In Beloved , Toni Morrison has colors play a role throughout the book. Describe the role of each color and discuss its significance throug...
Friday, April 8, 2016
Historical criticism
Morrison’s work portrays many hardships and cruel atrocities that were inflicted upon black people during early American times. Is this story designed to parallel a post-Civil War America? If so, what do the characters represent?
To me, this story isn't so much a parallel of post-Civil War America, it more is a demonstration of the aftermath of the war. If parallels were to be drawn, Beloved would very much be the former Confederacy. Angry with the former slaves and doing what she can to suck the life out of who they are despite their escape and make them subservient to her, as she does to Sethe. Denver, on the other hand, would be the North. Her naivete is very similar to the Northern side, they entered the war only hoping to preserve the Union, thinking that like the 100 years prior, slavery could be an issue ignored and swept under the rug to be dealt with later. Denver is not interested in hearing stories about slavery and the past, only about herself and how she came to be. Paul D would be representative of the soldiers, figuratively and literally. Separated from his brothers and suffering by his life during the war, at the end of it all, sometimes he was looked upon favorably, and other times miserably despised. Sethe is as she is. She is a former slave, dealing with the repercussions of the battle in the only place favorable for slaves, the West.
I do think that the novel was designed to parallel a post-Civil War America. Although the anti-slavery side won during the Civil war, the scars slavery left were permanent. After becoming freed, slaves were not going to forget everything that ever happened to them and live a normal life. The things slaves endured during their years of slavery would stick with the families for generations to come. The characters are representing how deeply being owned affects a person psychologically.
Adding to what Steph said, even though African Americans gained their freedom as a result of the Civil War, they still faced struggles in the years after. Although they were free people, they still had to find their way in society and coexist with other white Americans. Therefore, Sethe and her families situation does parallel what an African American family would have to go through socially. Just the fact that they lived in a black community shows that it wasn't so easy to just blend black and white people in society once they became free.
I am going to say that the novel, is not a post Civil War society but more so the fight in the middle of the Civil War itself. Iview it as highlighting the middle of the war and times of slavery. In this instance, I would view Beloved as an instigator, or agreeing with Katie, parallel to the South supporters in the war. The slaves, meaning Sethe and her family, would represent the North fighting against slavery. Sethe escapes slavery at the beginning of the time period and faces the pain of living through such a terrible experience. My take is that when Beloved is reincarnated to get revenge on Sethe and bring back memories in a whole new light, she represents that South population fighting the North trying to still keep slavery. The book focusing on Sethe’s inner turmoil to escape the past represents the north fighting with the south to abolish slavery. When Beloved is finally exiled from the end of the novel, it is because all the former slaves and Africans joined together to take down the force of the past. This will represent the North winning the Civil War. Therefore, I see the book as more of a representation of the war itself.
In my own personal opinion, this novel could perhaps be designed to parallel a post-Civil War America. I agree with Steph in that the scars of slavery are permanent, and this can be mirrored in Morrison's novel. For instance, Sethe could very happen to represent a slave during the Civil War and the trials and tribulations that she had to endure while being enslaved. Even so, after being freed from slavery, slaves still struggled to live a normal life as they were still berated and treated inhumanely. But most importantly, they feared for their lives. This is evident in Sethe's case after she escaped. She had to kill her daughter in order to protect her. Not one moment passed where Sethe was not watching over her shoulder. Every second could have been her last, which parallels what slaves went through the post Civil War era
The story is meant to parallel post civil war lifestyle for those who lived through slavery or experienced segregation and oppression. Revolving around a family of African Americans and former slaves, we can see how the effect of slavery they experienced before the war controlled their life, and how people responded to them after slavery was abolished. Society did not become equal at the push of a button, as soon as slavery was made illegal, and to this day equality is yet to be achieved. Sethe is haunted by her past, and the society around her refused to make any changes to what they believed. The way society acts is seen most clearly when they went to the fair on the day set aside for the black people. First of all they had a specific day set aside for black people rather than having everyone go when they pleased, but also the acts and events at the fair decresed tenfold because people didn’t care to perform and promote fun for black people. The world Sethe lives in was not equal, and neither was the world after the Union won the Civil War.
