by society for being ugly and they themselves succumb to that labeling. They never tried to rise above it and thus raised their children in the same manner. This created a feeling of self-hatred and worthlessness in their children especially their young daughter Pecola. From birth Pecola was said to be ugly by her mother and the poor child was never given a chance to ever establish herself: But I knowed she was ugly. Head full of pretty hair, but Lord she was ugly. (p.128) She was never loved but rather she was neglected and made to have self-contempt because she didnt look like someone that her parents and society would love. She disliked herself so much that she started fantasizing, dreaming and praying that she was a pretty blue eyed girl whom her parents would love: It had occurred to Pecola some time ago that if her eyes, those eyes that held the pictures, and knew the sightsif those eyes of hers were different, that is to say, beautiful, she herself would be different.If she looked different, beautiful, maybe Cholly would be different, and Mrs. Breedlove too. Maybe theyd say, Why, look at pretty-eyed Pecola. We mustnt do bad things in front of those pretty eyes. (p. 47) Loathing oneself can cause many problems. Pauline Breedlove (Pecolas mother) didnt like herself, in turn she projected that onto her kids and they will suffer a lifetime of rejection for it. Because she didnt like herself, she also found fault with everything that reminded her of her ugliness which only escalated every problem she had: There I was, five months pregnant, trying to look like Jean Harlow, and a front tooth gone. Everything went then. Look like I just didnt care no more after that. I let my hair go back, plaited it up, and settled down to just being ugly. (p. 123) She neglected her home, her children and her husband and only cared for things that she thought were beautiful: Soon she stopped trying to keep her own house. The things sh...
