Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye As a Prose Version of T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land

Abstract

This paper tries to explain the intertextuality between Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye and T.S Eliot's The Waste Land. The study discusses characters, settings, allusions, events, and themes in both of these literary works to affirm that The Bluest Eye is a prose version of The Waste Land. While Eliot criticizes the ideology of European people, Morrison criticizes the ideology of White Americans who cause pain and suffering for the Blacks. She highlights African Americans' trauma of oppression, and the spiritual decadence of society. She dramatizes and criticizes the social, cultural and racial injustice that dehumanize Black people.

Key Words Toni Morrison; T.S Eliot; Intertextuality; Fragmentation; Rebirth.