49 pages • 1 hour read
Toni MorrisonGod Help The Child
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2015A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Discuss Morrison’s use of point of view. What impact does her use of first person and third person have on your perspective on the characters? Are there any reliable narrators in the novel?
Using specific examples from the text, discuss Morrison’s representation of childhood.
Using specific examples from the text, discuss Morrison’s representation of motherhood.
Starting in the first section of the novel, Bride notices changes in her body. What point is Morrison making by having Bride experience these changes?
Discuss the impact of racism and colorism on the characters in the novel.
Discuss the impact of child sexual abuse on the characters in the novel.
Morrison uses several symbols and motifs to reinforce the central themes in the novel. Identify one of them and explain how the symbol or motif helps her develop the theme.
Booker and Bride have a rosy vision of life for their child, but this vision is punctuated by the statement: “So they think” (174). Do they have the capacity to be good parents? Support your response with evidence from the novel.
Based on Morrison’s representation of Sofia Huxley’s trial and incarceration, the investigation and trial of Adam Stabern’s murder, and Booker and Bride’s attempts to deliver justice on their own terms, what is Morrison’s perspective on the ability of the criminal justice system to be just?
Morrison makes use of unusual names for her characters, with some characters such as Bride having more than one name. Discuss the significance of names and naming in the novel.
Related Titles
By Toni Morrison