I think that this story was designed to parallel a post Civil-War America. Agreeing with Marc, I think Sethe could represent a slave during the time period. Sethe and her family were fighting against slavery to gain freedom. However, they would never forget the physical and psychological damage that is due to being owned.
In my opinion, this story could be a parallel to a post Civil-War America. The novel shows the effect of slavery on former slaves and their family members. The memory of slavery constantly effects the characters of the books and will follow them forever even though they aren't physically being owned anymore. However mentally, they are still being held captives and cannot escape the horrible memory of slavery. From reading the book one can see that they are still treated unfairly and face major racism and segregation.
Yes, I think this story is designed to parallel a post-Civil War America. Though there are many flashbacks of the past when slavery was legal, those flashbacks are mostly to show how the memories former slaves have will always be with them; this is exactly what Beloved represents. Denver represents the next generation of African Americans, the ones who didn’t experience slavery themselves, but are subjected to the prejudice against their whole race. Sethe and Paul D represent the generation of slaves that have to live with their pasts post-Civil War.
Yes I do think that the novel is designed to parallel a post-Civil America. Scars in this novel, as Steph explains, plays an important role because scars never leave a person, both physically and mentally. In my defense I think Morrison uses the scars that both Sethe and Paul D, have to show that comparison of the long-lasting effect slavery had on African Americans in the south. However, through the character of Denver, I think that Morrison uses a metaphor to show that she is the type of slave that moved forward with their lives, even though she has scars of her own. Denver characterization is an important one because she was once bounded to 124, like a slave to its plantation, but is now free which is why I think the novel is designed to parallel post-Civil War.
I agree with those that see this as a post-civil war america. After abolition, things did not get any better for a long time. It angered plantation owners and those who wanted to keep slavery and made the lives of slaves even worse. Sethe still felt like she had to kill Beloved because she wasn't safe yet. It is clear that Sethe and the neighborhood still hadn't welcomed white people mirroring a post-civil war society. So they are physically and mentally haunted by slavery.
yes, this is a post civil war America, and while slavery was gone, the mental scars and hatred toward African Americans was still very evident. Sethe is a prime example of this, being both physically and mentally scarred by slavery, fears America will never change, kills her first child, not wanting them to grow up into slavery. I agree with Elizabeth, in the idea that Beloved is the past connected to slavery, and Denver is the new generation of AA who won't experience slavery. Denver will experience racism, because of pre/post civil war thoughts of African Americans. It easy to see pin this book based on the way they talk, that while a "war" has ended, that they are still different because of their skin color, and because of this, they will still be "slaves" to the racists.
I do believe that the novel parallels a post civil war story. Even though Sethe escapes a life of slavery, similar to the abolition of slavery in the civil war, she is still left haunted and scarred from her dark past. Sethe is able to seek her freedom in 124. Yet, the chokecherry tree on her back, the memories of Halle, and the ghost of her baby daughter prevent her moving forward. The memories of slavery will always be apart of her similar to how slavery wasn’t just forgotten after the civil war ended. I believe that Morrison intended to show that dark moments in history/personal experience cannot just disappear over time.
Personally, I believe this is designed to parallel a post Civil War America. Slavery is in full effect during the flashbacks of the story. It was still legal at the time this was taking place in the flashbacks. It is included because it makes it known that slavery will never be forgotten. The hardships slaves had to endure won’t just be brushed to the side and many have tried to do. They will live with the scars for the rest of their lives, just as Sethe bears the tree like scars on her back from being whipped. Denver in particular is the bridge between slavery and change. She grew up with a mother who afflicted with the grief of slavery and having to kill her own daughter to keep her away from that life. Denver never had to experience slavery or see it in any way like Beloved once did, though she was just a baby. She is the new generation who will move forward from slavery into a hopeful and new world. Sethe and Paul D are representative of post Civil War America itself. They have endured all the pain of slavery and are trying to move away from it, but find it hard to with all the memories lodged into their brains.
I definitely think that the novel parallels a post Civil War America. I agree with Steph that even though the North won and slavery ended, it never really did. The scars that slavery left on the former slaves were permanent and could not be removed. So there is accuracy in saying that Sethe represents the slaves who were freed physically but never mentally, while Beloved represents all of those whose lives were cut too short by the atrocities that were slavery.
