“Here is the house”: A reading of the house(s) in The bluest eye, by Toni Morrison

Eliza de Souza Silva Araújo; Danielle de Luna e Silva

doi:10.12957/matraga.2019.41284

Authors

Eliza de Souza Silva Araújo Programa de Pós Graduação em Letras, Universidade Federal da Paraíba / Afro-American Studies Department, University of Massachussetts, Amherst https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5324-3888
Danielle de Luna e Silva Programa de Pós Graduação em Letras, UFPB/ Departamento de Letras Modernas, UFPB https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6906-4246

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12957/matraga.2019.41284

Keywords:

Toni Morrison. Afro-American Literature. Social status.

Abstract

In the present article we propose a reading of space in The bluest eye, by Toni Morrison, as a motif for plot and character development. The narrative takes place in Lorraine, Ohio, also hometown to Morrison. Other biographical elements appear in the narrative, the spatial being of utmost importance to this study. We explore the novel’s houses as spatial elements that add to characters’ subjectivities and embed the underlying theme of class. The narrative, which tells not only the story of Pecola, the protagonist, but gives us a detailed account of the lives of her mother, father, host family and community, starts with a simple description of a house as a place where a family lives and where everything comes together in harmony. This is done through the presentation of a primer which depicts language used in Dick and Jane books, texts historically used to initiate kids in reading. Such reference also implicates the representation of a perfect white suburban family where everyone gets along. Houses, furniture, backyards and other home-related elements foreshadow the unfortunate events to unravel in Pecola’s life along the novel. In terms of their significance in a broader perspective, we grasp that houses are in the novel also to set and depict the families’ background and current conditions in terms of class. Not only do houses help reinforce character traits, they stand as a social criticism to the economic conditions of blacks, also determined by whether their skin is darker or has a lighter shade.

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Original in English.

Author Biographies

Eliza de Souza Silva Araújo, Programa de Pós Graduação em Letras, Universidade Federal da Paraíba / Afro-American Studies Department, University of Massachussetts, Amherst

Eliza Araújo é doutoranda pelo Programa de Pós Graduação em Letras, na Universidade Federal da Paraíba e encontra-se em período sanduíche pela CAPES no Afro-American Studies Department, na University of Massachussetts, Amherst. Sua pesquisa de doutorado se debruça sobre obras de Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou e Conceição Evaristo, em diálogo com movimentos negros e feminismos negros nos EUA e no Brasil.

Danielle de Luna e Silva, Programa de Pós Graduação em Letras, UFPB/ Departamento de Letras Modernas, UFPB

Doutora em Letras (Literatura e Cultura) pela Universidade Federal da Paraíba (2017), com estágio doutoral na University of Tennessee, Knoxville/USA (bolsista CAPES/Fulbright). É mestre em Literatura e Práticas Sociais pela UnB (2007) e possui graduação em Letras pela UFPB (2004). Atualmente é professora efetiva da Universidade Federal da Paraíba, no Campus I - CCHLA/DLEM. Tem experiência na área de Letras, com ênfase em Literatura e Língua Inglesa, atuando principalmente nos seguintes temas: escrita feminina afro-americana e afro-brasileira, estudos de gênero, etnia, escravidão e pós-colonialismo.