Examples Of Ambiguity In Beloved

The lack of certainty of whether something is right or wrong (Merriam, George), or moral ambiguity is a theme which is prevalent in society, and extensively explored in Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved. Beloved, the novel of history and broken memories, tells the story of Sethe, a former slave living in Ohio in the 1800’s. The text, whilst centring on Sethe, also considers the perspective of minor characters, all of whom have some relationship with Sethe. These relationships can also help to explain some of the negative actions that occur throughout the novel, including the murder of Beloved. This act of brutality can be seen as morally ambiguous, especially to someone whom has not experienced the social context of slavery before and the emotions

Though Morrison’s novel follows many people and their own lives, the book centres on the protagonist, Sethe. Sethe’s response to the community in which she lived demonstrates clearly the moral complexity of her situation. Sethe is a former slave, who is haunted by her past as a slave and suffers many emotional and physiological repercussions as a result. One of Sethe’s emotional effects from being a slave was her undeniable maternal love and devotion to any child. Because of her experience of being a slave, and the hardships she went through, she would do anything to save her children from the inevitable. Sethe knew that the prospect of her children’s life as slaves would be bleaker than the conclusion of death. Through this ideology, she does the inevitable and ends up taking her own child, Beloved’s, life. Emotions towards Sethe’s actions can be taken many ways, with her actions either being heroic or selfish. Sethe continues throughout the novel to be supportive of her decision, with it being out of maternal love. Sethe says, “I’ll explain to her, even though I don’t have to. Why I did it. How if I hadn’t killed her she would have died and that is something I could not bear to happen

Sethe, the protagonist of the novel, is desperately trying to free herself of the memories caused by the days of her enslavement, which are proving to be inescapable through her harrowing memories and nightmares. Sethe is an African-American former slave living in Ohio and a mother residing with one of her children, Denver. She represents a stereotypical African-American slave. She is rejected by white-American society and struggles to provide for the ones she loves the most. In a novel that relies heavily on provoking an emotional and empathetic response, it is important that readers see the novel in the eyes of a 19th century black woman in slavery in mid-western America. In the case of myself as the reader; I am centred on the opposite end of the spectrum; a white, equal and privileged female. As such it is difficult to emphasise situations as specific as Sethe’s. This is especially prevalent with an act of brutality carried out by Sethe; when she killed her young daughter, to save them both from the prospect of slavery. Because of the different stance that most people have from the book, moral ambiguity can present itself, as some people cannot understand the themes that are present. Another major difference in contexts from reader to characters in the aspect of human rights. For a novel to be written in the perspective of a characters whose social demographic was denied basic rights,