Just know that these things will never change when it comes to race

“She eats the candy, and its sweetness is good. To eat the candy is somehow to eat the eyes, eat Mary Jane. Love Mary Jane. Be Mary Jane." (Morrison 50).

Pecola’s naive thoughts leads to her believe that she has a simple and innocent desire to be beautiful. It is the only way she knows how to deal with her ugliness; she has convinced herself that it will work because it gives her a glimpse of what it would be like to be white.

I can relate to Pecola. In elementary school, I wanted nothing more than to be a white girl. Like Pecola, I prayed and wished. No, I did not do anything drastic such as try to change the tone of my skin by using lightening cream or eating candy like Pecola but I sure did dream. I thought about how much better my life would be if I was white. Nearly all of my friends were white and I admired how lucky they were. All of their family members spoke the same language so there was no such thing as a language barrier that held them back from being able to communicate. They could get into a car and see grandma and grandpa whenever they wanted, while I only got to see mine once every three years after a long 16 hour flight and thousands of dollars spent. I wanted to be “normal”.
I fell in love with the American Girl Doll books and of course I wanted a doll. But unlike most girls, I didn't want a doll that looked like me because none of them did; the only doll that looked relatively like me was an extremely stereotypical looking Asian girl. The nine year old me was so envious of the Caucasian girls; there were so many different hairstyles and skin tones and eye co
lors for them to choose from and I didn't have that luxury.


Even from watching TV, there was only one Asian girl I ever saw. London Tipton from The Suite Life of Zack and Cody was portrayed as a ditzy, rich, airhead. She was the complete opposite of the stereotypes that are deemed onto Asian children.

As embarrassing as it is to admit it now, I used to be ashamed of my parents. Looking back on it now I’m so humiliated with my behavior. I hated the fact that my parents had an accent . I thought that just because they were not white, they were worth less. But actually, they are not. My dad has a PhD and my mom is a teacher but none of that matter to me. I looked down on them because they did not act like my white friends’ parents.


Pecola did not only wish she was white so she could be beautiful. She wished to be white because white supremacy and segregation existed in her community. She wanted to go to the theater and be able to see women like her. All she wanted was to be accepted so she thought that if she could become beautiful then her life would improve; however, in her journey to obtain these blue eyes, she loses her sanity.

Comments

  1. Leo McManusNovember 9, 2014 at 9:53 PM

    Your connection between Pecola and yourself is very well done and hard hitting. I like how you brought a different perspective to Pecola's desires. She may not only have been absorbed in white beauty standard but also wanted to just be like someone else, have something in common. The little reactions choices at the bottom is a nice touch.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownNovember 9, 2014 at 10:06 PM

    The comparisons that you used to compare yourself to Pecola shows how at a young age children want to be like everyone else and fit in. I really enjoyed this blog and the anecdotes used in it.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hello Fresh Social Media Presence

Image
Hello Fresh is a meal kit company that sends you ready to make meals. Customers are given the ability to customize the number of meals they want, the serving sizes, and the dietary restrictions that need to be met. All of the ingredients are packaged individually and in the correct portion size. All the user has to do is follow the recipe and put all the ingredients together! It allows people to still feel like they are cooking and making a homecooked meal without grocery shopping and meal prep. In addition, the recipes are typically less than 30 minutes. It is a very easy way of making a homecooked meal for a busy family or an ambitious individual. https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17903321953151238/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B20AW0CH2p5/ Hello Fresh has an impressive and large online social media presence . They are only nearly every social media platform and heavily advertise on them. They have a Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram account with ...
Read more

How to say...there are negatives to the "big booty" craze

Image
“The most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about” (Wallace). The quote is one hundred percent true. The media often influences our perspectives as a society of what we should think about certain things. Let’s take the big booty craze that dominated this summer. It may not be hard to see in a literal sense but it did take a while before society realized that the craze was unhealthy. It also became a touchy subject to speak about because the trend began as a way to tell people to promote and embrace different body types but it resulted in women going to extremes to attain the new “ideal body type”.   In elementary school, if someone told you that you had a “big butt” you were deeply offended by the insult that basically meant “you’re fat”. This summer however, singers fueled the big booty craze with anthems like “Anaconda” and “Booty”. The obsession took over social media as celebrities from Kim Kardashian to Igg...
Read more

What place does a dream/vision have in one’s life/relationships?

Image
 “And I know just why you could not come along with me. This was not your dream but you always believed in me” -Home by Michael Bubl é  Michael Bubl é is a famous singer who lives the high celebrity life. Although he wishes he could take his fiancé with him to where ever he travels, he realizes he cannot because she did not dream for this life; he did so he can’t force her to travel with him. He is living out his dream as he’s a worldwide singing sensation but this is not what his fiancé dreamed of. Everyone has a dream, big or small. Whether you dream of becoming the next big rock star or to pass your Calculus class, you have a dream. However, these dreams are ones that you have imagined for yourself. When your dreams begin to affect others reams often become your life and affect everyone around you and may alter relationships if those people are part of the dream. In Gatsby’s case, his dream becomes his life and he strives to get Daisy to be in a relationsh...
Read more