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Symbolism in Beloved
Toni Morrison enhances the effectiveness of Beloved with symbolism. This symbolism has a myriad of origins as well as forms. Number symbols come from astrological sources, while characters' names are allusions from ancient Egyptian mythology, the Bible, and African culture. Furthermore, important color symbols are discernible throughout the novel.
From the very beginning of Beloved, the number 124 is distinguishable. In fact, it appears as the first character of each book of the novel. As the address of the
home where most of the plot takes place, this number is extremely important. According to astrology, the numbers 1, 3, 7, and 22 are "ascribed with magical powers" (Samuels 135). These magical powers are said to be symbols of completion and creation. 124 fits this astrological delineation because the sum of the three digits in the number add up to the aforementioned 7. In addition, a significant association among characters in the novel is in the form of three people -- Sethe, Beloved, and Denver.
Secondly, the name of the protagonist of the novel, Sethe, is associated with "one of the major gods of ancient Egypt and the Biblical Seth, who was the child of Adam and Eve" (Samuels 136). This Egyptian god was part man and part animal or bird, which explains the animal imagery surrounding Sethe in the novel. For example, when explaining her secret about Beloved to Paul D., Sethe is described as if she is a circling falcon or bird. Morrison writes, "She just flew...and the hummingbird wings beat on" (163).
The name Sethe is also unique as a name for a female slave because it is derived from the names of Egyptian and Biblical males. Morrison uses the name to add to the masculinity of Sethe's character. Sethe's ability to overcome overwhelming tragedies and challenges such as her escape from slavery in Kentucky and the murder of her child identifies her with this quality.
Additionally, the name Sixo symbolizes the dehumanization of slaves during the late 19th century. His name, derived from the number 6, implies that white masters didn't consider their slaves with enough respect to recognize them with more than a number. This renaming also symbolizes the power the slaveowners felt by stripping slaves of their individuality.
The distinction of color in slavery adds to the color symbolism which pervades Beloved.
Many people believe that the Boston Tea Party arose just because of the Tea Act that came into play in 1773, but in-fact, this major statement arose from two issues surrounding the British Empire in 1765. The first of the issues was that the British East India Company was at risk of going under and the Parliament was finding ways to bring it back. The second issue was that there was a continuing dispute about the extent of the Parliament’s authority. Many colonists believe that the Parliament went overboard with their power and the people were concerned about the future. Attempting to resolve these two major issues, the North Ministry only worsened the problem and produced a showdown that would eventually result in revolution.
...itish government. In Boston, the site of a bloody confrontation between British redcoats and Americans citizens less than 10 years before, emotions ran high. Boston was a center of agitation and finally on the night of December 16,1773, the course of world history was changed. A revolutionary event was on the horizon. As once patriot mournfully observed, “Our cause is righteous and I have no doubt of final success. But I see our generation, and perhaps out whole land, drown in blood.” (Liberty, 2) The rest is history.
In 1773, a new law following the Stamp Act called the Tea Act prompted more protest and action leading to the Boston Tea Party. The idea of the Tea Act was considered by Lord North due to his attempt to rescue the British East India Company. The American boycott badly damaged the successful flow of the amount of tea sold by the company so the British planned to give complete control over tea sales in the colonies to themselves. However the colonists, undeceived, thought this was another attempt to tax them without their consent. On the 16th of December, the Sons of Liberty took action, preventing the process of imported tea and instead dumping them in the sea. Out of the 50 men taking part in this action, George Hewes, one of the many aboard, described what happened on that night. “We then were ordered by our commander to open the hatches and take out all the chests of tea and throw them overboard.” (Document H, Eyewitness Account by a Participant, George Hewes) The British, incapable to proceed with any plan, watched 90,000 pounds of tea dumped into the sea, the plan had worked. However consequences followed triumph, slowly breaking unification between the British and
The Boston Tea Party was significant act of civil disobedience that worried the Americans about the issue of taxation, but it helped spark the Revolutionary War. The Boston Tea Party took place on December 16, 1773 and it created the issue of taxation causing the Tea Act to appear. I chose the Boston Tea Party because it is an odd
Most people have heard of The Boston tea party. When American patriots dressed as Mohawk Indians boarded the British ships in the Boston harbor and dumped all of the tea into the ocean. But what most people fail to realize is the great importance behind this protest. To fully understand a topic of history one must first acknowledge the actions behind it. The French and Indian war, the Stamp Act, the Townshend Revenue Act, as well as the Tea Act are all important catalysts of the legendary Boston tea party. Which is why we will discuss these topics before examining the events of the Boston tea party.
In the American colonies on April 19th, 1775, the American colonists were being ruled over by Great Britain. American colonists were being pushed to their breaking points as British generals were sent to America to try to “maintain order”. The colonists wanted nothing more than to be freed from British rule and rid themselves of the taxes that were placed on their heads. The colonists temporarily stopped these taxes once they dumped the British tea into the Boston harbor on December 16th, 1773. Although most of the tea was easily recovered, the message still stood that the American colonies wanted out of the system. The Boston Tea Party is said to be the first official moment where American colonists felt a true sense of pride in their country;
The Boston Tea Party was an important historical event that happened on the night of December 16th, 1773. This was a predicament that was between the British government and the American colonies. The number one priority of it dealt with taxes, which Britain was requiring American colonies to pay. In 1765, the Stamp Act was created by Parliament to provide money to make peach with the Native Americans and the American settlers. It was an act that was loathed by the colonists of America, and was repealed by parliament for many reasons. The government of Britain created other laws to maintain all the problems that were being forced upon; which later, the Boston Tea Part was focused on the Parliamentary Law. Americans were very up to date when it came to financial demands by the British Parliament. They were not blind sighted by the whole thing and just did what British said. In 1765, an organization that was kept on the down level, called the Sons and Daughters of Liberty was created for the British to boycott their products. With the start of 1773, assemblies of Massachusetts and Virginia had created the Committees of Correspondence, which was a group that was directed to communicate to any threats that was being shown by any of the American colonies. With that being said, parliament passed the Tea Act, which had a big part in the Boston Tea Party. The Tea Act allowed East Indian Company to undersell colonial tea merchants in American Market. It was the start of something new.
