Rules are inevitable. The disastrous nature of human
conduct generates the need of a governing central power and of policies that everybody
must abide to as lawful citizens. Scientific and mathematical developments also
bring about theorems and rules that are universally accepted as certain and
true. While these essential and fundamental laws establish themselves in human
minds, so do other more obscure and abstract social rules and standards of
beauty and hierarchy, driving people to accept and follow the ideals and creating social division and hierarchy.
The Golden Age of Certainty
 |
| Isaac Newton, 1642 - 1727 |
The
Age of Reason, often referred to as the Enlightenment
or the Mechanical Age, depicts an era of physics development when the
scientists aimed to take everything apart and to analyze them thoroughly. They
believed in the possibility of defining and interpreting the behavior of all
particles with mathematical analysis and proposed that the motion of an object
from one stationary point in time to another is always connected and continuous.
This idea of
continuity suggests that if the position and momentum of a
particle are determined, its state at any time in the future can also be
predicted.
Isaac Newton, an important physicist and mathematician of the era who
developed the use of
calculus (the mathematics of continuity) in his
laws of motion, put forth a relevant idea:
the clockwork universe theory. He stated in
the theory that the world functions as a clock created by God, and all the particles
in the universe advance, just like
machines, with the linear progression of the
clock and follow the general
rules of Newtonian mechanics, leaving all moments
in time entirely predictable. However, as Newton argues for the predictability
of future events, he completely abandons the idea of free will.
Since
everything is certain and predetermined, nothing happens on the basis of human
will.
The Age of Uncertainty
Quantum mechanics, however, deconstructs the widely
believed notions of the Age of Certainty and challenges the Newtonian mechanism.
Originally proposed by
Heisenberg and later revised by
Kennard,
the uncertainty principle asserts a limit to the precision of the momentum and position of an
object that can be determined. Heisenberg argues that the more precisely the
value of one is known, the less precisely the value of the other can be
determined. The principle challenges Newton’s earlier idea of continuity, in
which the predictability of future states is based on the knowledge of the
position and momentum of the particle in its present state. Another central argument
of the quantum theory is that particles do not move in a continuous way, but
instead come in
discrete units. For instance, the position of an object at one
moment in time is completely independent of its position in the previous
moment; likewise, its position in the next point in time is also absolutely
random and uncertain.
Certainty in The Bluest Eye
These two opposing extremes can be applied to
Toni Morrison’s novel
The Bluest Eye. In
the novel, Toni Morrison depicts a society that functions similarly to the one presented in the Age of Certainty. The society displays the seemingly certain
and inalterable ideals of beauty and hierarchy and runs like Newton’s clock,
leaving no free will or possibility of change to the minorities in the society. The poor, instead of appreciating their unique natural self and their own identity, strive
to approach the standards of the whites and to be accepted by the society. Geraldine, a middle-aged black woman, rejects her own identity and conforms to the certainties of the society:
They come from Mobile. Aiken. From Newport News. From
Marietta. From Meridian. And the sounds of these places in their mouths make
you think of love. When you ask them where they are from, they tilt their heads
and say "Mobile" and you think you've been kissed. They say
"Aiken" and you see a white butterfly glance off a fence with a torn
wing. They say "Nagadoches" and you want to say "Yes, I
will." (81)
As an introduction of her in the book, Morrison chooses not
to present a specific character but instead to generalize with the plural
“they,” emphasizing Geraldine’s lack of individuality and her conformity to the
American ideal of beauty as presented in the Dick and Jane story. She,
along with many other black girls, tries to look and behave like the whites,
searching for ways to straighten her hair and soften her skin. The girls have
no pride or appreciation for their ethnicity and culture and show resentment
towards their own race in attempt to fit into the white society and to approach
the certainties that the white society present them with.
The Deconstruction of Certainty
Despite the failure of various characters’ attempts to
challenge the fixed system of ideals and their ultimate conformity to the
standards, Morrison attacks the certainty of the society by alluding to the
harm and destruction it brings to the characters’ life. Morrison opens the novel by presenting the Dick and Jane story, which serves as an embodiment of the American ideal and are taught to children not only for English-learning purposes, but also for them to understand the American culture and the accepted values such as gender and family roles:
Here is
the house.
It is green and white. It has a red door. It is very pretty. Here is the family.
Mother, Father, Dick, and Jane live in the green-and-white house. They are very
happy. See Jane. She has a red dress. She wants to play. Who will play with Jane?
See the cat. It goes meow-meow. Come and play. Come play with Jane. The kitten
will not play. See Mother. Mother is very nice. Mother, will you play with Jane?
mother laughs. Laugh, Mother, laugh. See Father. He is big and strong. Father,
will you play with Jane? Father is smiling. Smile, Father, smile. See the dog.
