“The thing”: An exploration into America’s 20th-century consumer culture, black shame, and Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

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Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

“The thing”: An exploration into America’s 20th-century consumer culture, black shame, and Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye

Name: Margaret White
Major: English
Hometown: Franklin Park
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors: Shannon Brennan
Type of research: Senior thesis

Abstract

Within the world Toni Morrison sets her novel The Bluest Eye in, little black girls are not only considered ugly but more so not precious. This essay argues that America’s Consumer Culture determines this standard of preciousness through its established paradigm of white-washed images depicted in different consumer products and advertisements. Morrison establishes this specific 1940s Consumer Culture using product placement throughout the novel. These product placements range from the naming of specific beauty and hygiene products to authentic names of hollywood stars mentioned by characters, Morrison uses product placement to generate a genuine insight into the perceived world of a consumer in rural, Ohio circa 1941. Drawing upon intersectional and feminist cultural criticism, this essay uses selected readings from The Bluest Eye in order to explain how the lack of realistic representation with America’s Consumer Culture produces a negative image of black females. And how this in turn means little black girls are unable to be considered precious within the world of The Bluest Eye.

Poster file