Beloved certainly parallels a post-Civil War America since Denver is frightened to leave the safety of 124. She refuses to go out on several occasions because she probably fears being captured by white men. Additionally, Sethe is still plagued by the horrors of slavery to this day. She still remembers the oppression and cruelty that occurred at Sweet Home even though she is free from slavery. Additionally, she had to murder her daughter to prevent from going through these troubles. She is devastated by her past actions throughout the novel in a post-Civil War world.
I believe that Beloved was written to possibly mimic a post civil war lifestyle. The story revolves around Sethe and her family, a family of African Americans and former slaves, and Morrison shows how much of an impact former slave life has after being freed. Although slavery was abolished, African Americans were not all of a sudden considered equal in society. Stereotypes remained, as well as harsh treatment in public. Current day we struggle with perfecting equality, and the ideas in this novel are similar to those of a post civil war life. The past never left Sethe’s mind and Sethe is constantly reminded of it as she faces the inequality that surrounds society. This inequality is related to that upon the end of the civil war.
I do think that the novel was designed to parallel a post Civil- War America. Although slavery was abolished after the civil war, the characters in this novel represent the aftermath of slavery. Although slavery was over, former slaves could not go back to their normal lives. This is reflected in Paul D who is wandering around and is pretty much homeless until he finds Sethe. Additionally, the scars that slavery leaves do not fade. This is reflected both physically and mentally in Sethe. She has the scars from the whips on her back that will never go away. She also tries to do everything she can to forget the past but she can never seem to shake some memories.
This novel was designed to parallel a post civil war America, a time in which former slaves were now free. This novel, which focuses on the lives of former slaves , highlights the effects of slavery even after one has escaped it. For example Denver was always fearful of leaving 124 as was many former slaves after being freed by the civil war. Also although Slavery may have been abolished after the war the mental and physical scars left were a constant reminder of what happened, this seen in the novel through Sethe.
I feel that Beloved could have a parallel to post-Civil War America in the sense that slavery still lives on. Even though it was no longer legal, the mental and psychical scars still live on in all the slaves. Denver is the generation that could be connected to after the Civil War where she was not directly involved in slavery but feel the wrath and devastation of it from her mother. Denver still has fear towards her mother and her actions but never experienced it to understand why she is like this. This connects with the generation born after the Civil War who were not directly connected but will hear about the horrors from the previous generation.
I believe the novel was based our the post Civil War Time period. The war was fought to end slavery, however, after the war inequalities still existed between colored and white people. There were still scars after the war on the colored people, even though the war was meant to clean all the scars. Similar to how Sethe still has scars and flashbacks from when she was a slave.
Agreeing with Steph L., this story depicts just how the aftermath of the war effected slaves and how the battle never ceased. The war may have ended, but the scars and hurt these slaves endured never goes away, and their trauma haunts them forever.
I feel as though this story is designed to parallel a post civil war America. In the period following the civil war, America entered a period of reconstruction which focused on piecing the nation back together. The Southern states were admitted back into the Union but were put under a strict set of regulations. The abolition of the slave trade freed former slaves, but although they were free in terms of law, they were mentally scarred by their tragic past. In addition to carrying the weight of their past, they were still faced horrible discrimination for many years to come. I believe that Morrison chose to tie together these tragic events and how they affected those who endured them.
I agree with what others are saying about how the novel parallels a post civil war story. The scars slavery left both mental and psychical will always remain. This shows through with the tree mark on Sethe’s back and all of the flashbacks she has throughout the story. It is true that they may have been freed physically, however they will never be freed mental. Sethe’s horrifying past will always remain with her.
Morrison’s novel does portray many hardships black people faced during this time in American history. I do believe that this story was designed to parallel a post-civil war America and Morrison uses her novel to emphasize that this dark period of slavery in American history should not be forgotten. This message is shown through her characters and their inescapable memories of their traumatic experiences as slaves. In reply to Marina, I like how she related the sides of the civil war to the conflicts in the novel. During the civil war, the South fought to defend slavery. All of the recurring events, flashbacks and characters for the past that are reintroduced are symbolic of the South fighting to defend slavery. The inner conflict Sethe faces represents the fight of the American Civil War as a whole. Sethe is fighting to abandon all thoughts of slavery, just as the North was, by blocking out her past. However, these recurring events continually bring the traumas of Sethe’s past back into her life. This novel could very easily represent the story of a slave through the time period around the Civil War.
