Victim Shaming

Although it was nt a huge theme in the novel, there was one particular part of The Bluest Eye that really stood out to me, the victim shaming. In one of the last chapter, two people are talking about Pecola's child, and even say that Pecola holds part of the blame for what her father had done to her, although she is the victim. This really stood out to me because victim shaming is definitely a huge problem today, and has been especially acknowledged on social media after the Standord rape incident. During the incident, the rapist is only charred with 3 months in jail for raping a girl and leaving her in a dumpster. The judge justified this because she was drunk and should've known better. Does this mean that being on incisors means automatic consent to being raped and thrown in a dumpster? No, victim shaming is a huge problem today especially with T the sexism that is going on in the world. When women are abused, harassed, or raped, some of the first questions asked are often: what were you wearing? Did you lead him on? Were you drunk? But what does it matter if the victim was wearing a tank top, or was dancing with him earlier in the night, or was drinking alcohol? If she did not give consent, the answer is no. This is no longer a matter to be overlooked, and victim shaming has to stop. Why are people taught that it is okay to harass a woman if she chooses to wear a tank top or chooses to drink alcohol at a party? This is not how it should be. Instead, it should be taught at a young age how important consent is, and no means no, there are no excuses for these crimes, and people need to stop blaming the victims.

Graphic details throughout the book

    I heard in class that the graphic details throughout "The Bluest Eye" made people "uncomfortable" and we're "awkward to read". However, I think that these details are necessary for this book.
   Throughout the novel, the author is trying to seem transparent by writing in a fashion that is extremely honest in order to show the struggles that people were facing. The graphic details provide a transparent way of representing the things that women were facing at the time. I think that the author may even be purposely trying to make readers feel a little bit uncomfortable in order to truly represent how gruesome the situation was at the time. By making readers uncomfortable, the author is also interfering with our emotions and almost making the book difficult to read; just as the reality of the situation is difficult to face.
    Although I do understand that the graphic details provided in the book can be hard to read, I think people must understand that it is an important part of the representation of the racism and sexism that was going on at the time. It is almost ironic that people often don't even think about these kinds of issues or choose to read about them because it makes them uncomfortable, even though this is the reality. Even now, sexism and racism are still issues, especially in developing countries ( many in the Middle East). When I first started reading "The Bluest Eye", I was also skeptical about why the author found it necessary to include such graphic details, as it often made readers uncomfortable. however, now I realize that she is most likely doing so on purpose in order to convey the harsh reality that these people were facing.