Analyze+the+roots+of+Pauline’s+inability+to+love+Pecola.

Pauline's inability to love Pecola stems from her dysfunctional relationship with Cholly. Cholly's drunken and violent behavior due ot his dark past causes Pauline to feel a sense of loneliness. Initially, Pauline attempts to escape her solitude through the movies, where she can imagine and idealize beauty, perhaps even giving herself the satisfaction of pretending to be one of those glamorous celebrities on the big screen. Eventually, Pauline finds a job at the Fisher's house, providing her with work that gives her less time to go to the movies. Instead, Pauline replaces the movies with her new role in the Fisher's household. Here she sees true power, as if the house belongs to her, and is able to claim superiority over the Fisher's daughter. Pauline's love for beauty and glamor of the movies and her belief that "whiteness is beauty" causes her inability to love Pecola, and ugly black child who does not possess any of the qualities Pauline values.