A White-Supremacist Eden In Toni Morrison's Beloved

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Cosca, David. "Is 'Hell A Pretty Place'? A White-Supremacist Eden in Toni Morrison's Beloved." Interdisciplinary Humanities 30.2 (2013): 9-23. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.
In this article, Cosca offers a comparison between Toni Morrison’s Beloved and the story of the Garden of Eden: stating that the book is a re-imagining of the biblical text. The main characters who are almost exclusively black, attempt to understand themselves in a world that does not recognize them as humans. For that reason, Cosca states that Beloved is about the “forbidden knowledge of good and evil.” A fundamental focus is centered on the need to procreate wherein Morrison uses several allusions to Eden in order to describe the sexual desires that will produce offspring. By passing down their racist ideas, the parents will corrupt the next generation. The dissemination of knowledge for both black and white characters in the novel is identified as a theme which is extensively emphasized. …show more content…

The article suggests that the novel “challenges the notion that the end of institutional slavery brings about freedom.” Krumholz uses logical arguments to support her ideas when explaining that the characters are depicted as having to cope with the “emotional and psychological scars of slavery as well as the persistence of racism.” The article clearly articulates Krumholz’s perspectives on the character of Beloved and the symbolism surrounding her, however Krumholz does not additionally explore the symbolism associated with other characters, leaving the reader with an incomplete understanding. Although the source is useful for its specific background of Beloved as “the forgotten spirit of the past that must “be loved” even if it is unlovable and elusive,” this work does not fully address how freedom is

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