The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison tells the story of Pecola Breedlove, a young girl living in Lorain, Ohio, who faces harsh conditions from a young age. Pecola's family has a reputation for "ugliness", a reputation for which their town despises them. Pecola herself believes the allegations that she is ugly are true, not only because of the constant abuse she witnesses in her own family, but also because everyone around her, including adults, Said she was ugly all her life. The novel explores the standards Pecola is held to, as well as her reactions when she fails to meet those standards. Some of the alleged qualities of his "ugliness" are his race, his family's income, his father's sleeping habits, and the color of his eyes. Armed with these criticisms, Pecola yearns for beauty and attempts to resolve the material problems of her life. Pecola, however, is not alone; other characters in the book are also greatly affected by physical goods and propagandistic advertising. In The Bluest Eye, cultural norms are imposed on the characters by their consumer goods. The narrator, Claudia, realizes from a young age that conformity is rewarded when she receives a doll for Christmas. She does not find the prospect of dolls amusing, because she is not interested in fake or real motherhood. Claudia wants to understand why everyone loves the doll, so she dismembers it. She observes that "adults, older girls, stores, magazines, newspapers, window signs – everyone agreed that a doll with blue eyes, yellow hair and Pink skin was what every girl cherished” (20). She discovers nothing when she dismembers the doll, other than her mother's reaction. Most adults see this act of curiosity as a sign that Claudia is not...... middle of paper ......ise, people will compare themselves to unrealistic body types and hate themselves because They don't have them. Many parents worry that their children will develop eating disorders due to the depiction of skinny people in advertising. According to CNN, eighty percent of ten-year-olds are afraid of being fat, and forty-two percent of girls in first through third grade want to be thinner. Although beauty has changed since the time the book is set, its message about the dangers of insecurity still resonates today, as beauty is an ever-changing standard. Society expects people to live up to these unattainable standards and makes them feel bad when they don't. By exposing the dangers of insecurity, Morrison draws attention to the self-hatred invoked by an ideal image and inspires readers to combat the unrealistic archetype of beauty..