Beloved and Black History




Beloved, by Toni Morrison, is a book that dives into the trauma of African American history. The main character is a woman named Sethe. She escaped slavery some time ago, and now she lives with her daughter, Denver. The two women are isolated from the rest of their town, but they have a ghost to keep them company, or, Beloved. Beloved doesn’t just represent one person. Instead, she represents all the losses and trauma that we’ll never know due to slavery in the United States.

A long time ago in the story, Sethe, with her children, ran from their enslavement. However, not long after they escaped, their slave master came looking for them. Before the slave master could take them back, Sethe hid and started killing her children because if she didn’t kill them, they would’ve died. She wound up killing one child, who Sethe believes to be Beloved. The townspeople know what she did and isolate her for it. Later in the book, a man named Paul D, someone from Sethe’s past, comes into her life and frees the house of the ghost. When Paul D found out about Beloved, Sethe, and Denver became even more trapped in Beloved’s memory. It’s when the townspeople forgive Sethe does Beloved leave. Beloved is a book that might make you uneasy. It’s supposed to be uncomfortable. It’s about trauma passed down, slavery, the past, and trying to obtain freedom. I want to talk about how the characters deal with the past and love.

Sometimes, the characters switch between talking in the past and talking in the present. This speech pattern is an example of how the characters envelop themselves in the past. In the story, each character deals with their memories differently. Some characters may become withdrawn, and others might be cold. It goes to show that severe trauma like slavery will always be with these characters. This story also shows that trauma can cause damage in more than one generation. The mother line of Sethe’s family is broken and dysfunctional because of events that started with one generation. Sethe grew up without a mother, which explains how she is with her children. These behaviors plague the characters and make certain things harder for them. One thing that is harder for them to do is love without being scared of it. Paul D is scared to love, and so are other characters, because they are scared that someone will take their love away. Through the book, we can see how the characters, no matter what they’ve been through, love each other. Eventually, Paul D suggests a life with Sethe. Paul D said that they had had many yesterdays and it was time to think about tomorrow. In this way,Beloved ends on a hopeful note. I think Toni Morrison made the point that while the past will always be there, and some trauma is permanent, love does heal wounds.



Here are some cool videos about it:

Slavery, Chosts, and Beloved
Beloved by Toni Morrision | Summary and Analysis
Why should you read Toni Morrison’s “Beloved”? - Yen Pham