“The war in Iraq” and the triumph of sarcasm: Toni Morrison’s “God Help the Child” in the mid-oughts in the United States

In Toni Morrison's "God Help the Child" (2015), Booker Starbern goes to college in a specific historical moment: "Student agitation about the war in Iraq that once roiled the campus had quieted. Now sarcasm fluttered its triumphant flag and giggles became its oath; now the docile manipulation of professors became routine." There may have been two "wars in Iraq" in the recent history of the United States, but as Morrison's characters use cellphones, this must refer to the 2003 war. Further, sarcasm is acerbic irony, and the mid-to-late oughts in the United States saw numerous discussions of how young people were all ironic about everything and didn't actually believe in anything. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 16 May 2023)