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Rememories In Beloved Research Paper

1276 Words6 Pages

Toni Morrison’s Beloved is a tragic novel about the lifelong effects slavery can have on an individual. Sethe, an escaped slave, constantly lives in fear of the white man coming back and taking her and her children away because she thoroughly believes that “that there was no bad luck in the world but white people” (Morrison 104). Throughout the novel, Sethe constantly refers to her rememories and it is apparent that these are memories that are tough for her to live with. Her rememories constantly remind her of the trauma of slavery so much so that when her old slaveowner comes to find her she resorts to killing one of her own children to protect them from the terrors of being enslaved. She would have killed all of them if she had not been stopped. This shows that her rememories have a hold on her and it reveals that rememories are more than just normal memories. This idea of rememories having such a strong hold on a society can extend even further to slavery …show more content…

She recognizes that if Denver were to ever go to Sweet Home she would experience the same traumatic experiences that Sethe tries so hard to forget. One such memory of Sethe’s literally comes back to haunt her and constantly remind her of all her past deeds she would rather forget. This haunting is provided by Beloved, the child Sethe killed when her slaveowner returned to take back what he believed was his property. Beloved symbolizes everything that Sethe tries so hard to keep buried inside herself. Beloved is a rememory in the flesh and everybody experiences the pain she brings with her. The fact that Beloved comes back supports Ella’s assertion that “people who die bad don’t stay in the ground” (Morrison 188). This statement also ties back in with the fact that rememories connect slavery to current society. It is not a period in history that is easily forgotten especially with the amount of slaves who “died

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