Bowwow goes the dog. Do you want to play with Jane? See the dog run. Run, dog,
run. Look, look. Here comes a friend. The friend will play with Jane. They will
play a good game. Play, Jane, play.
Here is
the house it is green and white it has a red door it isery pretty here is the
family mother father dick and jane live in the green-and-white house they are
very happy see jane she has a red dress she wants to play who will play with
jane see the cat it goes meow-meow come and play come play with jane the kitten
will not play see mother mother is very nice mother will you play with jane
mother laughs laugh mother laugh see father he is big and strong father will
you play with jane father is smiling smile father smile see the dog bowwow goes
the dog do you want to play do you want to play with jane see the dog run run
dog run look look here comes a friend the friend will play with jane they will
play a good game play jane play
HereisthehouseitisgreenandwhiteithasareddooritisveryprettyHereisthefamilymotherfatherdickandjaneliveinthegreenandwHitehousetheyareveryhappyseejaneshehasareddressshewantsToplaywhowillplaywithjaneseethecatitgoesmeowmeowcomeaNdplaycomeplaywithjanethekittenwillnotplayseemothermothErisverynicemotherwillyouplaywithjanemotherlaughslaughmOtherlaughseefatherheisbigandstrongfatherwillyouplaywithjaNefatherissmilingsmILefathersmileseethedogbowwowgoestheDogdoyouwanttoplaydoyouwanttoplaywithjaneseethedogrunRundogrunlooklookherecomsafriendthefriendwillplaywithjaNetheywillplayagoodgameplayjaneplay (2)
Over the course of
two pages, however, Morrison takes away the spacing and the punctuations, destroying
the vision of the ideal household and leaving the whole piece meaningless and
insignificant. By tearing the story apart, Morrison hints that underneath the façade of certainty, the values in the Dick and Jane are
only fabricated deceptions that bring children to learn to respect the idealized
and constructed cultural values and lose their own individuality.
The Destruction of Certainty
Pecola Breedlove, a poor black girl who stands at the very
bottom of the social hierarchy, barely receives any love in her childhood
experience and learns that the reason her mother prefers the white little girl
more than her and the reason her classmates mock and isolate her is because she is
poor, ugly, and, unlike the popular white girls in her school, does not have
blue eyes. Driven by the longing for love and people’s attention, she accepts
“blue eyes are beautiful” as an established and certain rule, yearning and
praying to attain them.
Ironically, Cholly, the only character who is willing
to reach her and offer his love, does so in a perverted and inappropriate way.
He, just like Pecola, did not grow up in a loving environment, has not been
loved, and does not now how to love because of his low social status and his race. Pecola, as a result of the sexual violation his father repeatedly performs on her, is driven mad at the realization of the remoteness of the
ideals from her. She, as Claudia points out, almost becomes an embodiment of ugliness that they look upon to uplift their own esteem. Because of the pressure the ideals and the so-called
certainties have put on her, Pecola has to comfort herself with a imaginary friend and imaginary blue eyes to get a sense of confidence and involvement in the society.
By demonstrating the effect these constructed ideals
of beauty and American values have on Pecola, Morrison effectively depicts and
argues against the destructiveness of certainty.
Likewise, the ideals turn Soaphead Church into a pedophile.
Geraldine, in her appreciation for white
beauty, abandons her own family.
The carefully constructed world of ideal
values and certainty is gradually falling apart.
The Appreciation for Uncertainty—Morrison's Call for Naturalness
Morrison's attack on certainty also reflects through her writing style. While the Age of Reason proposes a linear progression of time,
Morrison sides with the uncertainty and intentionally offers a more free-styled
and circular narrative with the use of seasons and multi-perspective in the
book. Her rather random form of narrative, with multiple narrators speaking in erratic
orders, coincides with the idea of independent and discreet units in quantum
theory, where the next moment is always uncertain and subject to change, implying the possibility for the minorities in the book to change their fate
and to advance in the social hierarchy. Morrison, mainly through the voice of Claudia
in The Bluest Eye, attacks the certainty
of ideals and standards of the American society and calls for appreciation for
the black’s unique “funkiness of nature” (83).
Unlinked Sources:
Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, 2007. Print.
These "study machines" in China will have more than ten mock Gaokao exams during their last year in high school, and their ranks are always told for estimation. In some school during the first two years, students have almost as many exams as they will have in the last year. Some of the exams are designed to categorize students. This system makes different levels of class available to students at different ranks. The high level classes, consisting of the top-ranked students at the same grade, will have the best teachers in school and different treatment, including teaching and homework; they learn things at a faster speed and have some "extra accessibility" of knowledge. The low level classes, however, will take a relatively slow pace and are less productive. This classification of students can be found at not only in high school, but also primary schools, middle schools, and colleges everywhere in China.