I think that the story was written to parallel a post-Civil War America. Characters like Sethe and Paul D have become at last become free from slavery and this would be considered the victory of the war. However, they are still held captive by their memories of slavery and are therefore only enjoying their freedom in a physical and not emotional sense. They are still afraid and they still commonly witness racism even if they are no longer slaves. This definitely parallels American society after the war, because while black people were technically freed from slavery, society still treated them cruelly and the people were still stuck with the trauma despite their newfound freedom.
Yes, I agree that this story is meant to parallel a post-Civil War America. After the war, slaves were freed and reintroduced into society, but they were not treated the same as white citizens. Savery is abolished at the time of the present in the novel, but during the flashbacks, slavery is in full swing. Sethe is still trying to cope with the impact that slavery had on her life and she is trying to survive in brand new world for her. Morrison decided to set her story during this time period to show how the effects of slavery don’t just leave and how it can impact someone’s life, even after they’re free.
I believe this story was meant to parallel a post civil war America. To me, the representation of Beloved as the memory of Slavery was the most clear to understand. To me, it was easy to see how her presence was unwanted, but no matter how much people tried to get rid of her, she was still there. Another parallel of Beloved to the memory of slavery was that she had an effect on everyone in the novel, not just those who lived their lives as slaves; this was the most evident with Denver, who was never a slave but was heavily impacted by her presence.
Just like everyone else is saying, the novel can be paralleled with the society of post-Civil war America. The slaves gained their freedom but they weren't really free. Their past is much greater than anything current in their lives. One can move on but that doesn't mean they will forget.
In my opinion, I think the story is designed to parallel life after the Civil War. Overall, a main point of the story is to explain to the reader not only what happens to slaves when on the plantations, but how their years in slavery changes them forever. This story shows that even if a slave does escape for freedom, they will never truly endure that lifestyle, because of the traumatic events from their past. They will also have to be careful of getting caught and how they will react if such thing happens. In Sethe’s case, she knew that if she didn't kill her children, they would go through the same disgusting situations that she had been through, or worse. Slaves after the Civil War easily could have felt the same way. The novel Beloved portrays such an important meaning, showing the readers that just because a slave isn't on a plantation anymore, doesn't mean they will ever truly escape the pain.
I do believe the novel is outlined to mirror a post Civil War America. Even after the Civil War ceased, a light did not automatically switch off, indicating that African Americans were no longer to be used as laborers and should be fully integrated into society. Hundreds of years later, blacks are still yearning for equality and justice. This relates to “Beloved” because slavery’s ramifications were lasting and permanent. After the Civil War, slaves, especially Sethe, were haunted by their pasts to the point where they become stricken with mental disorders (rememory=PTSD). Like Kristina said, Denver is the new generation. She herself has not been exposed to the cruelties of slavery, but the people around her were. Even though Denver was spared, slavery still affects her mother, siblings, and friends. It is important to realize that Morrison includes a character that never had to experience slavery firsthand, yet the long-term consequences still relate to Denver’s immediate family.
I think that purpose of Morrison portraying the hardships and cruel atrocities that were inflicted upon black people during early American times was not so much to parallel post civil-war America, but to explain to people the side of a generation that seems to be forgotten about. It seems like as a society, we sympathize with those that were slaves and especially those that died as slaves, but do we think about the after affects of slavery? Do we just deem those that were freed as "lucky" and forget about what life must have been like after enduring so much trauma? I think that her point was to show that hardships of slavery did not just end as the war ended, they lived on in so many ways. Today, we treat soldiers that come back from war for PTSD, but do we think about the kind of PTSD that ex-slaves must have experienced. I think that Morrison uses Beloved as a symbol of the past, of a symbol of being an actual enslaved individual. She uses beloved as a source of trauma, as a life devouring entity, and as something that the black community must come together to over come. She uses Sethe as a symbol of the present, of a generation that lived as ex-slaves. She uses Sethe as source of re-memory, as someone who is at one point consumed by her past, but has at least a chance of dealing with the past and still living in the present. She uses Denver as a symbol of the future, of future generations of black people who although were born into freedom, still deal with the devastating effects of slavery. Denver is a source of hope, of new life, and as of being part of a generation that will leave the trauma of slavery behind without forgetting it.
