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Abstract： God help the child is Toni Morrison’s first novel which is set in the present. The novel was released in 2015， and it immediately became a hit and aroused the attntion of many scholars and is highly praised bu many readers. This novel tells a story about how a black woman suffered from her skin color since she was born and how she achieved salvation finally. This paper will mainly analyse the horrible experiences and the racial discrimination of the main character， Bride.
Key words： Morrision， black woman， racial discrimination
1、Racial discrimination from the Parents
In this novel， the protagonist， Bride， was abandoned by her father since she was born and was neglected and abused by her mother. Her light skinned parents were shamed of her. All of these were just because of her black skin color. When she was born， her mother Sweetness said， “She was black she scared me.” And her father said， “Goddamn， what the hell is this ” He treated his daughter like she was a strangermore than that， an enemy. He never touched her. Bride grew up in a single-parent family. Her mother Sweetness raised her in an extremely strict way. “Very careful in how I raised her. I had to be strict， very strict. Lula Ann needed to learn how to behave， how to keep her head down and not to make trouble.” In a society full of racial discrimination， a black woman has to tolerate the humiliation if she want to survive. Bride has received a lot of physical punishments during her childhood. Her childhood is filled with neglect and violence. Her mother was not bad， but she may have done some hurtful things to her child because she had to protect her.
2.Racial Discrimination from Society
“The lighter， the better” It has been a deep-rooted concept in many people’s minds. Even when western people get marriage， there are two Bibles， one is reserved for Negroes， the other one is for white people’s hands. Bride was doomed to bear the torment of racial discrimination due to her blue black skin color. “Midnight black，Sudanese black.” Except for her parents’ dislike for her black skin color， as a black woman， Bride also suffers racial discrimination in society because of her skin color.For example， when Sweetness put Bride in the baby carriage and took her outside，some friends and strangers would lean down and say something nice and then give a start or jump back before frowning. Sweetness’s dignity was hurt， so she did not want to admit that she was Bride’s mother. Growing up with so many hostile treatments due to her skin color， Bride tried her best to do all the things she can to get rid of the racial discrimination and to get her mother’s love， including her giving false testimony against Sofa in the later. As what is said in No White People Will Never Understand the Black Experience. “Those who are not bigots have a language， as well They speak out， step up， march and post signs； they struggle to find the right ways， the best， most effective ways to live against racism.” Home should be the warmest and safest place in the world for children. However， in the novel， the character of Bride lived under violence and neglect through her whole childhood， and was abused by her own mother. 3、Racial Discrimination from Brooklyn
As a black woman， the color of her skin also caused some problems in her friendship. As Bride’s best friend， Brooklyn， who was a white girl， can never experience the experiences of being black. Although they were good friends， some contradictions still maintained between them because of their different skin colors. For example， one day， they went to dinner， and Brooklyn picked a restaurant. Bride thought that Brooklyn liked this place because “she loves showing off around men.” Long ago， before she met Brooklyn， she twisted her blond hair into dreadlocks and pretty she was， the locks add an allure she would not otherwise had. We can see from this that in Bride’s deep heart， the different skin colors between her and Brooklyn’s remain a obstacle and shadow between their friendship.
Conclusion
in this novel， Morrison continues to focus on the black females’ miserable fate under the pressure of racial discrimination and living dilemma. In God Help the Child， Toni Morrison presents the dangerous environment for modern children’s growth. She reveals a lot of social problems such as violence， child abuse， and race discrimination which make children live in a helpless and dangerous society. This paper mainly has a discussion about the character， Bride， a black woman and her suffering from racial discrimination physically and psychologically， and how she struggled to find the right ways， the most best and effective ways， to live again racism， and achieve her salvation in the end.
References
[1] Yan， M. A.， and L. H. Liu. “Making of the body： Childhood trauma in Toni Morrisons God Help the Child.” 8.3（2017）：18-23.
[2]Wang， Shouren， and X. Wu. “Childhood Trauma， Freedom and Peace of Mind in God Help the Child.” Contemporary Foreign Literature （2016）
[3]陳明伦. “《天佑孩童》中的自我成长之角色理论解读.” 洛阳师范学院学报 36.1（2017）：47-51.
[4]彭晓红. “空间叙事下《天佑孩童》的新种族观.” 河南农业 21（2017）：40-41.
