Lost Self—An Exploration of The Bluest Eye from the Perspective of Scapegoat Mechanism

紀嘉瑩

【Abstract】According to Rene Girards theory of text of persecution and scapegoat mechanism， The Bluest Eye can be regarded as a typical persecution text， including an ancient motif— scapegoat. So this paper analyzes four stereotypes of persecution in the texts and points out that the heroin， Pecola chosen as a scapegoat was pushed onto the altar. But such sacrifice failed to resolve the problem fundamentally for the gap between the self-construction and the African-American cultural roots.

【Key words】The Bluest Eye； scapegoat mechanism； text of persecution

Toni Morrison， as an outstanding representative of African American writer， is well-known for the epic themes， vivid dialogue and richly detailed characters in her novels. And she won the Nobel Laureate in 1993 for “her novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import， gives life to an essential aspect of American reality”， who became the first black woman writer to receive this prize. In her maiden work—The Bluest Eye， Morrison described a number of tortured and psychopathic souls， and depicted a string of scenes full of blood， violence and crime in the black community in distant tones； for example， the heroin， a little black girl， Pecola was detested by her mother Pauline and even raped by her father Cholly； additionally， another character Mr. Henry was addicted to insulting girls. As a newcomer stepping into literature， Morrisons bold reveal of the seamy underside of the black community has suspicion of catering to the curiosity of white people unavoidably. When faced up with such questioning that why she always focused on those eccentrics lack of typicality rather than the healthy and positive aspects， Morrison responded that “the reason of my being enchanted by the peculiar person lies in that I have found out some characteristics which can also be applied to common people......what I call my writings was some tragic forms where there is purification and enlightenment” （Thomas Leclerc， 1994：27）. Then from which perspective can the functions be discovered. Usually， the academic circles have basically reached an agreement that Pecola was a victim of racial， sexual and classes oppression. This point of view is a kind of misreading， which may lead to the paradox between the interpreted characters and the actual ones. Actually， according to Rene Girards scapegoat mechanism， this novel can be seen as a typical text of persecution with “scapegoat”， an ancient and mysterious literary motif running through it.

I. Origin of Scapegoat

The term “scapegoat” can be traced back as early as in ancient Greece when a cripple， a beggar or a criminal would be casted out in response to either the natural disaster such as a famine and a plague or a calendric crisis. While， the “scapegoat”， as a kind of custom， came into being in the most authoritative source of literature— The Bible， appearing in Genesis of the Old Testament for the first time. Lord asked Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son， Isaac as a tribute to test his loyalty. Though reluctant and grieved to sacrifice his son， devout Abraham still built an altar on the top of a mountain and tied his boy to the altar. The moment he reached out a knife to kill the boy， the angel of God called him from heaven and said “Now I know you fear God， since you have not withheld you only son from me” （Bible， 2005：23）. Then Abraham found a ram in the underbrush， a tribute God offered him to replace his son. Until now， people would say “On the mount of the Lord， it shall be provided （Bible， 2015：23）”， where “it” refers to the ram made the scapegoat for Isaac. Afterwards， “scapegoat” has served as “an individual， group or country singled out for unmerited negative treatment or blame”. In addition to the ancient religious origins in the Bible， “scapegoat” also deeply rooted in various cultures taking on different forms， but it has not diverged from the archetypal meaning.

II. Stereotypes of Persecution in The Bluest Eye

Scapegoat theories have surfaced from time to time in history， and among them， one of the most famous theories is Rene Girards scapegoat mechanism， coincidentally also very suitable for the interpretation of this novel. By scrutinizing western history， Greek mythology and the Bible etc.， Girard found the universality of scapegoat phenomenon， “there existed real violence and real victims in those works of fiction” （Rene Girard， 2002：46）. Jesus Christ in the Bible， Oedipus， Achilles， Heracles and Oedipus in mythology have all become scapegoats without exception， who were forced to step onto altar， sacrificing themselves to rescue the compatriots or even all creatures from crises and disasters. Based on the researches， Girard put forward his theory of scapegoat mechanism in a series of works， such as Mensonge romantique et vérité roma and so on. And he coined a term— persecution text to define the works including the mechanism； accordingly， he also defined four typical stereotypes in persecution texts： a social or cultural crisis， the accusation of the troublemakers crimes， the special mark on the victim and the collective persecution （Davis &Fallaize， 2000：43～44）. According to Girard， if two or more than two stereotypes are included， the novel can be regarded as a persecution text， so The Bluest Eye is a typical persecution text which consists of all of the four stereotypes.

