During the course of reading the novel, I had noticed that many of the characters experienced a self hatred. This self hatred stemmed from not being accepted by society. In order to alleviate this, they believed that making themselves somehow white would be the answer. One of the characters who possessed such hatred was Pecola. From the beginning of the novel, it was evident that she was unhappy with herself. She believed that her unhappiness was related to her ugliness. Imagining if she could only have blue eyes, Pecola assumed that all her problems would be gone. Moreover, I believe that she not only wanted to have blue eyes but to be white. Along with this wishful thinking, her infatuation with Shirley Temple and wanting to eat Mary Jane candies exemplifies her longing to be white, and thus be accepted by society. To be white was considered perfection and to Pecola being white would give her happiness she so desperately needed. Another character who displayed self hatred was Mrs. Breedlove. She too felt that she was ugly. Influenced by the movies, she tried to emulate the likes of white women such as Jean Harlow. As with Pecola, Mrs. Breedlove found that being white was that gold standard. With that notion she assimilated herself into white culture. Her work in the Fisher house illustrates this. Just being in the presence of white people gave Mrs. Breedlove meaning to her life. Furthermore, these characters desired acceptance and being white was the only way to do so.
