Khan 1
Sarah Khan
Professor Briana Brickley
English 320
18 October 2016 In this amazing novel ‘Beloved’, Toni Morrison depicts the physical and psychological effects slavery has had on individuals. Focusing on characters such as Mr. Garner and Schoolteacher and recognizing them as enablers, Morrison is able to illustrate not only how detrimental slavery can be to one individual but also how it can affect different people; differently. Morrison furthers her claims by constantly engaging us readers with the inner emotional states of other characters, specifically Paul D, in order for readers to fully understand the effect slavery can have on an individual. The impact of slavery has left a great impression on these people even long …show more content…
Baby Suggs lost one grandchild at the hands of Sethe and almost lost three others. Sethe justified herself by deeming actions as protection from the four horsemen; Schoolteacher, his nephew, the slave-catcher and the sheriff. Although he was not directly responsible for the death of Baby Suggs’ grandson, Schoolteacher’s maltreatment of slaves had murdered a member of her family. Morrison uses every character in this novel to show just how widespread the effects of slavery can be. Slavery can affect everyone in different ways, but as shown in ‘Beloved’, people do drastic things to prevent a return to slavery for themselves and their families. Even though Mr. Garner treated his slaves with a degree of trust and respect, he was still a slave owner and definitely still inflicted some emotional and physical pain. Although Schoolteacher’s lack of compassion had a more devastating effect on his slaves, ultimately he and Mr. Garner were not very different. As Halle says, “What they say is the same. Loud or soft.” Halle sums it up perfectly, it did not matter how they treated their slaves, because in the end, they both owned human beings and even with good intentions like Mr. Garner’s, permanently harmed
Sarah Khan
Professor Briana Brickley
English 320
18 October 2016 In this amazing novel ‘Beloved’, Toni Morrison depicts the physical and psychological effects slavery has had on individuals. Focusing on characters such as Mr. Garner and Schoolteacher and recognizing them as enablers, Morrison is able to illustrate not only how detrimental slavery can be to one individual but also how it can affect different people; differently. Morrison furthers her claims by constantly engaging us readers with the inner emotional states of other characters, specifically Paul D, in order for readers to fully understand the effect slavery can have on an individual. The impact of slavery has left a great impression on these people even long …show more content…
Baby Suggs lost one grandchild at the hands of Sethe and almost lost three others. Sethe justified herself by deeming actions as protection from the four horsemen; Schoolteacher, his nephew, the slave-catcher and the sheriff. Although he was not directly responsible for the death of Baby Suggs’ grandson, Schoolteacher’s maltreatment of slaves had murdered a member of her family. Morrison uses every character in this novel to show just how widespread the effects of slavery can be. Slavery can affect everyone in different ways, but as shown in ‘Beloved’, people do drastic things to prevent a return to slavery for themselves and their families. Even though Mr. Garner treated his slaves with a degree of trust and respect, he was still a slave owner and definitely still inflicted some emotional and physical pain. Although Schoolteacher’s lack of compassion had a more devastating effect on his slaves, ultimately he and Mr. Garner were not very different. As Halle says, “What they say is the same. Loud or soft.” Halle sums it up perfectly, it did not matter how they treated their slaves, because in the end, they both owned human beings and even with good intentions like Mr. Garner’s, permanently harmed