Acceptance

“A little black girl yearns for the blue eyes of a little white girl, and the horror at the heart of her yearning is exceeded only by the evil of fulfillment” Pg 204

Claudia is opposites of Pecola in many aspects, but there is one thing that they all have in commom, the need for acceptence. Both of them also vary in their need for acceptance and they all differ in how they deal with their desire as well. Claudia is very fortunate, she has a family that loves her and she is very intelligent and is able to see beyond the preconceived notions of western cultureof what beauty really is (Shirley Temple). These two things alone give her self confidence and indepence that allow her to overcome the prejudices of the time. It is not easy for her though, she still does not know why western civilization has labeled her ugly and this lack of understanding frustrates her because she simply wants to be treated like anyone else. To deal with this frustration she becomes very aggressive to those who fit the Shirley Temple model. Whether it is ripping off the heads of dolls, getting into fights or simply thinking unpleasent thoughts about that person Claudia is able to express her pain. Though it may not be the best way to do it, Claudia’s ability to vent allows her not to be consumed by racial and cultural stereotypes.

Pecola’s desire to be accepted stems not just from what western culture idolized as beauty (Shirley Temple), but also from the lack of support and love from her family. Because she never had the support of her family she lacked self confidence and internilized all of her pain. Pecola is unable to deal with her external ugliness and never had the opportunity to realize her true inner bueaty and self worth and because of this Pecola wished she could change her image. The “horror” the narrorator talks about is the fact that this little girl with so much potential could be ruined by her inablility to accept who she is and recognize her inner beauty because society told her what beauty was and she listened. The fulfillment of her wish is even worse because it condones her self loathing and supports all the claims that she was in fact ugly. Despite her wish being granted Pecola still does not fit the Western idea of beauty and this is the last straw for her broken heart and mind, which is why she goes insane.

Why was having Claudia and Feida as friends not enough to help her gain self confidence and recognize her inner beauty? How have other people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds dealt with the western ideaology of what beauty is?