Beloved by Toni Morrison (review)

Cincinnati, Ohio, 183. 124 Bluestone Road. Only a mother, Sethe, and her daughter

Denver, are living in a haunted house. They are African ex-slaves, survivors of a painful

and traumatic life. It is Paul D, another slave from “Sweet Home”, that suddenly comes,

who brings back memories of a past that has been long since buried. The more Sethe and

Paul D talk about their past sufferings, the more they are healed. However, the ghost that

haunts the house remains as a mystery.

This book, “Beloved”, a touching and powerful social novel written by Toni

Morrison, is a deeply profound reading experience. Morrison uses the same techniques

as the most respectable and admirable authors. These include musical language, as she

stated: “I wanted my language to be musical”. This technique gives the novel poetic

lines, like: “Lay em down, Sethe. Sword and shield. Down. Down. Both of em down.

Down by the riverside. Sword and shield.” (page 86). Also, she uses small precise

images, that are described in detail. With this technique, the reader can feel as if he or she

can contemplate the image and see the beauty in it. An example of this is: “She frowned

and looked at her daughter-in-law bending toward the baby. Roses of blood

blossomed in the blanket covering Sethe’s shoulders.” (page 93). As the story unfolds,

the reader discovers the real human nature of the characters by Morrison’s excellent use

of stream-of-consciousness. The rememory that takes place throughout the novel

examines a cruel and obscene system of the not-so-old American society. Morrison

presents some demonstrative examples of that last century America, that could be called

“Hell on Earth”.

Sethe and her family were all victims of slavery in a place called “Sweet Home”,

where they worked at a plantation. Sethe was sexually abused while she was pregnant

of a baby she later called Beloved. She was so terribly whipped by the white nephews

of the owner that she carries permanent scars. After she gives birth, she cuts the baby’s

throat. She could not bear to think of the child living slavery.

The overall plot consists of sources of conflict that play an important role in this story.

These are race, gender, family and supernatural issues (which is the presence of