“It Ain't Enough”: Toni Morrison and the Tragic Dark-Skin Girl Motif

Abstract

Abstract Central to Toni Morrison's political strategy throughout her oeuvre is the disruption of the white gaze, a move that often exposes our readerly reliance on race to read human motivation. Employing what we call the “tragic black girl motif,” this paper explores how God Help the Child, Morrison's last novel, continues this disruption of the white gaze vis-à-vis her treatment of colorism, patriarchy, classism, slavery, and self-determination.