I completed the reading of The Bluest Eye and I certainly enjoyed it. In my research assignment, I chose to focus on the violence in the novel because it was so apparent throughout the entire book. Pecola is a victim of violence and even rape by her own father. Her story is so tragic and powerfully devastating. Pecola grew up in such an abusive and un-loving family and it drives her into a yearning to be beautiful. The standards of the society around her sway her into this state of mind. She thinks that all the bad things that happen to her are because of her ugliness. Pecola blames her appearance for all the negative things that happen to her. This novel is unforgettable and definitely made a mark in my mind. Tragic stories like this one stay with me because there are so many underlying messages I learned from it. The tragedy of Pecola Breedlove helped me understand that adults have such a huge influence on children. It seems inevitable that children listen to everything adults teach them in the early stages of life. I know that so many girls even today feel like beauty is everything. They feel like being tall, thin, and beautiful will give them everything and solve all life’s problems. However, this is so untrue. Girls like Pecola must learn to love themselves to find true happiness. Girls need to learn to love and accept themselves for who they are. This is a problem we find in today’s society, as well as in the 1940s, the time of Pecola’s story. I found a great website with criticism and responses to the novel that give strong opinions about the book. There are Critical essays that give the reader a better understanding of the novel.