Oh the Irony

The song "Black is Beautiful" by The Trinikas demonstrates a complete different view towards African-Americans to the one Toni Morrison shows in his book The Bluest Eye. They approach the topic of their differences among the rest of the society with two different tones: positive versus negative. While The Trinikas admire their culture and skin color, Pecola is willing to do anything to become white and have pretty blue eyes. The only thing they have in common is that they both accept the fact that they are “black” and that they are different from the rest.

The song starts by stating, “I am not a typical teenager. My skin is black but I just want to let you know that black is beautiful” (0:23). This is a complete different attitude toward her skin color than the one Pecola has. Toni Morrison states, “It had occurred to Pecola some time ago that if her eyes, those eyes that held the pictures, and knew the sights--- if those eyes of hers were different, that is to say, beautiful, she herself would be different” (46). This clearly demonstrates that she has a negative point of view towards her culture and that she would do anything to change her skin color. With these two extreme points of views we can see how the tone one uses really determines the message one wants to send to the audience.

I tried doing some research on The Trinikas, but the truth is I was not able to find any biographical information. I am really curious about their background, since this group of singers might have experienced a complete different childhood from Pecola. In the book, Pecola is constantly blamed for being ugly and no one in her family approve of their skin color. Not only did her family judge her appearance but also Junior´s mom. She was not able to pass Junior´s mom inspection since she stated, “Get out… You nasty little black bitch” (91). How can you have a high self-esteem when treated so badly? I think it would have been a good idea for Pecola to listen to The Trinikas song about blacks being beautiful.