Colorism, Child Abuse, and the Recovery of Womanhood in The Blacker the Berry and God Help the Child
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The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast Wallace Thurman’s The Blacker the Berry (1929) and Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child (2015) in terms of colorism, child abuse, and the recovery of womanhood. In spite of their differences of gender, period of their life, and their writing style, Thurman and Morrison share remarkable similarities. They are keenly concerned with the critique of racist American society, finding ways to improve the social condition for black people. I argue that the following are similarities between the two novels. First, Emma Lou in The Blacker the Berry and Bride in God Help the Child are the hapless victims of colorism in the American society. Secondly, the two novels make poignant critique of child abuse. Thirdly, the two female protagonists recover their womanhood and maturity after confronting colorism, child abuse, and their encounter with men. On the other hand, the following are differences between the two novels. First, while Emma Lou continuously feels low self-esteem due to her dark skin, Bride takes pride in her blackness. Secondly, while Emma Lou’s mother does not give serious attention to her daughter, Bride’s mother tries to communicate with her daughter at the novel’s end. Third, while Emma Lou did not have close friends or a lover, Bride has a lover and a child as well as a good friend. In conclusion, the two novels show important messages to the readers: Though colorism is caused by white supremacy, it brings about serious problems in the black community when colorism is continuously internalized among the black people. Toni Morrison, who is a female writer, seems to emphasize the importance of motherhood and the healing process more than Wallace Thurman.
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast Wallace Thurman’s The Blacker the Berry (1929) and Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child (2015) in terms of colorism, child abuse, and the recovery of womanhood. In spite of their differences of gender, period of their life, and their writing style, Thurman and Morrison share remarkable similarities. They are keenly concerned with the critique of racist American society, finding ways to improve the social condition for black people. I argue that the following are similarities between the two novels. First, Emma Lou in The Blacker the Berry and Bride in God Help the Child are the hapless victims of colorism in the American society. Secondly, the two novels make poignant critique of child abuse. Thirdly, the two female protagonists recover their womanhood and maturity after confronting colorism, child abuse, and their encounter with men. On the other hand, the following are differences between the two novels. First, while Emma Lou continuously feels low self-esteem due to her dark skin, Bride takes pride in her blackness. Secondly, while Emma Lou’s mother does not give serious attention to her daughter, Bride’s mother tries to communicate with her daughter at the novel’s end. Third, while Emma Lou did not have close friends or a lover, Bride has a lover and a child as well as a good friend. In conclusion, the two novels show important messages to the readers: Though colorism is caused by white supremacy, it brings about serious problems in the black community when colorism is continuously internalized among the black people. Toni Morrison, who is a female writer, seems to emphasize the importance of motherhood and the healing process more than Wallace Thurman.
참고문헌 (17)
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- Singh, Amritjit, "The Novel of the Harlem Renaissance: Twelve Black Writers 1923-1933" (1976), The Pennsylvania State UP
- Thurman, Wallace, "The Blacker the Berry" (1996), Simon & Schuster
- Thurman, Wallace, "Infants of the Spring" (1998), The X Press