The Reinforcement of Racial Hierarchies in Morrison's "The...
Race and racial hierarchies are reinforced through the proliferation of a predominant, societal, white
aesthetic and through the perceptions associated with physical characteristics. In The Bluest Eye,
Toni Morrison first illustrates the reinforcement of racial hierarchies through the proliferation of a
predominant, societal white aesthetic by recounting passages from the Dick and Jane books, a
standardization of family life. Next, "The Black Arts Movement" by Larry Neal demonstrates the
reinforcement of racial hierarchies through the proliferation of a white aesthetic by discussing how
Black culture, including Black art, is in danger if the white aesthetic is accepted by Black artists.
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These books, with their simplistic two and three word sentences, were widely used to teach all
children how to read and suggested that the lifestyle of Dick and Jane was typical and standard. But,
the Dick and Jane lifestyle was certainly not the typical lifestyle for Claudia, Pecola or either of their
families. So, that lifestyle was presumed to be the typical white lifestyle. Furthermore, the lifestyle
of Dick and Jane was obviously viewed as superior to a sad, broken, difficult family life, similar to
what Claudia and Pecola were accustomed, so white lifestyles in general were viewed as superior.
Consequently, exposure to this white aesthetic, especially at an early age, would create, proliferate
and reinforce a racial hierarchy.
In "The Black Arts Movement," Larry Neal also discusses how a racial hierarchy is reinforced
through the proliferation of a predominant, societal, white aesthetic. Neal says that, "there are in fact
and in spirit two Americas – one black, one white." (Neal 2039). Further, Neal discusses the danger
of not counteracting the white way of thinking, trumpeting the need for a Black aesthetic. "The
motive behind the Black aesthetic is the destruction of the white thing, the destruction of white
ideas, and white ways of looking at the world." (Neal 2040). Neal's adamancy concerning the need
for a Black aesthetic confirms his belief in the existence and power of a predominant, societal, white
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