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Characters

• Pecola Breedlove - The protagonist of the novel, a poor black girl who believes she is ugly because she and her community base their ideals of beauty on "whiteness". The title The Bluest Eye is based on Pecola's fervent wishes for beautiful blue eyes. She is rarely developed during the story, which is purposely done to underscore the actions of the other characters. Her insanity at the end of the novel is her only way to escape the world where she cannot be beautiful and to get the blue eyes she desires from the beginning of the novel.

• Cholly Breedlove - Pecola's abusive father, an alcoholic man who rapes his daughter at the end of the novel. Rejected by his father and discarded by his mother as a four day old baby, Cholly was raised by his Great Aunt Jimmy. After she dies, Cholly runs away and pursues the life of a "free man", yet he is never able to escape his painful past, nor can he live with the mistakes of his present. Tragically, he rapes his daughter in a gesture of madness mingled with affection. He realizes he loves her, but the only way he can express it is to rape her.

• Pauline Breedlove - Pecola's mother. Mrs. Breedlove is married to Cholly and lives the self-righteous life of a martyr, enduring her drunk husband and raising her two awkward children as best she can. Mrs. Breedlove is a bit of an outcast herself with her shriveled foot and Southern background. Mrs. Breedlove lives the life of a lonely and isolated character who escapes into a world of dreams, hopes and fantasy that turns into the motion pictures she enjoys viewing.

• Sam Breedlove - Pecola's older brother. Sammy is Cholly and Mrs. Breedlove's one son. Sam's part in this novel is relatively low key. Like his sister Pecola, he is affected by the disharmony in their home and deals with his anger by running away from home.

• Claudia MacTeer - Much of the novel is told from the perspective of Claudia.

• Frieda MacTeer - Claudia's older sister and close companion. The two MacTeer girls are often seen together and while most of the story is told through Claudia's eyes, her sister Frieda plays a large role in the novel.

• Henry Washington - A man who comes to live with the MacTeer family and is subsequently thrown out by Claudia's father when he inappropriately touches Frieda.

• Soaphead Church (aka Elihue Micah Whitcomb) - A pedophile and mystic fortune teller who "grants" Pecola her wish for blue eyes. The character is somewhat based on Morrison's Jamaican ex-husband.

• Great Aunt Jimmy - Cholly's aunt who takes him in to raise after his parents abandon him. She dies when he is a young boy.

• Della Jones- Henry Washington's landlady before the Macteers.

• Hattie- Della's sister.

• Aunt Julia- Della and Hattie's aunt.

• Peggy- The woman having an affair with Della's husband.

• Old Slack Bessie- Peggy's mother.

• Maureen Peal - A light-skinned, wealthy mulatto girl who is new at the local school. She accepts everyone else’s assumption that she is superior and is capable of both generosity and cruelty. She changes her attitude throughout the novel towards Pecola.

• Bay Boy- One of the black boys from school who teases Pecola about her daddy.

• Woodrow Cain- One of the black boys from school who teases Pecola about her daddy.

• Buddy Wilson- One of the black boys from school who teases Pecola about her daddy.

• Junie Bug- One of the black boys from school who tease Pecola about her daddy.

• Mrs. MacTeer- The mother of Claudia and Frieda. She houses Pecola when her family is "put out."

• Mr. MacTeer- The father of Claudia and Frieda.

• China- One of the prostitutes who live above the Breedlove residence. Physically, she is extremely skinny.

• Poland- One of the prostitutes who live above the Breedlove residence. She speaks the least out of her, China, and Miss Marie.

• Maginot Line (aka Miss Marie)- One of the prostitutes who live above the Breedlove residence. She is known for being very plump.

• Dewey Prince- An old boyfriend of the Maginot Line.

• The Fishers- The rich, white couple who employ Pauline as their servant.

• Geraldine- A socially-conscious black woman in the community who tries to over exaggerate the fact that she is above traditional black stereotypes, and is more "civilized" than other black families in Lorain, Ohio.

• Louis- The husband of Geraldine.

• Louis Junior- Geraldine's son who picks on Pecola, and blames her for the killing his mother's favorite cat.

• Rosemary Villanucci- The little girl of the MacTeer's next door neighbor who constantly tries to get Claudia and Frieda in trouble.

• Blue Jack- Cholly's boyhood mentor.

• M'Dear- Medicine woman in Cholly's hometown who tends on Aunt Jimmy.

• Essie Foster- Aunt Jimmy's neighbor whose peach cobbler is blamed for her death.

• Miss Alice- One of Aunt Jimmy's friends.

• Jake- Cholly's cousin that he first meets at Aunt Jimmy's funeral.

• Darlene- Young girl from Cholly's hometown whom he shared his first sexual experience with.

• Mr. Yacobowski- The immigrant grocery story owner where Pecola goes to buy Mary Janes.

• Samson Fuller- Cholly's father who lives in Macon, GA.

• Chicken and Pie- The nicknames of Pauline's younger, twin siblings.

• O.V.- Aunt Jimmy's half brother.