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Examples Of Slave Narrative In Beloved

Decent Essays

Shai-Dae Alford
Dr. DuBose
ENG 490-02
10 April 2016
Slave Narrative: Beloved
Toni Morrison conveys her strong feelings in her novel about slavery depicting the emotional impact slavery has had on individual mainly the centered character Sethe. The protagonist of the novel is unable to fully prosper in life due to resentment and the ability to move on from her past experiences. In Morrison’s story, since 1873 slavery was abolished for ten years in Cincinnati, Ohio. By the author choosing this setting it had a great impact on the reader like myself. “I didn’t see her, but a few times out in the fields and once when she was working indigo. By the time I woke up in the morning, she was in line”(Morrison1). Not being able to sustain a relationship with others because loved ones were constantly snatched from her presence, making it impossible for her to get a chance to feel loved especially by her mom. The text Beloved is related to events that occurred during the Civil War like the 1793 Fugitive Slave Act. Once this act was passed, slave owners in the south took this opportunity to reclaim any slaves that escaped from their ownership. When Sethe was enslaved she had experienced the unbelievable cruelty of slavery.
In particular, the novel explores how slavery dehumanizes the individuals who were affected by it at the time, treating them as if they were property or animals. Before Sethe was considered a freed individual she belonged to a slave master, Mr. Garner on the plantation

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