This week in class, we discussed the book The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Pecola questions why people look at dandelions as weeds. She acknowledges how people make "dandelion soup..dandelion wine, yet nobody loves the head of a dandelion" (Morrison 47). Though society claims dandelions are ugly, Pecola thought otherwise. In a way, the dandelions represent Pecola and the African American community. The people label them as "ugly" yet need them for their own work. Pecola is a young black girl who is raised with no sense of self- value, just like the dandelions. She is a dandelion who hopes to have blue eyes and blond hair, so that she can be pretty.
Dandelions are not actually ugly, but perspective can morph this idea of true beauty into something it is not. Beauty is art, it has many different perspectives just like a dandelion- some look at it as just an ugly weed, while others (like Pecola) are attracted to it.
In the Hunger Games, Katniss looks at a dandelion as symbol for hope. After Peeta gave her bread to feed her family, she saw three dandelions. She realizes that she could feed her family with food from forest gatherings. Katniss looked at the dandelions as a survival tool whereas society just deemed it useless.
I love your Hunger Games reference!! You make a good point about weeds- when I was younger, I loved to collect bouquets of dandelions to proudly present to my mom, only to be told "That's a weed!"
ReplyDeleteShweta,
ReplyDeleteI like how you tied your post into a modern culture theme, The Hunger Games. However, I also remember that Pecola also insulted the weeds at one point. This contributed to some irony because when others make fun of Pecola, the audience expects that she be more sympathetic towards other unappreciated objects, but instead she becomes more critical. Just some food for thought.