Sethe Sacrifice In Beloved

Gone But Never Forgotten

“I would rather die upon yonder gallows, than live in slavery,” is a quote by Samuel Sharpe. Meaning, rather than being tortured physically and mentally, death seems like it would be less destructive. In the novel “Beloved” written by Toni Morrison, Sethe, an African American fugitive slave, in the town of Cincinnati, was trying to avoid abusive white people and decided to do the unthinkable once her kids were going to be taken away, leading to slitting her daughter Beloved’s throat, subsequently leads to a ghost haunting Sethe’s home. Later, years had passed and a woman named Beloved appeared along with information that only Sethe knew. As a result, Sethe took this woman in, but led to chaos and torment. Turns out

Sethe was not raised with love or help from her own mother however, Sethe had no choice, but learn how to be the loving maternal figure for her own children. Becoming a nurturing mother and protecting her children from her own childhood experience was Sethe’s priority. As Sethe mentioned in the novel, “it ain’t my job to know what’s worse. It’s my job to know what is and to keep them away from what I know is terrible. I did that” (Morrison 165). Sethe only wanted the best for her children, in terms of childhood and safety. The community scorned Sethe for years knowing she had brutally murdered her first born child her daughter, until they saw Denver, Sethe’s fourth daughter, seek for help and guidance. They never knew what living in fear felt like or have ever experienced slavery. No one would want to see any child especially one of their own, suffer for their

Sethe was going to kill Denver as she did with Beloved until Stamp Paid rushed in to grab her. As Denver grew up, she came into a realization of her mother’s intentions. Eventually it led her to become detached and afraid of her mother. She caught a sight of Sethe kill her own sister. “Beloved is my sister. I swallowed her blood right along with my mother’s milk” (Morrison 21). What she does not understand is, Sethe only did it to protect Beloved from being tortured from slavery. Though one would rather not have it happen at all, it makes sense for a mother to kill her children, rather than have them suffer by the hands of a stranger, and die in a much worse way. Sethe did not think any of her children could ever be used as a slave. Denver was kept in isolation due to her safety, which made her fear the world. She forgave Sethe once she saw Beloved was the problem, and took notice that her mother was devoted to her