Power Of Slavery In Beloved

Slavery is an outrageous injustice that lasted centuries too long. There are many novels discussing slavery, but Toni Morrison’s Beloved is perhaps the most haunting. It is a narrative about ex-slaves struggling to forget the horrors of slavery. Sethe, one of the ex-slaves, even attempts to kill her children in an effort to protect them from her old master, Schoolteacher. While slavery is undeniably one of the greatest crimes against humanity, the power dynamics between slaves and their master indicate how power functions in the world. In order to exert power over slaves, masters must appease the slaves by treating them with respect, because slaves with nothing to lose and everything to gain will rebel.

The Garners are able get productivity from their slaves by

Allowed, encouraged to correct Garner, even defy him… even learn reading if they wanted to–but they didn't want to since nothing important to them could be put down on paper”(71). First, the passage states that Paul D grows up and thinks. This immediately denotes his supposed status as a man. For, the process of growing up is the progression from boyhood to manhood, and the act of thinking implies that Paul D has his own opinions regarding the world, a powerful step towards becoming an independent man. It then becomes clear that Paul D believes that the slaves’ manliness at Sweet Home is unique. Paul D even claims that they are the only slaves in Kentucky who could be considered to be men. This indicates that Paul D believes himself to be special and lucky to be at Sweet Home. Paul D assumes that their ability to challenge Mr. Garner makes them men–he is grateful for Mr. Garner’s leniency. In addition, the slaves are “allowed, encouraged to correct Garner… even defy [him]”. The word choice and syntax of