Distressingly Blue

I've started reading Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, and it is with the most disappointment that I state that the cover of the book is purple. That aside, let's start with the title.

The Bluest Eye.

Why blue? Is it to show sadness?

I'm going to say that the blue eye is there either to show uniqueness or to demonstrate a usually white trait, which would make sense in a book with a black protagonist. The eye is THE human organ that everyone will use to appear "deep" and all that stuff. But really, I think it's perspective that the eye is supposed to symbolize. In short, I think this will be a story from someone with a unique or black (or both) perspective. This directly relates to...

The first part of the book is a short thingy in the viewpoint of a little girl, Jane. It's a childish diary-esque narration about how no one plays with Jane, until a friend comes. then the same passage is repeated without any punctuation or capitalization giving off an entirely different feel and finally thewholethingisrepeatedagainwithoutanyspacesinbetweenthewordsmakingitabigbunchofwhatthehellisgoingon

When I first read this, it was rather disturbing and uncomfortable. As the apparently naive narration about a little girl was distorted to the point that it was chaotic and almost unreadable, a strong feeling came through the book. In a way, I think this might be setting the tone for the beginning of the book, if not the whole of it.

Pretty nice.

Except the purple bit.