Abstract

Toni Morrison is not only one of the Afro-American writers who focus on the clash between black culture and the white mainstream culture in the United States as well as the marginalized existence of the blacks, but more importantly a unique Afro-American woman writer who goes beyond the simplistic dichotomies of the black male literary tradition and explores the root of the tragedy of the blacks in the mainstream society. Based on textual analysis of her first novel The Bluest Eye and a case study of Pecola, a main character in this novel and actually a victim and scapegoat, this paper, with the painful truth that Pecola’s tragedy results not just from the denial and rejection of the mainstream society, but more significantly, from the blind identification of some blacks in the mainstream culture, and their incompetence to cherish their own culture and identity, aims at exploring hope in the tragic story, and suggesting how blacks can struggle to survive so as to extend their heritage and values.

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