The Bluest Eye: Tough Love at the Heart of Color We as humans strive for many things: comfort, success, money, beauty, but among all this, our core revolves around love. A child is born and innocent, and as that child grows through its experiences, love fuels how it survives. How do we humans deal with survival? Furthermore, how does a powerless black girl survive in an era that deems her neither important nor beautiful? Understanding that survival is a matter of skill and that love comes in many different forms emerges from the characters in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. In these cases they are defined as moments of "tough love", where emotional survival mixes with the perceptive qualities that the girls in this book possess. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Throughout the chapters there are metaphorical references to the seasons. In “autumn” we are introduced to the girls Claudia and Frieda for the first time. They constantly have the impression that they are somehow different from other girls. From the beginning there is a scene in which a white neighbor, Rosemary, makes fun of Frieda and Claudia from their Buick. Morrison makes it very clear here that there is an automatic sense of entitlement, representing the decade and white privilege. The girls recognize this arrogance and imagine in their heads how they would treat Rosemary if she were to get out of the car. This shows the reader that we can assume that Claudia and her family are poor and “different” from other girls, so different that they are made fun of. It's not mentioned yet, but this moment in particular paves the way for the rest of the novel regarding the standard of white beauty and white privilege. This scenario also conveys that the reader is reading from the point of view of a little black girl and sets the pace for a beautifully tragic story (Morrison 9). The first example of “tough love” in the book is when Claudia gets sick collecting coal in the cold. Her mother is apparently angry with her for being ill, although Claudia initially does not understand that she is not angry with her, but with her illness. Claudia feels guilty for being sick, as if it were her fault, and begins to cry. Her mother, regardless of her guilty nature, cares for Claudia, and Frieda, Claudia's sister, sings her to sleep. “So when I think of autumn, I think of someone with hands who doesn't want me to die (Morrison 12).” These words are true to the meaning of tough love from mother to daughter. Mrs. MacTeer is disturbed by Claudia's illness, but her maternal instinct is to care for her immediately by wrapping her in blankets and putting her to bed. This is why Claudia understands that her mother doesn't want her to die and that her sister is also there in her time of need. The strength and importance of family are emphasized throughout the novel ("The LitCharts"). Pecola Breedlove is a little black girl also introduced to the MacTeer family. Forced to leave her home, Pecola is naturally drawn to the idea of ​​making friends with Claudia and Frieda. One morning, Mrs. MacTeer assumes that the girls are "being naughty," as Rosemary describes it, and beats Frieda, under the impression that they are exploring their bodies inappropriately. This moment is important. Pecola has started her period, and the girls have an idea of ​​what it is, but are afraid of what Mrs. MacTeer (or anyone else) will do if they are seen. The moment Pecola begins her menstrual cycle is a physical and literal metaphor for her entry into womanhood. The thought of somethingas big as having your period is already impactful, but the fact that Pecola is a young black girl makes the experience even more frightening and daunting. Morrison clearly highlights this moment by placing the reader in Pecola's shoes. Frightened, Frieda explains her definition of what Pecola is going through as "ministratin'" (menstruation) and offers to help by taking her around the corner and assigning Claudia to clean the Pecola's blood from the steps dripping from under her dress. Once Mrs. MacTeer realizes what was really happening, Morrison writes, “Her eyes were sorry” (Morrison 31). These moments in autumn indicate concerns that revolve around certain individual reactions. The reader can tell that Frieda is not only trying to help Pecola by carrying her down the steps, but she is trying to protect her from the fear of how her mother will react. Mrs. MacTeer initially assumes that what Rosemary is saying is true, and once she realizes that her assumption was wrong, she does not apologize, but says with her eyes that she is sorry for the misunderstanding. There is a continuous and subtle sense of empathy throughout the novel that implies that many characters are sorry, but don't know how to convey that message by simply saying it, and there are even times when "sorry" isn't enough. When "Winter" appears, the reader is introduced to a new type of character. Maureen is a light-skinned girl who comes from a rich family. After school Pecola is teased and fights with a group of boys who discriminate against her for her "blackness". Upon arriving, Claudia and Frieda attempt to help Pecola, but the boys continue to fight with the girls until Maureen appears. Maureen helps Pecola up and the boys leave the group alone because they don't want to fight around Maureen. This is because boys see Maureen as exotic and beautiful. Because Maureen has light skin and comes from a wealthy family, she is automatically considered knowledgeable and pretty. Although Claudia hates Maureen mostly because of her skin, the girls have a moment of unity in helping Pecola get out of the fight before fighting each other. It's important to note this moment as tough love, because it's not a traditional act of love, but the girls recognize that Maureen is human enough to help Pecola up and not give in to constantly teasing her like the boys. There is a small moment of pity and reflection about Pecola here, where Maureen recognizes that in some ways she is just like Pecola, in that she too is a little black girl. Maureen then offers to go get some ice cream, which breaks the silence of the situation (Morrison 68). In previous chapters the reader has experienced Pecola's mother, Mrs. Breedlove (aka Pauline), as cold, stern, and distant from her daughter. In “Spring” the reader experiences Mrs. Breedlove's backstory, where she herself was ignored and neglected as a child. In her teenage years she was taught that she was ugly because she had a slight limp from having stuck her foot on a nail when she was two. Throughout her backstory, as Pauline moves forward in life, her family continues to neglect her and she is left to fend for herself to maintain her sanity. She fantasizes that a god or lover will come to fill her empty gaps in life, and eventually finds Cholly. They are initially happy together, but once Pauline becomes pregnant with Pecola (their second child), her and Cholly's relationship evolves into a violent roller coaster. Morrison explains Pauline's background so the reader can understand where she comes from and why she is the way she is. Later, after Pecola is born, Pauline describes how intelligent her baby is and how she enjoys watching him understand the world with his “….