Area of Interest: the formation of identity in the most oppressed position in society and the ensuing quest to reach something he/she can never attain (i.e. Sisyphus and the image of potential)
Primary Source: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, specifically through the lens of Albert Camus' the Myth of Sisyphus and its corresponding absurdist philosophy.
Foci Questions
- How is beauty defined and to what extent is it a product of a social hierarchy? Is it really "in the eye of the beholder" or has it been utterly standardized?
- Who defines beauty and how do they perpetuate it throughout society?
- Specifically looking at beauty in a racial context: who teaches "racial self-loathing?" How is it created and why? Is it consciously used as an instrument of power and control? What is the role of beauty in minority groups in the U.S., particularly historically?
- How can a perception of ugliness affect character?
- Is the ownership of material wealth a substitute for the intangible loss that comes with systematic disempowerment?
- More broadly: Why does identity matter and how is one supposed to create identity? Can identity and identifying factors be changed, either willfully or accidentally?
- If identity is based on class, race, gender, appearance etc., can these end up being factors someone can control, as Pecola attempts to do?
- Finally: Is Pecola's quest to make herself beautiful through achieving blue eyes just a Sisyphean struggle to change that which cannot be changed?
I think the best question and the one that you'll probably keep coming back to is the one about racial self-loathing and its use as an instrument of power. Who holds the power? (an oppressive, power-crazed majority) Why do they use it? (to keep power).
ReplyDeleteSo I think the important question is the one about oppressed minorities. We already see too much about the majority; that's why they're the majority. How does oppression alter the human psyche? Is it/how is it a vicious cycle? DuBois' double consciousness remains very relevant.