The Socioeconomic State of the Breedlove Family

 After reading the first section of The Bluest Eye, I was introduced to a plethora of new characters and placed into a 19th century society filled with misery and despair in the Midwestern black community. One key character I was introduced to was Pecola, the intimidated product of the hate and reproach her family received. Pecola blames this blatant mistreatment on her self-defining ugliness, as kids in school ignore her due to her hideous appearance. However, what Pecola fails to acknowledge behind the mask of her ugliness is that the true reason for her mistreatment is her blackness, and more precisely, her family's socioeconomic status. 


    The Breedlove family is not your average black, mid-western family. While most black families would be considered lower class during this time period, the Breedloves took it a step farther, living in a rotting storefront filled with mangled furniture and an overwhelming sense of joylessness. According to Morrison, "They lived there because they were poor and black, and they stayed there because they believed they were ugly" (Morrison 38). The twofold nature of the Breedlove's social impoverishment, their socially-inferior blackness and their severe poverty, thrust them to the bottom of the social pyramid, leaving them no room for upward mobility. Society labeled them as ugly and worthless - giving them two options - accept their social "ugliness" or fight to break free from this social identity. However, the Breedloves' hand was forced, as their lack of strength and interfamilial conflict left them with little care for their social reputation. 

    What I found most interesting about the Breedlove's socioeconomic status is their relative poverty within the black community. I often find that literature and social stereotypes label  the mid-19th century population as inherently lower class, without acknowledging the intricacies of status within the black community. The black community does not have one defined social status, but many, and these discrepancies can lead to even further social alienation.

Comments

  1. Dylan's English BlogSeptember 27, 2023 at 6:53 PM

    Nice post Ben. I tend to agree with many of your points regarding the fact that the complexities of Black socioeconomic levels are often rarely explored. But their socioeconomic status is not very unique for the time especially since Black Americans were historically repressed around this time. I feel another key difference between the Breedloves and other families of similar status is how they view themselves. They don't try to find the bright side in their poverty, or pull themselves out of it. Where many other families find solace in community and commiseration with others facing similar hardships the Breedloves find it in isolation. The biggest reason the breedloves are so different from everyone else is that they accept their situation and don't see a real problem with their status.

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