'Beloved'

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer explains that Toni Morrison's novel 'Beloved' analyzes the effects of slavery on the lives of African-Americans in a very interesting way. The writer notes that instead of telling a story about the violence of the white slave masters and about the sufferings of the black people, Morrison reviews the way in which slavery affects the sense of self-hood and identity in African-Americans. The writer points out that the text investigates the perpetuation of violence and possessiveness even after the liberation of slaves has taken place. The writer concludes that this novel is meant as a lesson for black people and shows the way in which they can cope with the trauma of slavery by recovering their own sense of identity, which brings true independence.

From the Paper:

"However, this violent reaction of the mother has another meaning as well: she acts as if her children were her own possession, as if she were a white master herself. Morrison therefore reveals the violence of white people indirectly, through this violent act of Sethe, which is obviously a remnant of master and slave relationship."
"Thus, first of all, Morrison shows the way in which the bond between the white masters and the slaves affects the sense of selfhood in Sethe and her family. The dominance of the white culture and the idea that the black slaves are the possessions of their masters left the African Americans with the sense that they do not have an identity of their own, and that they only exist in the definition that the white give them. The physical possession of the slaves is, at the same time, a psychical possession. Sethe feels that the white people are capable of taking everything away from her, including her whole self."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bowers, Susan. "Beloved and the New Apocalypse." The Journal of Ethnic Studies. Vol. 18(1).1990: 59-77.
• Iyasere, Solomon and Marla W. Iyasere. Understanding Toni Morrison's 'Beloved' and 'Sula': Selected Essays and Criticisms of the Works by the Nobel Prize-Winning Author. Troy: Whitston Publishing, 2000
• Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York: Knopf, 1987

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