Myths of Freedom in "Beloved"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses and analyzes Toni Morrison's novel, "Beloved", and its message that legal, psychological and sociological conditions meant that true freedom nothing more than a myth for escaped slaves.

From the Paper:

"Even if Sethe and her family had been completely free legally, however, "freedom" from slavery would have been nothing more than a myth because they were not able to mentally escape from their past experiences. "In Beloved, Morrison allows the reader to share the legacy of slavery as the characters Sethe, Paul D, and Denver attempt to make a new life in freedom. However, they cannot put the past, lived in slavery, behind them; they must reveal it to themselves, to each other, and to the reader in 'digestible pieces.'" (Nigro) The traumatic events which were experienced by slaves cannot be wiped clean, and the past will continue to have an effect on the future. Today, the concept of post-traumatic stress disorder -- the psychological consequences of experiencing traumatic events -- would perhaps be identified in Morrison's characters. (Feldspar) Nightmares, flashbacks, irritability, emotional detachment, and other distress are common symptoms, and certainly experienced by Sethe and others in Beloved, all of which are a kind of continued mental slavery."

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