It shows that characters like Pecola Breedlove and Celie think that European beauty standards are the best and this makes them feel bad about themselves be quiet and feel like they are falling apart. Beauty is like a kind of violence that controls the bodies and identities of women by leaving them out treating them like objects and looking at them in a certain way. The study also shows that Toni Morrison and Alice Walker do not agree with the usual ideas about beauty. Instead, they think that beauty is about defining yourself being with your sisters having control over your body and being proud of your culture. In the end this study says that beauty in these novels is connected to politics and oppression. It helps us understand American literature better by showing that beauty is not just about how something looks but it is also, about power, identity and surviving. Beauty is a part of oppression and this study helps us see that.