Symbolism In Beloved By Toni Morrison

Morrison uses the color white as a symbol throughout the novel. This quote shows how Sethe sees white people in comparison to her: “those white things have taken all I had or dreamed,' she said, 'and broke my heartstrings too. There is no bad luck in the world but white folks” (89). White people are those who caused her pain, and suffering. Snow is used to foreshadow terrible or depressing events that will occur or to symbolize the struggles occurring now. The worst always happens when it is snowing. Paul D’s tin tobacco box is another symbol. It is kept “in his chest” and is symbolic of him burying his painful memories. For him, it is a coping mechanism to deal with his difficult past. The number 124, which is their house number, has a significant meaning. The three numbers are connected to the three children. Beloved was the third child and Denver was the fourth. The number three missing in the sequence represents the baby who died.

Morrison’s novel covers a few different tones. The first one is mournful. Most of the characters are preoccupied with the dead. Paul D can't forget what he saw at Sweet Home. Sethe struggles to forget about the death of her baby. It is the idea that we can only remember the past, not change it. The second tone that can be found is ominous. There is a buildup of suspense as well as the horrible things that happened at sweet home to the “ghost” haunting 124. Overall, the novel is dark and serious, the tone reflecting so.

Morrison used figurative language such as metaphors, similes and personification. An example of a simile is: “So Stamp Paid did not tell him how she flew, snatching up her children like a hawk on the wing; how her face beaked, how her hands worked like claws” (185). A hawk is an ...

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...hey do not have an explanation for what occurs in the house. People struggle to find answers to everything, and this is the characters solution to the conflicting issues they experience. They struggle most to understand Beloved. She seems to be a reincarnation of the baby, or possibly just a ghost.

Sethe's eyes were described as having the "glittering iron" punched out of them. Later in the novel, Sethe's eyes are described as being "bright but dead, alert but vacant"(242). Beloved's eyes are also described often. The Beloved's eyes are described as: "deep down in those big black eyes there was no expression at all"(55). As Beloved continues to drain the life from Sethe, "the brighter Beloved's eyes, the more those eyes that used never to look away became slits of sleeplessness". Sethe’s eyes are drained from their usual look and Beloved’s gain vibrancy and energy.