Description
Book SynopsisCritical Responses About the Black Family in Toni Morrison's God Help the Child explores the integral role of what Kobi Kambon has called the “conscious African family” in developing commercial success stories such as those of Morrison’s protagonist, Bride. Initially, Bride’s accomplishments are an extension of a superficial “cult of celebrity” which inhabits and undermines the development of meaningful interpersonal relationships until a significant literal and metaphorical journey helps her redefine success by facilitating the building of community and family.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Editors’ Introductions Natalie King-Pedroso Rhone Fraser Part I: Protagonist as Child Chapter 1. Raising the Inner Child: Lessons in Emotional Development in God Help the Child Jasmin Wilson Chapter 2. “The House That Race Built:” Declarations of Toni Morrison’s Prophetic Voice in God Help the Child and The Bluest Eye Khalilah Watson Chapter 3. Making Black Lives and Families Matter: Honoring Family and Fatherhood in God Help the Child Sukanya Senapati Chapter 4. Harvesting Sight and Mind: The Crippling of Community in Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child Jericho Williams Part II: Protagonist as Professional Chapter 5. “Sistah From Another Mista”: Examining the Familial Bond Between Bride and Brooklyn in Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child Na’Imah Ford Chapter 6. The Loss and Regaining of Self: Identity Negotiation in Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child Xenia Liashuk Chapter 7. “Memory is the Worst Thing About Healing:” Acknowledging Multigenerational Trauma and the Middle Passage Voyage of the Sable Venus in Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child Yolanda Franklin Part III: Protagonist as Partner Chapter 8. Socialized to Silence: A Close Reading of Lula Ann Bridewell and Booker Starbern in God Help the Child According to Kobi Kambon’s African Self-Consciousness Model Rhone Fraser Chapter 9. “You Will Love Them, No Matter How Ugly Their Truth Is”: Truth, Onomastics, and Black Women’s Humanity in Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child and Mara Brock Akil’s Being Mary Jane Natalie King-Pedroso Appendix A. Discussion Questions: Conflicts in Comradeship Index About the Editors About the Contributors