To me, this story isn't so much a parallel of post-Civil War America, it more is a demonstration of the aftermath of the war. If parallels were to be drawn, Beloved would very much be the former Confederacy. Angry with the former slaves and doing what she can to suck the life out of who they are despite their escape and make them subservient to her, as she does to Sethe. Denver, on the other hand, would be the North. Her naivete is very similar to the Northern side, they entered the war only hoping to preserve the Union, thinking that like the 100 years prior, slavery could be an issue ignored and swept under the rug to be dealt with later. Denver is not interested in hearing stories about slavery and the past, only about herself and how she came to be. Paul D would be representative of the soldiers, figuratively and literally. Separated from his brothers and suffering by his life during the war, at the end of it all, sometimes he was looked upon favorably, and other times miserably despised. Sethe is as she is. She is a former slave, dealing with the repercussions of the battle in the only place favorable for slaves, the West.
ReplyDeleteI do think that the novel was designed to parallel a post-Civil War America. Although the anti-slavery side won during the Civil war, the scars slavery left were permanent. After becoming freed, slaves were not going to forget everything that ever happened to them and live a normal life. The things slaves endured during their years of slavery would stick with the families for generations to come. The characters are representing how deeply being owned affects a person psychologically.
ReplyDeleteAdding to what Steph said, even though African Americans gained their freedom as a result of the Civil War, they still faced struggles in the years after. Although they were free people, they still had to find their way in society and coexist with other white Americans. Therefore, Sethe and her families situation does parallel what an African American family would have to go through socially. Just the fact that they lived in a black community shows that it wasn't so easy to just blend black and white people in society once they became free.
DeleteI am going to say that the novel, is not a post Civil War society but more so the fight in the middle of the Civil War itself. Iview it as highlighting the middle of the war and times of slavery. In this instance, I would view Beloved as an instigator, or agreeing with Katie, parallel to the South supporters in the war. The slaves, meaning Sethe and her family, would represent the North fighting against slavery. Sethe escapes slavery at the beginning of the time period and faces the pain of living through such a terrible experience. My take is that when Beloved is reincarnated to get revenge on Sethe and bring back memories in a whole new light, she represents that South population fighting the North trying to still keep slavery. The book focusing on Sethe’s inner turmoil to escape the past represents the north fighting with the south to abolish slavery. When Beloved is finally exiled from the end of the novel, it is because all the former slaves and Africans joined together to take down the force of the past. This will represent the North winning the Civil War. Therefore, I see the book as more of a representation of the war itself.
ReplyDeleteIn my own personal opinion, this novel could perhaps be designed to parallel a post-Civil War America. I agree with Steph in that the scars of slavery are permanent, and this can be mirrored in Morrison's novel. For instance, Sethe could very happen to represent a slave during the Civil War and the trials and tribulations that she had to endure while being enslaved. Even so, after being freed from slavery, slaves still struggled to live a normal life as they were still berated and treated inhumanely. But most importantly, they feared for their lives. This is evident in Sethe's case after she escaped. She had to kill her daughter in order to protect her. Not one moment passed where Sethe was not watching over her shoulder. Every second could have been her last, which parallels what slaves went through the post Civil War era
ReplyDeleteThe story is meant to parallel post civil war lifestyle for those who lived through slavery or experienced segregation and oppression. Revolving around a family of African Americans and former slaves, we can see how the effect of slavery they experienced before the war controlled their life, and how people responded to them after slavery was abolished. Society did not become equal at the push of a button, as soon as slavery was made illegal, and to this day equality is yet to be achieved. Sethe is haunted by her past, and the society around her refused to make any changes to what they believed. The way society acts is seen most clearly when they went to the fair on the day set aside for the black people. First of all they had a specific day set aside for black people rather than having everyone go when they pleased, but also the acts and events at the fair decresed tenfold because people didn’t care to perform and promote fun for black people. The world Sethe lives in was not equal, and neither was the world after the Union won the Civil War.