i. Description of a Social or Cultural Crisis

At the beginning， there was a chilly and bleak atmosphere—“Quiet as its kept， there were no marigolds in the fall of 1941...that our seeds were not the only ones that did not sprout； nobodys did. Not even the gardens fronting the lake showed marigolds that year” （Toni Morrison， 1995：1）； with such desperate ambience， there were also death images： Pecola gave birth to a dead infant and Sisters Claudias innocence faded away with it， all of which indicated the desperate survival state and a lurking crisis in the black community.

ii. Accusation of the Troublemakers Crimes

Girard pointed out that the accusation was either exaggerated or fictitious， and he also summed up some typical types of crimes， such as violent crimes， sexual crimes and crimes of religion belief. Among them， violent crimes refer to the offense against high authorities symbolized by king， father and so on， or against innocent children； sexual crimes include rape， incest and brutality etc.； and it is seen as crimes of religion belief to violate tattoos or desecrate holy objects. In The Bluest Eye， faced up with the situation where seeds did not sprout， indicating existential crisis， they fabricated a far-fetched association between this quirky phenomenon and Pecolas incest pregnancy—“we thought， at the time， that it was because Pecola was having her fathers baby that the marigolds did not grow” （1）， but ignored the fact deliberately that the little girl was the victim， so they imposed the “troublemaker” title on Pecola. In fact， “the persecutor chooses their victims because they belong to a class particularly susceptible to persecution rather than because of the crimes they have committed” （Girard， 1989：17）， so it is of no importance that whether the troublemaker committed crimes or what crimes he committed or the seriousness of crimes.

iii. Special Mark on the Victim

Girards famous theory about this was that “difference” is persecuted. In terms of culture and religion， minorities have always borne the brunt； and differences can also been illustrated by physical characteristics， such as “illness， insanity， inherited abnormality， disability caused by car accident or just disabilities usually becomes the target” （Rene Girard， 2012：21）； while extremity can also lead to persecution including extreme beauty& extreme ugliness， or extreme richness& extreme poverty and so on. Pecola bore many such marks as “being a minority in both caste and class” and from the poorest family in the community， firstly； besides， from the perspective of physical characteristics， she was the blackest girl and had disability—humpback. All of these obvious “marks” doomed her destiny to be the target of persecution.

iv. Collective Persecution

For the scapegoat has been selected and the evidences have been mastered， though very absurd， then come the rite of persecution. In the novel， there existed a typical scene where “they surrounded her... and gaily harassed her ‘Black e mo. Black e mo. Yadaddsleepsnekked. Black e mo black e mo ya dadd sleeps nekked. Black e mo... ”（65）. Very ironically， the community members did not realize the accusation could have been suitable for themselves； blindness and extremity are two common features shared by persecutors， who turn blind eyes to the mendacious accusation—“they danced a macabre ballet around the victim， whom， for their own sake， they were prepared to sacrifice to the flaming pit” （65）.

III. Root Causes of Persecution—Mimetic Desire

Mimetic desire is the cornerstone of Girards theoretical framework， in which he advocates a subversive view that a person called subject will not desire for something spontaneously or accidentally， but provoked by another persons desire， who is not only a model but a rival， called mediator， and what they both yearn for is called the object. When two sides desire for the same object， there appears competition between them that easily lead to emotions such as jealousy， suspicion or even resentment， and especially with one sides gain of the object， the emotions come to the climax. As negative emotions accumulate and involvement of more and more people， the crisis comes into being. But compared with Girards primitive mimetic model， the real application is much more complex. White people represent mainstream culture and are in possession of prosperous life and great opportunities， etc， which will provoke black peoples desire to pursue the same life， but the difference lies in that black people are not simply subjects but they can also be mediators for folks in the black community， so there is competition not only between black and white but also among the black community， which weaves a large net implies a crisis. In the novel， the blue eyes served as the mediator， representing the recognition of mainstream culture.

IV. Conclusion

Pecolas miserable fate provokes thoughts in the following two aspects：

Firstly， scapegoat mechanism has commonly occurred at all times and in all over the world， as a method to let off emotions and to quell crisis taken for a solution， but in fact it can by no means resolve an issue fundamentally. On the contrary， a short period of peace may generate even more violent crisis.

Additionally， one main reason of the failing redemption of Pecola， or even the whole black nation lies in their inappropriate self-construction. For instance， Pecola ， induced by “the bluest eye”， internalized the hegemony of mainstream culture symbolized by white peoples aesthetic standards， and hated her own national features in turn， finally who chose to hide， desolate until disappeared behind “ugliness”. As Morrison pointed out， no matter the self-construction or the self-fulfillment of Afro-Americans can never cut off connections with national traditions and cultural root； and only by regression can they have a resort and can their souls be redeemed.

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