RESISTANCE AND DEFLECTION TO THE CONTEMPT OF OTHERS: TONI MORRISON'S THE BLUEST EYES

Résumé

The United States of America is a race-conscious society that those who are colored (as opposed to white) have generally been put in inferior positions and treated accordingly. Apparently, Whites has been inherently put as the dominant group whereas the African American is consciously placed as one of the subordinate ones. This phenomenon is thoughtfully depicted by Toni Morrison in The Bluest Eye. Therefore, this writing aims at describing the phenomena when beauty turns out to be the hegemonic practice of White beauty standard in African American society as it is depicted in this novel. The study is anchored on the theory of hegemony proposed by Antonio Francesco Gramsci which describes how the state and ruling capitalist class use cultural institutions to maintain power in capitalist societies. Meanwhile, the concept of beauty is an example of cultural institution; hence, the standard of beauty is based on the dominant group e.g. White people, so there is the White beauty standard as a means of hegemonic practice in the American society. It is the fact that White beauty standard hegemony has led to the emergence of intra-racial discrimination happening within the African American society as it is reflected in the literary work due to the characters' efforts to seek for White's approval that transcends in the emergence of the self-loathing upon the characters in the novel, and its attendant self identity degrading. The study after revisiting the historical and socio-political moments in which the novel was written, finally makes the analysis of the book, its formal structures and its characters. In the conclusion, the researcher affirms that instead of supporting the Black Arts Movement's slogan “Black is Beautiful”, Toni Morrison suggests that the very concept of beauty is harmful and exclusionary. Instead of promoting just the idea that blackness be considered beautiful, the writer proposes that the valorization of African Americans should originate from placing importance on their culture, traditions and connection to the community.