Dick and Jane

    Dick and Jane are introduced in the beginning of the novel, and they represent the ideal American family during this time period. The perfect family is depicted as a white family with two happily married parents, with several kids and pets. The families depicted in the novel clearly don’t fit this mold of a perfect family, but they don’t necessarily have to since they live in an African American community. However, societal norms force ideas onto these families. For example, Claudia is given a white doll for Christmas which represents the beauty standards at the time. However, Claudia feels a sense of resentment towards this doll and instead of playing with it or sleeping with it, she tears it apart. In Dick and Jane, Jane also has a doll which she plays with, Claudia rebels against the racial stereotypes that are almost shoved in her face. The adults around her expect her to appreciate the doll and play with it as Jane does, but she does the exact opposite. These beauty standards don’t necessarily affect Claudia and she doesn’t conform to societies ideas about beauty with the doll. Beauty standards play a vital role in The Bluest Eye, for example the Shirley Temple cup which Pecola loves to drink out of. Pecola drank so much milk to the point where Claudia’s mom went on a rant about it. Pecola just wanted to drink out of the Shirley Temple cup though to look at her, she liked her golden locks and blue eyes which perfectly fit the beauty standard at the time. This causes Pecola to want blue eyes even more, she thought maybe if she had blue eyes, she would be treated differently at school. These beauty standards have an impact on society and the relationships within them and Pecola, Frieda, and Claudia don’t fit the standards of the time because they aren’t like Dick and Jane.