본 논문의 목적은 토니 모리슨(Toni Morrison)의 『가장 푸른 눈』(The Bluest Eye, 1970)에서 아프리카계 미국인의 정체성 확립에 중요한 요소로 작용하는 이중의식(double-consciousness)과 흑인성(blackness)은 어떤 의미를 지니는지를 고찰해 보는데 있다. 1940년대의 흑인 사회의 한 단면을 보여 준 『가장 푸른 눈』은 브리드러브가(The Breedloves)와 맥티어가(The MacTeers)를 대비하여 진정한 흑인으로서의 삶은 어떻게 사는 것인가를 추론케 한다. 작품 속에서 브리드러브가는 이중의식의 이해에 실패하고 백인의 가치관을 아무런 비판 없이 받아들임으로써 흑인성을 점차 잃어가지만 반대로 맥티어가는 흑인으로서의 자존감을 잃지 않고 문화의 보존을 추구하며 공동체의 일원으로 살면서 삶의 지혜를 후손에게 전하는 전수자 역할을 해낸다. 브리드러브가는 산업화된 북부로 이주하면서 남부 시절에 간직하고 있던 흑인 문화와 공동체 의식을 점차 상실하여 흑인성의 결여를 초래한다. 이 과정에 영향을 미치는 외부적인 요인은 흑인들을 경멸하고 존재가치가 없다고 여기는 백인들의 태도이고 내부적으로는 흑인들 스스로 자신의 가치를 폄하하는 태도가 동시에 작용한다. 브리드러브가의 사람들은 자신이 지닌 흑인성 보다 백인성을 우월하다고 생각한다. 이들은 진정한 미국인이자 정체성을 지닌 흑인도 되지 못하고 결국 진정한 인간으로 성장할 수 없다. 맥티어가 사람들은 자신들의 힘겨웠던 과거에서 얻은 믿음과 가치를 바탕으로 자신들의 아이들을 키워낸다. 부모가 전하는 흑인 음악과 구전문학은 흑인의 역사와 공동체의 중요성을 지니고 있다. 그들은 검은 피부를 자랑스럽게 생각하고 흑인성으로 각인 된 ‘경외스러운 멋스러움(dreadful funkiness)’의 분출을 자연스럽게 여긴다. 작가 모리슨은 아프리카계 미국인은 두 개의 상반된 가치를 지닌 이중의식을 느낄 수밖에 없음을 지적하고, 브리드러브가와 맥티어가를 비교하여 보여줌으로써 어떻게 사는 것이 흑인성을 회복하고, 흑인의 고유 가치를 간직하고 사는 것인지, 또 앞으로 흑인들의 긍정적 미래상은 무엇인지를 제시하고 있다.

The purpose of this study is to look into Afro-Americans' double consciousness and blackness in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. Toni Morrison implies in The Bluest Eye that Afro-Americans should urgently restore the substantial double consciousness and the integrity of blackness to maintain the human dignity, which results from the establishment of self-identity. Two main characters, Pecola and Claudia, more fully developed than any of the others in The Bluest Eye play a symbolic role to convey the writer's central ideas. Pecola's parents learn to hate themselves. Thus they lose or never develop their potential to be responsible for Afro-American children. Much of the damage inflicted on Pecola comes from her parents, Geraldine, and Soaphead representing Afro-American adults who are impatient to erase their dreadful funkiness. Pecola can't possibly build her integral personality because she blindly accepts American value system formed by racial prejudices. The Bluest Eye structurally parallels some black proponents of white-dominated values with the other black characters who are willing to keep their own identity by not being influenced by it. The MacTeers manage to maintain their marriage, protect their children, and even offer Pecola some shelter. The MacTeers successfully bring up Claudia with their own faith and values. They enable Claudia to express her own feeling and get over the pressure from the outside. Her family members are proud of their identity as black people and they know ‘how to live decently’. On the other hand, Pecola's parents fail to acquire how to live with human dignity, which leads to Pecola's ruin. In conclusion, Morrison suggests that Afro-Americans should lead their own lives in two ways in a white-dominated American society: to restore blackness by fulfilling their sense of community and to realize double-consciousness correctly.

The purpose of this study is to look into Afro-Americans' double consciousness and blackness in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. Toni Morrison implies in The Bluest Eye that Afro-Americans should urgently restore the substantial double consciousness and the integrity of blackness to maintain the human dignity, which results from the establishment of self-identity. Two main characters, Pecola and Claudia, more fully developed than any of the others in The Bluest Eye play a symbolic role to convey the writer's central ideas. Pecola's parents learn to hate themselves. Thus they lose or never develop their potential to be responsible for Afro-American children. Much of the damage inflicted on Pecola comes from her parents, Geraldine, and Soaphead representing Afro-American adults who are impatient to erase their dreadful funkiness. Pecola can't possibly build her integral personality because she blindly accepts American value system formed by racial prejudices. The Bluest Eye structurally parallels some black proponents of white-dominated values with the other black characters who are willing to keep their own identity by not being influenced by it. The MacTeers manage to maintain their marriage, protect their children, and even offer Pecola some shelter. The MacTeers successfully bring up Claudia with their own faith and values. They enable Claudia to express her own feeling and get over the pressure from the outside. Her family members are proud of their identity as black people and they know ‘how to live decently’. On the other hand, Pecola's parents fail to acquire how to live with human dignity, which leads to Pecola's ruin. In conclusion, Morrison suggests that Afro-Americans should lead their own lives in two ways in a white-dominated American society: to restore blackness by fulfilling their sense of community and to realize double-consciousness correctly.

community, blackness, eye, double consciousness, dreadful funkiness, identity