The Bluest Eye: Worth Challenging? Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye is one of the books most often challenged in the United States. This is a reaction that, on its face, seems easy to understand. The book contains violence, sexual content (both violent and not), and racial themes. The novel takes place in Lorain, Ohio during the Great Depression and primarily follows the story of three African-American girls, two sisters and their friend, Pecola. The events that transpire in their lives during the course of the book would disturb even those accustomed to reading literature not aimed at the young adult market. The question of what age to allow students to read The Bluest Eye, and more specifically have it taught to them, is a difficult one to answer. On the one hand, the book could be disturbing to young students and their parents would probably feel uncomfortable having their child exposed to its content, but on the other hand the literary merit of the novel cannot be doubted and its realism provokes readers into thinking more deeply about child abuse and race. Violence is found scattered throughout the book. One of the central characters, if not the central character, is Pecola, a young girl living in an abusive home. Her parents often fight, seemingly to pass the time. Pecola is emotionally scarred by this, and wishes she could just run away like her older brother. Most notably, she is raped at the hands of her father, Cholly. This is almost certainly the most controversial and graphic scene in the entire novel. There is also a segment of the book in which a boy kills a cat in front of her for amusement, and this would undoubtedly disturb younger readers. Pecola’s two friends, sisters Claudia and Freida, are also not spared. Freida is molested by an older man living in their home, Mr. Henry, who is then beaten by her father. While these graphic portions of the