Beloved

We are built of our experiences. Life is saturated with countless challenges and adventures, each subtly molding one's character. Memory exists to interpret and archive relevant information from the endless barrage of data. While invaluable, this engine of memory is prone to backfiring. Toni Morrison's Beloved explores the lasting impact of past events and the ways in which trauma can be understood and managed. Morrison argues that emotions and circumstances can survive beyond time and that, to thrive, one must make peace with the memory of his past. Morrison employs an extensive supernatural metaphor, flashbacks, and a variety of other rhetorical devices to support her argument

The mid 19th century slavery setting of Beloved acts as a perfect breeding ground for tragedy and justifies the fragmented nature of individual's lives. The characters of Beloved are, in a way, defined by their foibles and insecurities. Sethe, Paul D, and Denver must confront and cope with the realities of an unjust history and an out-of-order world. The central conflict of the novel forces each of these protagonists to directly resolve his or her personal inhibitions and grow into a more composed human being. Had the events linking Paul, Sethe and Denver together been any less painful, perhaps "A life. Could be"(57). Sethe's broken sentences, while hopeful, convey a sense of doubt, and only the shadows are holding hands at the carnival. As a rule, Sethe is reluctant to rely on the advice or assistance of others, placing immense trust in her own abilities. Accepting such responsibility is a fantastic burden indeed, as it not only ostracizes her from a community who view her attitude "uncalledfor pride"(162) but brings her a constant regret and gu...

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...s of bygone ages are temporary. She must also overcome her mistrust of her community. This is achieved by the casting-out of Beloved, who has become a parasite, leeching the life from Sethe. " They saw Denver sitting on the steps and beyond her, where the yard met the road, they saw the rapt faces of thirty neighborhood women"(308). The women's involvement in Sethe's deliverance is essential in freeing her from the ball and chain of her guilty past, but it is insufficient to bring her any optimism about the future. It is at this point that Paul D, now more emotionally mature, returns to encourage Sethe to move on. "'You your best thing Sethe. You are.' His holding fingers are holding hers. 'Me? Me?'"(322). Again, Morrison uses repetition to emphasize an important realization by one of the characters. Sethe's growth will equip her to nurture a new life with Paul D.