The Bluest Eye

The Bluest Eye reveals some details about the complexities of race relations in the American South and Midwest around 1941: the types of jobs available to African Americans, children's school and life experiences, class divisions, and the way popular culture (movies in particular) reflected or reinforced the then-current idea of white beauty. Some facts about menstruation are also presented, but most young people who read The Bluest Eye should be old enough to have their own understanding about beginning sexuality by the time they read this novel.

Frieda and Claudia's parents are harsh with their daughters about all sorts of things, but when a man harms one of the girls, the parents come to her aid and drive the perpetrator away with a vengeance. They also take Pecola in for a brief period when her family is in crisis.

There are numerous descriptions of sexual feelings and events in The Bluest Eye. Mr. Henry interacts with two prostitutes. A girl is sexually molested. A boy's mother is described as having an aversion to sex; her sexual interactions with her husband are reserved and obligatory. Three prostitutes, who live in the flat above the Breedloves, engage in bawdy talk in front of Pecola. In the Breedlove household, Polly's sexual experiences with her husband are described somewhat poetically, where colors represent strong feelings of desire and enjoyment. However, we learn that Cholly's feelings about sex have been affected by a disturbing first sexual experience. A man turns out to be a pedophile.