ReplyDeleteI think that this story was designed to parallel a post Civil-War America. Agreeing with Marc, I think Sethe could represent a slave during the time period. Sethe and her family were fighting against slavery to gain freedom. However, they would never forget the physical and psychological damage that is due to being owned.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, this story could be a parallel to a post Civil-War America. The novel shows the effect of slavery on former slaves and their family members. The memory of slavery constantly effects the characters of the books and will follow them forever even though they aren't physically being owned anymore. However mentally, they are still being held captives and cannot escape the horrible memory of slavery. From reading the book one can see that they are still treated unfairly and face major racism and segregation.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think this story is designed to parallel a post-Civil War America. Though there are many flashbacks of the past when slavery was legal, those flashbacks are mostly to show how the memories former slaves have will always be with them; this is exactly what Beloved represents. Denver represents the next generation of African Americans, the ones who didn’t experience slavery themselves, but are subjected to the prejudice against their whole race. Sethe and Paul D represent the generation of slaves that have to live with their pasts post-Civil War.
ReplyDeleteYes I do think that the novel is designed to parallel a post-Civil America. Scars in this novel, as Steph explains, plays an important role because scars never leave a person, both physically and mentally. In my defense I think Morrison uses the scars that both Sethe and Paul D, have to show that comparison of the long-lasting effect slavery had on African Americans in the south. However, through the character of Denver, I think that Morrison uses a metaphor to show that she is the type of slave that moved forward with their lives, even though she has scars of her own. Denver characterization is an important one because she was once bounded to 124, like a slave to its plantation, but is now free which is why I think the novel is designed to parallel post-Civil War.
ReplyDeleteI agree with those that see this as a post-civil war america. After abolition, things did not get any better for a long time. It angered plantation owners and those who wanted to keep slavery and made the lives of slaves even worse. Sethe still felt like she had to kill Beloved because she wasn't safe yet. It is clear that Sethe and the neighborhood still hadn't welcomed white people mirroring a post-civil war society. So they are physically and mentally haunted by slavery.
ReplyDeleteyes, this is a post civil war America, and while slavery was gone, the mental scars and hatred toward African Americans was still very evident. Sethe is a prime example of this, being both physically and mentally scarred by slavery, fears America will never change, kills her first child, not wanting them to grow up into slavery. I agree with Elizabeth, in the idea that Beloved is the past connected to slavery, and Denver is the new generation of AA who won't experience slavery. Denver will experience racism, because of pre/post civil war thoughts of African Americans. It easy to see pin this book based on the way they talk, that while a "war" has ended, that they are still different because of their skin color, and because of this, they will still be "slaves" to the racists.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that the novel parallels a post civil war story. Even though Sethe escapes a life of slavery, similar to the abolition of slavery in the civil war, she is still left haunted and scarred from her dark past. Sethe is able to seek her freedom in 124. Yet, the chokecherry tree on her back, the memories of Halle, and the ghost of her baby daughter prevent her moving forward. The memories of slavery will always be apart of her similar to how slavery wasn’t just forgotten after the civil war ended. I believe that Morrison intended to show that dark moments in history/personal experience cannot just disappear over time.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I believe this is designed to parallel a post Civil War America. Slavery is in full effect during the flashbacks of the story. It was still legal at the time this was taking place in the flashbacks. It is included because it makes it known that slavery will never be forgotten. The hardships slaves had to endure won’t just be brushed to the side and many have tried to do. They will live with the scars for the rest of their lives, just as Sethe bears the tree like scars on her back from being whipped. Denver in particular is the bridge between slavery and change. She grew up with a mother who afflicted with the grief of slavery and having to kill her own daughter to keep her away from that life. Denver never had to experience slavery or see it in any way like Beloved once did, though she was just a baby. She is the new generation who will move forward from slavery into a hopeful and new world. Sethe and Paul D are representative of post Civil War America itself. They have endured all the pain of slavery and are trying to move away from it, but find it hard to with all the memories lodged into their brains.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that the novel parallels a post Civil War America. I agree with Steph that even though the North won and slavery ended, it never really did. The scars that slavery left on the former slaves were permanent and could not be removed. So there is accuracy in saying that Sethe represents the slaves who were freed physically but never mentally, while Beloved represents all of those whose lives were cut too short by the atrocities that were slavery.
