Specifically, I will be using a combination of Frye's biblical lectures on Hero From Across the Sea and theories on Fictive Modes and Archetypal imagery in order to demonstrate how individuals in this story use fantasy in order to escape the traumatic realities of their lives. I will begin by examining who the hero is in relation to us in terms of Fictive Modes, followed by applying Frye's lecture on Hero from Across the Sea to the narrator, and lastly, I will examine the underlining symbolism within Morrison's novel using Archetypal Imagery.
According to Frye's theory of modes, literature can be divided into three overall categories of Heaven, Earth, and Hell. Furthermore, fiction can be classified into two categories, tragic or comic, depending on whether the hero is being isolated from or integrated into his society. These tragic or comic narratives can further be classified into one of five Fictive Modes: Myth and Romance (Heaven), High and Low Mimetic (Earth), and Irony (Hell). The Fictive Modes can be identified by determining who the hero of the story is and their power of action in his/her society. Applying Frye's Fictive Modes to Morrison's young African-American heroine Pecola gives insight on how her traumatic childhood led her to escape from reality as a defence mechanism to the events around her. .
The Bluest Eye contains elements of ironic tragedy. In an ironic tragedy, the hero is below us in their power or intelligence. The reader can often identify with the hero even though their place in society is inferior to ours. It is easy to identify with Pecola as she is only a child and has been handed a very difficult life, thus allowing one to sympathise with her character. In an ironic tragedy the hero is often innocent in the sense that he or she is undeserving of what happens to them, however, they are not innocent in the sense that they are part of a guilty society. Pecola lives in Lorain, Ohio, a county full of crime, poverty, and inescapable injustice.