Childhood Trauma and the Quest for Self-Realization in Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child

Abstract

Character development is highly affected by the experience people go through in their childhood. Children, who have been exposed to child abuse or neglect usually, suffer from psychological disorders, which often have a long-term effect. Childhood suffering has a serious impact on one's life that may lead to childhood trauma. Victims of childhood trauma have been (re)presented in many literary works, which shed light on their suffering and their attempts at healing. The Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison (1931-2019) often shows through her novels the psychological problems of children and their impact through adulthood. Morrison focuses on the correlation between suffering in childhood and psychological trauma. In God Help the Child, Morrison reveals the trauma of the main character, Bride, as a result of her parents' rejection of her because of her skin color. This paper discusses the impact of childhood trauma on adults’ lives as the main theme of God Help the Child. It further investigates how Morrison provides a proper environment for the novel’s protagonist, which allows her to attain recovery and self-realization. The paper aims to portray the causes of childhood trauma and its negative impact on the main character. It does this based on Judith Herman’s insights in her book Trauma and Recovery.