Going in Circles

In the Bluest Eye, the cycle of abuse and emotional trauma is evident through Pecola's family. Cholly Breedlove was traumatized from white men experiencing his first sexual encounter and his being "rejected... by his father"(Morrison 160). At first he blames Darlene, the person who experienced his failure and the person he "had not been able to protect, or spare". Then after he marries Pauline, he proceeds to blame her and relieve stress through domestic abuse.

Through all of this, a circle is formed: one of pain and suffering. Through Cholly and Pauline's painful marriage and pasts, Sammy and Pecola are unable to escape the circle that they are trapped in. The cycle continues as Cholly rapes Pecola and Sammy proceeds to run away from home consistently. Perhaps it is Cholly's abandonment as a baby in a junkyard, or his humiliation by the white men, either way he has been broken again and again by his past and by society's unrelenting grip. As for Pauline, her own belief in her ugliness due to her lame foot and her missing tooth make her a lonely and pitiful character and thus a victim of society. These victims continue the cycle of abuse and pain onto their children, breaking Pecola especially beyond repair.

In the same way that Pecola is affected, the cycle is evident in Maus also. Vladek often cycles figuratively and literally into the past as his trauma is never ending and ongoing like a circle. His past memories consequently affect Art, who feels oppressed by his father's thriftiness and firm adherence to his past practices. As a result, Art becomes more accusatory and harsh towards his father and the memories of his late mother.

The key point of a circle is that it is never-ending. It continues on even after the causes of pain are gone and it carries on through generations. It is unescapable and solid as its victims are trapped inside and unable to escape.