Sethe Kill Her Children In Toni Morrison's Beloved

In the novel Beloved, by Toni Morrison, one of the main characters, Sethe, is faced with a difficult decision. Should she kill her children or allow them to possibly live a terrible life? Well some might argue that what sethe did was wrong, but there are many reasons to believe that Sethe was right to kill her children. Sethe's decision to kill her children was the right choice because keeping them alive would have lead to possible enslavement, lack of community, and no sense of self.
Sethe's decision to kill her child was the right choice because keeping the child alive would have lead to possible enslavement. Even though the civil war had come to an end, there was still a possibility of slaves being captured and being forced back into slavery. Sethe managed to escape sweet home but she understood that she could be taken back to the farm at any point in time. Slave children would be taken and forced into slavery as well. Sethe knew if she was found with all her children, not only would she be taken but her children would be captured and sent into a horrible life of slavery. Killing her children would have had a better turn out on their lives than being enslaved. On page 60, it states the quote, “My woman? You mean my mother? If she did, i don't remember.” This quote is one of many examples that shows sethe never had a …show more content…
Considering her children had the possibility that they would have been taken back into slavery, never would have experienced a sense of community, and wouldn't have a sense of self, Sethe's decision in killing them was the right choice. Sethe only did what she did for the sake of her children; she didn't care about herself. In the end, sethe realized what was better, having her children suffer their entire lives in slavery and be emotionally or mentally lost, or have them dead. A very hard decision to make but many can conclude that sethe picked the right