The Privilege of Innocence

I've noticed that a reoccurring theme The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison has been innocence.  In their innocence, children shouldn't have a care in the world. Everyday should be filled with fun and games.  For many characters in The Bluest Eye  though, this wasn't the case.  Many of them lost their innocence at a young age, changing their perceptions and beliefs for the rest of their lives.

Pauline loses her innocence when she marries Cholly Breedlove. Once she marries Cholly, her life becomes a sorrowful one.  Without Cholly to provide a steady income, she has to work very hard to provide for her family. Her loneliness also causes her to become addicted to movies, which in turn starts her obsession of beauty. She later becomes addicted with being the perfect servant for the Fishers.  Influenced by a wealthy white family, she begins to perceive everything as her own, such as the Fishers kitchen and their food.  We see that she has trapped herself in her own fantasy, just like Pecola has.

Speaking of Pecola, she is probably the most traumatic loss of innocence.  She loses her innocence when she gets raped by Cholly. The incident scars Pecola, seen by the "rigidness of her shocked body" and "the stunned silence in her throat" (162).  Once this happens again, Pecola has completely gone insane.  Another instance is when Junior takes Pecola to his house.  After a short fight, Geraldine comes in and curses Pecola out.  All of her tragedies chip away at her innocence and end up taking her mind.

Childhood is supposed to be a happy and blissful time, but when it's not, things get out of hand quick.