The Cruelty of Dehumanization
White supremacy originates primarily in the degradation of black bodies in order to have control over them, which is best done through persuasion that their black bodies are ugly. Therefore, using the device of dehumanizing the body, slavery aimed first and foremost at women. Audre Lorde affirms that, when considering institutionalized slavery, it is essential to understand that more central than liberation alone was African American women's maltreatment (P.70). It was easier to enact cruelty upon women for, apart from being black, they were also most vulnerable in the black society because they were females. This fact encouraged white oppressors to abuse them sexually. In Circles of Sorrow, Lines of Struggle, …show more content…
There are two crucial moments in Sethe's life when she is submitted to the dehumanizing forces of the white oppressors. The first clearly distinguishable incident in Sethe's story that marks a turning point in her life and drastically changes her perception of the future, in early in her life, when she is put on the animal side of the list of features according to schoolteacher's education. Sethe overhears the man's lesson, during which he teaches his nephews about the natural features of a human, drawing a thick line between a human being and an animal. He has given the precise exemplification of the difference between the human and animal world, he classifies Sethe as a representative of the animal realm. Not until she actually acknowledges that ‘the feature means something naturally assigned to a thing,’ can she understand the humiliating classification. She begins to trust in the words of Baby Suggs that "there is no bad luck in the world but white folks," (Beloved.89) seeing no other possibility than to draw a general conclusion about the racism of every single white person. The second attempt gains even more meaning when, much later in her life, Sethe is pregnant with Denver. Sethe's milk is then taken from her to feed the schoolteacher's nephews. As it is indicated, feeding white boys with Sethe's own milk is superimposed over feeding her own
White supremacy originates primarily in the degradation of black bodies in order to have control over them, which is best done through persuasion that their black bodies are ugly. Therefore, using the device of dehumanizing the body, slavery aimed first and foremost at women. Audre Lorde affirms that, when considering institutionalized slavery, it is essential to understand that more central than liberation alone was African American women's maltreatment (P.70). It was easier to enact cruelty upon women for, apart from being black, they were also most vulnerable in the black society because they were females. This fact encouraged white oppressors to abuse them sexually. In Circles of Sorrow, Lines of Struggle, …show more content…
There are two crucial moments in Sethe's life when she is submitted to the dehumanizing forces of the white oppressors. The first clearly distinguishable incident in Sethe's story that marks a turning point in her life and drastically changes her perception of the future, in early in her life, when she is put on the animal side of the list of features according to schoolteacher's education. Sethe overhears the man's lesson, during which he teaches his nephews about the natural features of a human, drawing a thick line between a human being and an animal. He has given the precise exemplification of the difference between the human and animal world, he classifies Sethe as a representative of the animal realm. Not until she actually acknowledges that ‘the feature means something naturally assigned to a thing,’ can she understand the humiliating classification. She begins to trust in the words of Baby Suggs that "there is no bad luck in the world but white folks," (Beloved.89) seeing no other possibility than to draw a general conclusion about the racism of every single white person. The second attempt gains even more meaning when, much later in her life, Sethe is pregnant with Denver. Sethe's milk is then taken from her to feed the schoolteacher's nephews. As it is indicated, feeding white boys with Sethe's own milk is superimposed over feeding her own