The most significant phenomenon in Beloved: analysis and justification

Self-Identity in Morrison's Beloved

The most significant aspect of Toni Morrison's novel, Beloved, is how the characters discover themselves. A strong sense of self is necessary for growth and fulfilling one's true nature and Morrison demonstrates how characters can do this even in the most painful circumstances. Slavery becomes the backdrop for this novel and it serves as the largest obstacle for the characters. While we may take the word freedom for granted, these characters must literally learn what it means to them on a daily basis. The story is painful but it must be known in order to save those represented and future generations because we cannot live long enough to make the mistakes of anyone else. It is important, however, because what lies on the other side of this understanding is a stronger sense of identity. Beloeved illustrates how our sense of self is empowering.

Morrison uses the issue of slavery to emphasize her point. Slavery moves in the opposite direction of freedom and while one might guess it would be easy to transition from being an object to being a free man, Morrison illustrates how it is not. The primary reason for this is because slavery also enslaved the mind. Freedom was a word slaves adjusted to and it had to include how they thought about themselves. Morrison writes how Paul D. thought it was hazardous for a "used-to-be-slave woman to love anything that much was dangerous, especially if it was her children she had settled on to love" (Morrison 56). This instance illustrates how slavery permeated all facets of life and therefore had to be tackled full force.

Each character in the novel must confront slavery to discover freedom. While Beloved's character is mysterious, she is necessary for growth. This is especially true with Sethe. She realizes more self-awareness when knows she is free. Her selfishness is finally right in her eyes and this sense of power allows her to discover different aspects of life, including passion. She comes to realize beauty and love. She even learn to let go of her past and she tells Beloved, "You got to learn more sense than that" (130). Sethe does let go and then she understands that she is strong enough to survive and l be her own good thing. When Sethe tells Beloved how she tended to her as a baby, Beloved does not believe and was "uncomprehending everything except that Sethe was the woman who took her face away, leaving her crouching in a dark, dark place, forgetting to smile" (296). While this scene is tragic, we see how it forces characters to realize certain truths about themselves. Once the realization occurs, we see Beloved as a catalyst with Sethe, Paul D. And Denver. Through these characters, Morrison allows us to see that transformation is possible even under some of the worst circumstances.