ReplyDeleteBeloved certainly parallels a post-Civil War America since Denver is frightened to leave the safety of 124. She refuses to go out on several occasions because she probably fears being captured by white men. Additionally, Sethe is still plagued by the horrors of slavery to this day. She still remembers the oppression and cruelty that occurred at Sweet Home even though she is free from slavery. Additionally, she had to murder her daughter to prevent from going through these troubles. She is devastated by her past actions throughout the novel in a post-Civil War world.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Beloved was written to possibly mimic a post civil war lifestyle. The story revolves around Sethe and her family, a family of African Americans and former slaves, and Morrison shows how much of an impact former slave life has after being freed. Although slavery was abolished, African Americans were not all of a sudden considered equal in society. Stereotypes remained, as well as harsh treatment in public. Current day we struggle with perfecting equality, and the ideas in this novel are similar to those of a post civil war life. The past never left Sethe’s mind and Sethe is constantly reminded of it as she faces the inequality that surrounds society. This inequality is related to that upon the end of the civil war.
ReplyDeleteI do think that the novel was designed to parallel a post Civil- War America. Although slavery was abolished after the civil war, the characters in this novel represent the aftermath of slavery. Although slavery was over, former slaves could not go back to their normal lives. This is reflected in Paul D who is wandering around and is pretty much homeless until he finds Sethe. Additionally, the scars that slavery leaves do not fade. This is reflected both physically and mentally in Sethe. She has the scars from the whips on her back that will never go away. She also tries to do everything she can to forget the past but she can never seem to shake some memories.
ReplyDeleteThis novel was designed to parallel a post civil war America, a time in which former slaves were now free. This novel, which focuses on the lives of former slaves , highlights the effects of slavery even after one has escaped it. For example Denver was always fearful of leaving 124 as was many former slaves after being freed by the civil war. Also although Slavery may have been abolished after the war the mental and physical scars left were a constant reminder of what happened, this seen in the novel through Sethe.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Beloved could have a parallel to post-Civil War America in the sense that slavery still lives on. Even though it was no longer legal, the mental and psychical scars still live on in all the slaves. Denver is the generation that could be connected to after the Civil War where she was not directly involved in slavery but feel the wrath and devastation of it from her mother. Denver still has fear towards her mother and her actions but never experienced it to understand why she is like this. This connects with the generation born after the Civil War who were not directly connected but will hear about the horrors from the previous generation.
ReplyDeleteI believe the novel was based our the post Civil War Time period. The war was fought to end slavery, however, after the war inequalities still existed between colored and white people. There were still scars after the war on the colored people, even though the war was meant to clean all the scars. Similar to how Sethe still has scars and flashbacks from when she was a slave.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with Steph L., this story depicts just how the aftermath of the war effected slaves and how the battle never ceased. The war may have ended, but the scars and hurt these slaves endured never goes away, and their trauma haunts them forever.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though this story is designed to parallel a post civil war America. In the period following the civil war, America entered a period of reconstruction which focused on piecing the nation back together. The Southern states were admitted back into the Union but were put under a strict set of regulations. The abolition of the slave trade freed former slaves, but although they were free in terms of law, they were mentally scarred by their tragic past. In addition to carrying the weight of their past, they were still faced horrible discrimination for many years to come. I believe that Morrison chose to tie together these tragic events and how they affected those who endured them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what others are saying about how the novel parallels a post civil war story. The scars slavery left both mental and psychical will always remain. This shows through with the tree mark on Sethe’s back and all of the flashbacks she has throughout the story. It is true that they may have been freed physically, however they will never be freed mental. Sethe’s horrifying past will always remain with her.
ReplyDeleteMorrison’s novel does portray many hardships black people faced during this time in American history. I do believe that this story was designed to parallel a post-civil war America and Morrison uses her novel to emphasize that this dark period of slavery in American history should not be forgotten. This message is shown through her characters and their inescapable memories of their traumatic experiences as slaves.
ReplyDeleteIn reply to Marina, I like how she related the sides of the civil war to the conflicts in the novel. During the civil war, the South fought to defend slavery. All of the recurring events, flashbacks and characters for the past that are reintroduced are symbolic of the South fighting to defend slavery. The inner conflict Sethe faces represents the fight of the American Civil War as a whole. Sethe is fighting to abandon all thoughts of slavery, just as the North was, by blocking out her past. However, these recurring events continually bring the traumas of Sethe’s past back into her life. This novel could very easily represent the story of a slave through the time period around the Civil War.
