The Slave Ship Always Comes Back Around in Morrison´s Beloved

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Morrison’s Beloved uses characters in her story to show the long lasting effects of slavery. Characters such as Sethe, Denver, and Beloved all show a different point of view of the effects of slavery and what life it can conjure up for over protective mother, hermit like daughter, and the spiteful ghost.
For instance, Paul D says to Sethe “Your love is too thick,” (164) which shows Paul D’s view of love not as liberal as Sethe’s , he believes even love has rules and restrictions. Using the word “too” exemplifies his expression of constraining love for it can hurt you. This maybe a male like slave mentality to not love anything too much or when it is gone you are susceptible to anything to happen. To Sethe love is something that cannot be compromised or constrained it is free and limitless. “I stopped him,” (164) Sethe says to Paul D explaining how she stopped the school teacher. Sethe’s unconditional love gave her the idea to kill her children in order to stop the schoolteacher. As said before her liberal thinking of love drags her into a rock and a hard place . Sethe has a choice of either giving her kids up or killing them, this shows Sethe’s love is not only limitless but paradoxical, if you truly love someone you would not hurt it let alone kill, but if you love someone you would not put them into obvious danger.
Denver lucky enough to escape the life of slavery lives a lonesome life because of it. “ She was so happy she didn’t even know she was being avoided by her classmates.”(101) As a young girl Denver is charismatic to learn like her father , this kept Denver’s attention away from her being avoided. The effects of slavery get the innocent young and the wise old , as Denver is too young to understand what murder happe...

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...ppeared in the cake (that was it for Howard)." (pg. 1) Not only was Beloved destroyed but due to her life cut short she was beginning to become spiteful and destroy the normal family life Sethe escaped for . Now every thing Sethe risked her life for twice was becoming pointless. “Counting on the stillness of her own soul , she had forgotten the other one:” . The other soul being of course Beloved , Sethe did not think about the baby being alone in death . Maybe them being together in slavery would have brought them whole , not only Beloved but Denver, and Sethe. The death of Beloved brought a melancholy rain among 124. Not only was Beloved angry , the house grew a reputation of having an angry ghost , and crazy murderer. Slavery drove one woman to kill one life , but destroyed the support of a community , the support of family , and the self support to ones self.

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