“Childhood Cuts Festered and Never Scabbed Over”: Child Abuse in Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child

Manuela López Ramírez

doi:10.14198/raei.2016.29.08

Abstract

Toni Morrison revisits one of the main thematic concerns, child abuse and trauma, of her premier novel, The Bluest Eye, in her latest book God Help the Child. She has actually dealt profusely with all sorts of child maltreatment in her oeuvre. In her recent narrative, Morrison weaves a tangled web of childhood trauma stories, in which all of the characters have suffered some kind of abuse: neglect, witnessing domestic violence, emotional and psychological abuse, molestation, sexual abuse, etc. She shows how the child’s exposure to traumatic experiences has dramatic far-reaching effects into adulthood, such as psychological, emotional, behavioral and social problems. Morrison explores the curse of the past, the legacy of slavery and its aftermath, and its hold on the present, through the phenomenon of colorism. Racism and intra-racial discrimination based on the skin color result in childhood trauma. Children may adopt coping strategies to resist maltreatment or they may internalize oppression and accept self-loathing. Violence generates violence, a vicious cycle which will eventually make the victims future victimizers. Nonetheless, God Help the Child is not only about childhood abuse and trauma, but it is also about transformation and healing. Morrison describes the characters’ restorative journeys towards redemption.

Highlights

Alicante Journal of English StudiesToni Morrison has always been truly concerned about children and the way we treat them, which is really important to her
In “Remarks Given at Howard University Charter Day Convocation,” a speech she delivered on March 2, 1995, Morrison asserts: It’s important to know that nothing is more important than our children
In an interview with Terry Gross (2015), she tells the story of how her father, who was not a violent man, threw a white man down the stairs thinking he was after his daughters, and how Morrison felt protected: I think his [Morrison’s father’s] own experience in Georgia would have made him think that any white man bumbling up the stairs toward our apartment was not there for any good

Summary

Introduction

Toni Morrison has always been truly concerned about children and the way we treat them, which is really important to her. Child abuse, racism and long-standing victimization, both domestic and communal, have been dealt with extensively in Morrison’s oeuvre Her latest narrative, God Help the Child, which echoes her premier work, revisits the evils of child molestation, neglect and abuse: “In that novel, too, children bear the brunt of all of society’s illnesses, the truest victims of poverty and racial prejudice” (Umrigar, 2015). Morrison exposes the damage adults (family, community and the society in general) inflict upon children and the lasting impact it has on their lives, and how “[w]hat you do to children matters. They might never forget” (Morrison, 2015: 43). God Help the Child is a tale of childhood abuse and trauma, but it is a tale of healing and redemption

Childhood Abuse and Trauma: “Violence Begets Violence”

Lula Ann’s Childhood

Bride’s Search for Self-Definition

Findings

Conclusion: “A Path From Self-Hatred to Self-Acceptance”