I think that the story was written to parallel a post-Civil War America. Characters like Sethe and Paul D have become at last become free from slavery and this would be considered the victory of the war. However, they are still held captive by their memories of slavery and are therefore only enjoying their freedom in a physical and not emotional sense. They are still afraid and they still commonly witness racism even if they are no longer slaves. This definitely parallels American society after the war, because while black people were technically freed from slavery, society still treated them cruelly and the people were still stuck with the trauma despite their newfound freedom.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree that this story is meant to parallel a post-Civil War America. After the war, slaves were freed and reintroduced into society, but they were not treated the same as white citizens. Savery is abolished at the time of the present in the novel, but during the flashbacks, slavery is in full swing. Sethe is still trying to cope with the impact that slavery had on her life and she is trying to survive in brand new world for her. Morrison decided to set her story during this time period to show how the effects of slavery don’t just leave and how it can impact someone’s life, even after they’re free.
ReplyDeleteI believe this story was meant to parallel a post civil war America. To me, the representation of Beloved as the memory of Slavery was the most clear to understand. To me, it was easy to see how her presence was unwanted, but no matter how much people tried to get rid of her, she was still there. Another parallel of Beloved to the memory of slavery was that she had an effect on everyone in the novel, not just those who lived their lives as slaves; this was the most evident with Denver, who was never a slave but was heavily impacted by her presence.
ReplyDeleteJust like everyone else is saying, the novel can be paralleled with the society of post-Civil war America. The slaves gained their freedom but they weren't really free. Their past is much greater than anything current in their lives. One can move on but that doesn't mean they will forget.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I think the story is designed to parallel life after the Civil War. Overall, a main point of the story is to explain to the reader not only what happens to slaves when on the plantations, but how their years in slavery changes them forever. This story shows that even if a slave does escape for freedom, they will never truly endure that lifestyle, because of the traumatic events from their past. They will also have to be careful of getting caught and how they will react if such thing happens. In Sethe’s case, she knew that if she didn't kill her children, they would go through the same disgusting situations that she had been through, or worse. Slaves after the Civil War easily could have felt the same way. The novel Beloved portrays such an important meaning, showing the readers that just because a slave isn't on a plantation anymore, doesn't mean they will ever truly escape the pain.
ReplyDeleteI do believe the novel is outlined to mirror a post Civil War America. Even after the Civil War ceased, a light did not automatically switch off, indicating that African Americans were no longer to be used as laborers and should be fully integrated into society. Hundreds of years later, blacks are still yearning for equality and justice. This relates to “Beloved” because slavery’s ramifications were lasting and permanent. After the Civil War, slaves, especially Sethe, were haunted by their pasts to the point where they become stricken with mental disorders (rememory=PTSD). Like Kristina said, Denver is the new generation. She herself has not been exposed to the cruelties of slavery, but the people around her were. Even though Denver was spared, slavery still affects her mother, siblings, and friends. It is important to realize that Morrison includes a character that never had to experience slavery firsthand, yet the long-term consequences still relate to Denver’s immediate family.
ReplyDeleteI think that purpose of Morrison portraying the hardships and cruel atrocities that were inflicted upon black people during early American times was not so much to parallel post civil-war America, but to explain to people the side of a generation that seems to be forgotten about. It seems like as a society, we sympathize with those that were slaves and especially those that died as slaves, but do we think about the after affects of slavery? Do we just deem those that were freed as "lucky" and forget about what life must have been like after enduring so much trauma? I think that her point was to show that hardships of slavery did not just end as the war ended, they lived on in so many ways. Today, we treat soldiers that come back from war for PTSD, but do we think about the kind of PTSD that ex-slaves must have experienced. I think that Morrison uses Beloved as a symbol of the past, of a symbol of being an actual enslaved individual. She uses beloved as a source of trauma, as a life devouring entity, and as something that the black community must come together to over come. She uses Sethe as a symbol of the present, of a generation that lived as ex-slaves. She uses Sethe as source of re-memory, as someone who is at one point consumed by her past, but has at least a chance of dealing with the past and still living in the present. She uses Denver as a symbol of the future, of future generations of black people who although were born into freedom, still deal with the devastating effects of slavery. Denver is a source of hope, of new life, and as of being part of a generation that will leave the trauma of slavery behind without forgetting it.
ReplyDelete