The Eyes Are the Best Part

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism, gender discrimination, sexual harassment, mental illness, graphic violence, death, and emotional abuse.

Blue eyes emerge as a central symbol in The Eyes Are the Best Part, evolving from a physical marker of difference to a target of violence and Consumption as Power. When blue eyes are first introduced in the narrative, it’s through the character of George, whose blue eyes are the first distinguishing feature Ji-won notices. George uses those eyes to maintain control and project his desires, as when he leers at Asian women, including Umma’s daughters. Blue eyes thus first figure as a symbol of white male power and, in particular, that power’s relationship to the white male gaze.  

The symbol develops additional layers of meaning through Ji-won’s increasing fixation on blue eyes. Her research in the library, where she examines images of blue eyes and questions their physical properties, marks a transition from passive observation to active interest. The text establishes a hierarchy of eye color through Ji-won’s thoughts, with blue eyes becoming preferential targets compared to brown eyes, which she associates with contamination—a sign of internalized racism.