• Senthamarai Velusamy
• K.Sufina

This research paper attempts to analyse the destructive impact of racial prejudice and the internalized standards of Eurocentric beauty on African American identity. The Bluest Eye, which is set in the years following the Great Depression, follows Pecola Breedlove's tragic journey as she battles parental dysfunction, social rejection, and her desire for blue eyes, which are a sign of worth and acceptability in a world that is divided along racial lines. This essay investigates how Pecola's identity is shaped by racial discrimination, which is sustained by beauty standards and structural oppression, and how this ultimately leads to her psychological collapse. The essay explores how Morrison uses beauty as a tool of racial hierarchy and how it affects Pecola and other Black female characters as they negotiate being a woman in a society that rejects them. The study makes the case that Pecola's search for selfhood is representative of the larger struggle African Americans confront to balance their individual identities with society expectations by drawing on feminist literary analysis and critical race theory. Even though feminism has had several waves, this research highlights that despite its popularity, it still fails to close the psychological, cultural, and societal divide between female identity and male-centred ideology. This study also emphasizes the part that family and community factors play in either supporting or opposing oppressive beliefs. Morrison highlights the widespread prevalence of internalized racism and its damaging impact on self-perception through his evocative prose and complex characters. Through an analysis of The Bluest Eye from the perspective of racial discrimination, this essay aims to shed light on the ways in which race, gender, and identity connect, highlighting the pressing need to eliminate oppressive beauty standards that still plague underprivileged groups.

1. prejudice 2. Great Depression 3. Racial Discrimination 4. oppression 5. Social rejection

"Navigating Race and Identity: A Quest for Selfhood in The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 1, page no.a147-a150, January-2025, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2501020.pdf

"Navigating Race and Identity: A Quest for Selfhood in The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 1, page no. ppa147-a150, January-2025, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2501020.pdf