Trauma And Recovery:A Study Of Bride's Trauma In God Help The Child

Nobel laureate Toni Morrison is not only the well-known American black female writer but also one of the world's most eminent novelists.Her works reflect the traumatic history experienced by African-Americans in a period of over one century with her epic description and vivid depiction.In her latest novel God Help the Child,which was published on April 30~thh of 2015,Toni Morrison revisits the theme of trauma among African-American descendants.Based on the basic idea of trauma and Judith Herman's theory in Trauma and Recovery,the thesis attempts to analyze the heroine Bride's trauma in God Help the Child from the aspects of the traumatic events she has undergone,the traumatic symptoms she has performed,the recovery process she has experienced and the reasons for her successful recovery,so as to explore the living problems of African American descendants under the new social circumstances and highlight the importance of the cultural concept of love and harmony advocated by Toni Morrison.This thesis consists of six sections.The first section includes a brief introduction to Toni Morrison and her latest work God Help the Child,a literature review of Morrison's works and God Help the Child at home and abroad,together with the objectives and significance of the research.The second section introduces the definition and classification of trauma,along with the development of trauma theory.The following three sections are the body part of this thesis.The third section explores the heroine Bride's trauma from individual and collective perspectives;the fourth section illustrates her traumatic symptoms such as a sense of helplessness and isolation,the fixation on traumatic memories,and a crisis of self-identity;the fifth section explores her recovery process and reveals the underlying reasons why she can successfully overcome her trauma and get a new start.The last section draws a conclusion that African American descendants can survive and develop in the contemporary multi-cultural society only if they face up to their own race and learn to love,respect and believe in themselves first.