White People In Toni Morrison's Beloved

In Toni Morrison’s Beloved nothing is simplistic, or more accurately, nothing is black and white. One of the most complex depictions in the novel is that of white people. Morrison includes a range of white people that range from Schoolteacher to Amy, oppressive to compassionate. Amy Denver, in saving Sethe and Denver from death, serves a crucial role in the novel. But in addition to her practical role, Amy serves as a counterexample to the assumption that white people are always the enemy; however, Nicole Coonradt’s assertion that Amy Denver serves as a bridge between black and white is flawed in that a bridge between the races must be in a relationship with, represent, and be respected by both black and white people.

To be a bridge between white and black you must be in a relationship white and black people. Amy does have a relationship with white people, though we don’t know much about it. We know that she is treated poorly as an indentured servant. While there is an argument to be made that Amy changes Sethe’s mind about white people, it is very clear that Amy doesn’t change any white person’s view of black people. As far as the

She does not represent the black community because she is not black and cannot genuinely speak to the pain of black enslavement and racism. Amy does not represent white people because she is an anomaly in a country of mostly free, racist whites and Sethe sees her as an exception. Amy is part of a line of progression in the book: Schoolteacher, the Garners, the Bodwins, and then, Amy. Of all the white people in the novel, Amy buys the least into the system of slavery. Coonradt even says, “Amy Denver exists not as a party to the system [of slavery], but one of its victims.” Given that she is a victim of white oppression, Amy does not represent white people, and thus cannot serve as a bridge between black and white