Toni Morrison's Beloved: The Future Defined By The Past

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The Future Defined By The Past
“Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined” is a quote that from Toni Morrison’s book (225). Beloved that describes the basis of slavery in both books. The definers mentioned in the quote are white people and the defined are the slaves. The definitions can refer to anything from education to personality. Slaves had no option, no personality, and were not differentiated from other slaves. They were just a piece of property and not human beings. Each book talks about the horrors of the past of slavery and how it affects the future and the main characters. There was specific character in each book that represented the past. In Kindred it was Rufus and in Beloved it was Beloved. Both Rufus and Beloved played a huge part in the development of the major characters, as well as being a faithful reminder of the past. Kindred and Beloved used characters, such as Rufus and Beloved, and other elements to represent the horrors of the past; which drastically changed the main …show more content…

The lack of hope and personality of black individuals is undeniable. Beloved was the character of the story that came mysteriously. Beloved being Sethe’s “dead” daughter who came back to life caused much trouble in the life’s of her former family. Beloved haunted Sethe and Denver ultimately effected the whole community that later in the story joined together to rid the haunter, Beloved. Beloved was an unforgettable character who constantly reminded everyone of the past, which held them back from the future. For example, Paul D wanted to build a future with Sethe but because of Beloved, who would steal Sethe’s attention and raise hell for Paul D, he soon left 124. He came back after Beloved disappeared at the end of the book to be there and begin hoping for a future together, now that the horrors of the past were behind

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