In her novel, The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison explores the burdens that society places on its weaker members and the detrimental effects they have on mental stability and esteem of the individual's self. Society has expectations of beauty and worth that teach the individual to be dissatisfied with themselves and to seek certain characteristics: blue eyes, blond hair, light skin. In Pecola's case, we see society's judgment imposed on her due to the color of her skin, her gender, and the poverty her family lives in, all of which go against the ideal American of the time. The gaps between perceived perfection, which no one can ever achieve, and reality, fuel the insecurities present in each of Morrison's characters. The constant barrage of preconceived notions, especially when compared to the Breedloves, contributes to the superficial nature of society that Morrison highlights to further the idea that unrealistic expectations foster a mindset of imperfection that distracts from a person's inherent good nature. to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Pecola and all African Americans are marginalized in the novel. Morrison writes: “Being a minority of both caste and class, we moved through life anyway, struggling to shore up our weaknesses and hold on, or to slip alone into the major folds of clothing.” There was no way for African Americans to significantly raise their social status because they could not change the color of their skin. Even “colored people,” who considered themselves more educated and orderly than the “negroes” with whom they chose not to associate, were still considered lower class. The color of a person's skin literally determined their worth to society, as opposed to their merit. This hostile and seemingly permanent view is detrimental to the mindset of all African Americans in the novel, especially Pecola and her family. Opposed from other families in their community, the Breedloves have few emotional connections and familial support among themselves. For Pecola, this makes her particularly vulnerable to outside influences because she has no loving place to return to and tell her that she is beautiful. Instead, the whole family almost gloats over the fact that they are "ugly" and wallows in self-hatred. The Breedloves live in a storefront that displays their poverty and flaws to the world; they want to leave, but “they lived there because they were poor and black, and they stayed there because they thought they were ugly.” They have neither the ability nor the will to leave since society has given them only one choice: to be poor, black and ugly. In the midst of this situation, Pecola dreams of something better; It's a sad commentary on the state of our society when an innocent child believes that being white will solve her problems entirely. Pecola idolizes dolls and the “Shirley Temples” of the world because they have the stability she craves. Pecola attributes the love and care they receive to their skin color and therefore wants her own pair of blue eyes. Pecola's childish, but extremely insightful, association between skin color and quality of life is used by Morrison to emphasize the way society is run. Even today, skin color has an effect on opportunities, so it doesn't seem so unreasonable to try to change your appearance to allow yourself greater social mobility. People try to change themselves, like Pecola,.