The Bluest Eye Post #3

“White kids; his mother did not like him to play with niggers. She had explained to him the difference between colored people and niggers. They were easily identifiable. Colored people were neat and quiet; niggers were dirty and loud.” pg. 87

Not only does this passage create a vivid understanding for what the book is about, but it also gives the reader an idea of the crude and intense racism that surrounded black folks during this  time. It was unfortunate for Pecola to be crowded by white folks during a racial upheaval. One can only imagine the insecurity and emotional torture she faced on a daily basis. Further more, this quote brings to light the strong disapproval that white folks during this time had for black folks. The repetitive use of the word ‘nigger’, which at this time was used as a hate word (as opposed to our generation where the word is thrown around with disrespect and no consideration to its historical significance), most likely signifies that when the book was written the author translated what was going on in the real world and implemented real-world phenomenons into the book. Although the book is considered fiction, I believe the only thing ‘fake’ about this text are the characters names–everything else comes straight from the world the author lived in. Without a doubt, white folks scrutinized black folks on a daily basis during this time.