Freedom In Toni Morrison's Beloved

The theme primarily focused on in this analytical response on Beloved is the idea of freedom. Rhetorically, this means many things; freedom from slavery; freedom from tyranny; freedom from persecution, freedom from horrible past events. Freedom to speak one's mind and express themselves; freedom of religion; freedom with security, and freedom from danger and the fear that comes with it. Freedom in Beloved is a mixed area, a gray area that is. It focuses on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual devastation that all slaves have suffered from. This devastation still plagues the three main characters in the story, even if they are free from slavery. One of the problems of them not being “free,” is their lack of sense of identity as human …show more content…
The true scars of slavery are not apparent. They are the loss of humanity through the loss of freedom. It is fluent to explore the obvious violation of freedom that is slavery. Yes, the enslaved cannot choose where they go, what they do, or even whether they live or die. However, Morrison investigates a deeper notion of freedom. Freedom is a cloudy term, and various ideologies perceive it differently. However, while it is plainly difficult to define what we mean when we throw around the word freedom, we treat freedom like a unity. For such a complex, ill-defined construct, freedom is deployed in literature and society exceedingly often. Morrison deconstructs this unity, overturning the assumptions attached to the …show more content…
Baby Suggs’ identity included her children, and their wellbeing was hers. Slavery robbed her of their lives, which did more damage to her than if it had robbed her of her own. The gift of actual freedom from slavery meant nothing to her since all that mattered to her was her children. Thus, slavery’s true violation of natural human freedom was stripping Baby Suggs of her ability to have value in her life. Human beings can still exist in terrible conditions, and still, possess freedom despite their circumstances because of the meaning they derive from each other. This is the “blessing” that temporarily made Sweet Home indeed a sweet home for Sethe and her small and broken family; she had the ability to experience a connection with her husband and children. Stripping humans from each other, and causing isolation from human connection, is the essence of the dehumanization of slavery. One of the key centers of human freedom is the ability to share in the human experience with others. Denver, despite never living the life of a slave, also struggles for her own freedom. After witnessing her life torn apart by the events that happen to her mother from slavery's curse, she isolates herself to her secret room. Denver develops a great distrust of the world because of her seclusion, and never ever leaves the house. She holds in all her emotions, along with her