摘要

    托尼·莫里森（1931- ）的《最蓝的眼睛》（1971）自出版以来就一直饱受争议，书中的小女孩佩科拉为了寻求一双美丽的蓝色眼睛最终连精神世界也发生了崩塌。象征手法是贯穿全文的一大写作特色。本文对小说中的象征艺术进行了较为全面的研究。引言部分包括对作者、作品的介绍以及前人的相关研究。主体部分从书名、背景以及人物三个方面对象征艺术进行了探究。首先阐释书名对于两位主人公的不同意义，接着分析背景中各个具体意象、季节变化、人名等的象征意义，最后两类探讨了人物对于主题的象征意义。通过对小说中象征的分析，可以总结出象征对小说主题的深化作用。

关键词  托尼·莫里森，《最蓝的眼睛》，象征艺术

Abstract

Toni Morrison’s (1931- ) The Bluest Eye (1971) has been a controversial novel since its publication. The little girl Pecola in this novel is desired for a pair of beautiful blue eyes but finally her spiritual world collapses. Symbolic implication is the main writing feature throughout the whole novel. This paper makes a relatively comprehensive study on the symbolic art in this novel. The introduction part includes some detailed information about the author Toni Morrison and the novel as well as some related research done by others. The body part studies the symbolic art from three aspects, including the title of the book, the setting and the characterization. First, it interprets the title’s different significance to the two characters—Pecola and Claudia. Then, it explains the symbolic meanings of different items, season changes, names, and etc. Finally, it analyzes the symbolic meaning of two types of people on thematic terms. By analyzing the use of symbols in this novel, it is not hard to conclude that the symbols have helped to deepen the themes of the novel.

Keywords  Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye, symbolic art

1  Introduction
Toni Morrison is the winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature and her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed characters. Her work, The Black Book that she uses her own way to taste the protagonist’s bitterness and mystery is regarded as the “encyclopedia of Afro-American history”. And most of Morrison’s works mainly focus on the life of Afro-Americans, including Song of Solomon (1977), Sula (1974), Beloved (1987), Jazz (1992), Paradise (1997) and The Bluest Eye (1970).
Among Morrison’s works, The Bluest Eye is her first novel, which reveals the past and present situation of Afro-Americans. The story is about a year in the life of a young black girl named Pecola who develops an inferiority complex due to her eye color and skin appearance. The point of view switches from the perspective of Pecola’s only friend Claudia MacTeer and a third-person omniscient viewpoint. Pecola desires for a pair of blue eyes with which she would have a much better life. However, after being raped by her father, she suffers a psychorrhexis in the distorted black community. After careful reading, it is easy to find that there are different symbols in this novel and all of them can help to interpret the tragic story.