Beloved Human Nature

Generally, human nature is the understanding of the basic motivations and development of people. In fiction writing versus in philosophical writing, human nature is shown through characters, which are fundamentally flawed which means that authors get to explore human nature through the guise of human already shaped by life. But, there are still discrepancies between what authors think they are portraying. In comparing Beloved by Toni Morrison and Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake, it is of my opinion that Beloved is ultimately more optimistic about human nature.
It may seem counterintuitive to think of a slave-horror novel as being a champion of human nature, but Morrison uses the extremes of experience to explain the ultimate goodness in the hearts of the people and how difficult times are worked out over time. For example, the main character of the book, who is shown with deep affection and is the one with the most psychological intensity from the perspective of the reader, is Sethe. The major point of this character is infanticide, an unequivocally horrific action. But, since we get to relive this experience through Sethe’s rememory, it is about a mother who cares with a “thick love” for the protection of her children. In what seems horrible, there is strength and hope in trying to provide something better for your children. However, even though we see Sethe consistently justifying the action as a “protection,” she must deal with her choice, and the guilt it has wrought upon her. Because of that choice yes, she loses her friends and terrifies her family. But, she is strong and continues to try and give that better life to Denver, and be what she never could be as a slave. After the appearance and disappearance of her slain daughter she comes to forget about the experience and begins to move on a create a connection with a family and with her neighborhood. The persistence and the forgiveness that is drawn throughout the book shows strength and compassion despite actions that seem indefensible. In the end of the novel, Morrison says …show more content…
The distinctive nature of the collection of poems is that there are directly parallel works the two sections share, one of which is innocently joyful while the other shows experienced cynicism and moroseness. The best example of this parallel is in the poems titled Holy Thursday. In the song of innocence version, it is about “children walking two and two, in red and blue and green” into churches where “they raise to heaven the voice of song” and “beneath them sit the aged men, wise guardians of the poor; then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door.” An image of hope and charity of the beauty and the solemnity that comes from the day when the ultimate sacrifice was to have been given, in turning to a better world. The contrasting song of experience of holy Thursday is which asks “Is that trembling cry a song? Can it be a song of joy? And so many children poor? It is a land of poverty!” It is a song of anger and frustration about the singing of praises when nothing is met. It is of losing your faith in people and believing the worst possible outcome for this life. The poems are arranged with the cynicism in the second half. It is meant to be read second. It is meant to be the loss of innocence to experience. The loss of optimism of humans through the trials of