On The Tragic Features Of Pecola In The Bluest Eye

As a dedicated African-American writer, Toni Morrison was rewarded the Nobel Prizein1993. Her writing was greatly influenced by the western literature tradition and rooted inher experience as a black female writer. The Bluest Eye, published in1970, was ToniMorrison’s first work. It presents a story of a young Afro-American girl named Pecola. InThe Bluest Eye, a black little girl named Pecola was isolated and repelled for her "ugly"black skin. She got insane in the end. In her insane imagination, she finally got blue eyes.In this thesis, the author analyzes the tragic features of Pecola with Hegel’s theory oftragedy, which provided a new perspective for the studies of Morrison’s works.According to Hegel, the essence of tragedy is the self-splitting and reconciliation ofthe protagonist. The splitting of the protagonist is the source of tragedy. Tragic conflictsinvolve two sides of tragic entity and tragic conflicts are resolved by "reconciliation".There are two ways of reconciliation. The first one is the internecine struggle of the twosides. The second one is the abandon of the one-sidedness. The effects of the tragedy issympathy and fear. This thesis is divided into three parts to present the tragic features ofPecola.Chapter one analyzes the characteristics of Pecola and the cause of formation of it.The actions and conflicts of tragedy originate from the characteristics of the characters.According to Hegel, the protagonist’s character is influenced by ethical forces. This partanalyzes the ethical entity and ethical forces which influence Pecola to expound Pecola’stragedy.Chapter two explores the three tragic conflicts of Pecola’s tragedy. Hegel considersconflicts as the center of tragedy. Influenced by specific ethical forces, Pecola was inconflicts with the white culture and the black community as well as within herself, whichdetermines the necessity of her tragedy.Chapter three analyzes the tragic ending and tragic effects. According to Hegel, theending of tragedy means the process from the opposition of "conflicts" to the unity of"reconciliation". The results of conflicts appear after the ending of the tragedy. Raped byher father, Pecola got pregnant. She was also questioned and scolded by her mother. Finally she gave birth to a dead baby, lost her mind and got insane. The tragedy of Pecola endedwith "reconciliation".Through the analysis of tragic teatures of Pecola from Hegel’s theory of tragedy, weenjoy the charm of tragedy. At the same time, we dissect the roots of Pecola’s tragedy. InThe Bluest Eye, Pecola’s tragedy was rooted in her own characteristics and the ethicalforces which influence her. The conflicts between Peocola and the black community, thewhite culture, as well as the conflicts within herself lead her to the tragic ending, whicharouses the sympathy and resentment from the readers.