[5]Roy， Lekha， and R. Ringo. “Interrogating Racialized Perceptions in Toni Morrison’s ‘The Bluest Eye’ and ‘God Help the Child’.” Dialog 29.Spring 2016（2017）：65-78.
Key words： Morrision， black woman， racial discrimination
1、Racial discrimination from the Parents
In this novel， the protagonist， Bride， was abandoned by her father since she was born and was neglected and abused by her mother. Her light skinned parents were shamed of her. All of these were just because of her black skin color. When she was born， her mother Sweetness said， “She was black she scared me.” And her father said， “Goddamn， what the hell is this ” He treated his daughter like she was a strangermore than that， an enemy. He never touched her. Bride grew up in a single-parent family. Her mother Sweetness raised her in an extremely strict way. “Very careful in how I raised her. I had to be strict， very strict. Lula Ann needed to learn how to behave， how to keep her head down and not to make trouble.” In a society full of racial discrimination， a black woman has to tolerate the humiliation if she want to survive. Bride has received a lot of physical punishments during her childhood. Her childhood is filled with neglect and violence. Her mother was not bad， but she may have done some hurtful things to her child because she had to protect her.
2.Racial Discrimination from Society
“The lighter， the better” It has been a deep-rooted concept in many people’s minds. Even when western people get marriage， there are two Bibles， one is reserved for Negroes， the other one is for white people’s hands. Bride was doomed to bear the torment of racial discrimination due to her blue black skin color. “Midnight black，Sudanese black.” Except for her parents’ dislike for her black skin color， as a black woman， Bride also suffers racial discrimination in society because of her skin color.For example， when Sweetness put Bride in the baby carriage and took her outside，some friends and strangers would lean down and say something nice and then give a start or jump back before frowning. Sweetness’s dignity was hurt， so she did not want to admit that she was Bride’s mother. Growing up with so many hostile treatments due to her skin color， Bride tried her best to do all the things she can to get rid of the racial discrimination and to get her mother’s love， including her giving false testimony against Sofa in the later. As what is said in No White People Will Never Understand the Black Experience. “Those who are not bigots have a language， as well They speak out， step up， march and post signs； they struggle to find the right ways， the best， most effective ways to live against racism.” Home should be the warmest and safest place in the world for children. However， in the novel， the character of Bride lived under violence and neglect through her whole childhood， and was abused by her own mother. 3、Racial Discrimination from Brooklyn
As a black woman， the color of her skin also caused some problems in her friendship. As Bride’s best friend， Brooklyn， who was a white girl， can never experience the experiences of being black. Although they were good friends， some contradictions still maintained between them because of their different skin colors. For example， one day， they went to dinner， and Brooklyn picked a restaurant. Bride thought that Brooklyn liked this place because “she loves showing off around men.” Long ago， before she met Brooklyn， she twisted her blond hair into dreadlocks and pretty she was， the locks add an allure she would not otherwise had. We can see from this that in Bride’s deep heart， the different skin colors between her and Brooklyn’s remain a obstacle and shadow between their friendship.
Conclusion
in this novel， Morrison continues to focus on the black females’ miserable fate under the pressure of racial discrimination and living dilemma. In God Help the Child， Toni Morrison presents the dangerous environment for modern children’s growth. She reveals a lot of social problems such as violence， child abuse， and race discrimination which make children live in a helpless and dangerous society. This paper mainly has a discussion about the character， Bride， a black woman and her suffering from racial discrimination physically and psychologically， and how she struggled to find the right ways， the most best and effective ways， to live again racism， and achieve her salvation in the end.
References
[1] Yan， M. A.， and L. H. Liu. “Making of the body： Childhood trauma in Toni Morrisons God Help the Child.” 8.3（2017）：18-23.
[2]Wang， Shouren， and X. Wu. “Childhood Trauma， Freedom and Peace of Mind in God Help the Child.” Contemporary Foreign Literature （2016）
[3]陳明伦. “《天佑孩童》中的自我成长之角色理论解读.” 洛阳师范学院学报 36.1（2017）：47-51.
[4]彭晓红. “空间叙事下《天佑孩童》的新种族观.” 河南农业 21（2017）：40-41.
[5]Roy， Lekha， and R. Ringo. “Interrogating Racialized Perceptions in Toni Morrison’s ‘The Bluest Eye’ and ‘God Help the Child’.” Dialog 29.Spring 2016（2017）：65-78.