In her novel Beloved, Toni Morrison writes about the life of former slaves of Sweet Home. Sethe, one of the main characters, was once a slave to a man and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Garner. After Garner’s sudden death, schoolteacher comes to Sweet Home and takes control of the slaves. His treatment of all the slaves forced them to run away. Fearing that her children would be sold, Sethe sent her two boys and her baby girl ahead to her mother-in-law. On the way to freedom, a white girl named Amy Denver helped Sethe deliver her daughter, who she later names Denver. About a month after Sethe escapes slavery, schoolteacher found her and tried to bring her back. In fear that her children would be brought back into slavery, Sethe killed her older daughter and attempted to kill Denver and her boys. Sethe, along with Denver, was sent to prison and spent three months there. Buglar and Howard, her two sons, eventually ran away. After about eighteen years, another ex-slave from Sweet Home, Paul D., came to live with Sethe and Denver. A few days later, while coming home from a carnival, Sethe, Paul D., and Denver found a young woman of about twenty on their porch. She claimed her name is Beloved. They took her in and she lived with them. Throughout the novel, Morrison uses many symbols and imagery to express her thoughts and to help us better understand the characters. Morrison uses the motif of water throughout the novel to represent birth, re-birth, and escape to freedom.
...ba (112). Throughout the novel, Sethe is devoted to the search of her husband just like Solomon’s beloved wife. Although Sethe never reunites with her husband because he was killed by slaveholders, Morrison creates a replacement in the character Paul D, another former slave. Paul D satisfies the biblical beloved’s description of Sethe’s bridegroom: “I am my beloved’s and his desire is toward me” (7:10), thus fulfilling the promise of a requited love that is pictured in the union of Solomon and Sheba (120).
The events before and after the Boston Tea Party, such as the vandalism of British property, the Boston massacre, and the colonists’ rebellious organizations were a major influence to the American Revolution because they were signs of revolt in the colonies, because they angered Britain, and because they united the colonies.
In Toni Morrison’s Beloved, love proves to be a dangerous and destructive force. Upon learning that Sethe killed her daughter, Beloved, Paul D warns Sethe “Your love is too thick” (193). Morrison proved this statement to be true, as Sethe’s intense passion for her children lead to the loss of her grasp on reality. Each word Morrison chose is deliberate, and each sentence is structured with meaning, which is especially evident in Paul D’s warning to Sethe. Morrison’s use of the phrase “too thick”, along with her short yet powerful sentence structure make this sentence the most prevalent and important in her novel. This sentence supports Paul D’s side on the bitter debate between Sethe and he regarding the theme of love. While Sethe asserts that the only way to love is to do so passionately, Paul D cites the danger in slaves loving too much. Morrison uses a metaphor comparing Paul D’s capacity to love to a tobacco tin rusted shut. This metaphor demonstrates how Paul D views love in a descriptive manner, its imagery allowing the reader to visualize and thus understand Paul D’s point of view. In this debate, Paul D proves to be right in that Sethe’s strong love eventually hurts her, yet Paul D ends up unable to survive alone. Thus, Morrison argues that love is necessary to the human condition, yet it is destructive and consuming in nature. She does so through the powerful diction and short syntax in Paul D’s warning, her use of the theme love, and a metaphor for Paul D’s heart.
Wyatt, Jean. “Body to the Word: The Maternal Symbolic in Toni Morrison’s Beloved.” PMLA, Vol. 108, No.3 (May, 1993): 474-488. JSTOR. Web. 27. Oct. 2015.
The idea of how we define ourselves is a topic that has much force in the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison. Two of the characters in the novel have strongly opposite ideas of defining their own “selves”. Baby Suggs displays a very healthy sense of self, completely based on only who she is as a person, and not relying on any other person to assist her in her definition. She is an independent person and loves her own “self” greatly. Sethe, on the other hand, has an unhealthy sense of self because who she is is strongly dependent on her interactions and relationships with her children.
Toni Morrison’s Beloved follows the history of Sethe and her family from their enslavement at Sweet Home to their life post slavery. Despite their newfound freedom, tragic experiences haunt Sethe and the members of her family. These experiences limit Sethe’s ability to move forward in her life Within the novel, Morrison marks each pivotal moment, or especially graphic moment, in Sethe’s life with an underlying theme of biblical symbolism. Morrison seems to intentionally make these connections to imply that the characters have subliminally let these stories attach to their memories. This connection helps to minimize the characters’ sense of isolation; their trauma takes places within the greater context of stories of suffering familiar to them.
In Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved, Morrison uses universal themes and characters that anyone can relate to today. Set in the 1800s, Beloved is about the destructive effects of American slavery. Most destructive in the novel, however, is the impact of slavery on the human soul. Morrison’s Beloved highlights how slavery contributes to the destruction of one’s identity by examining the importance of community solidarity, as well as the powers and limits of language during the 1860s.