2/4 Discussion Group 4, Beloved

Major Themes:

• Family
• Identity
• Rememory
• Community
• Love
• The supernatural

The savagery and ferocity of the institution of slavery inevitably caused the majority of its victims to suffer from physical, emotional and mental ailments.  In the novel Beloved, the toll that the dehumanizing nature of slavery took on Sethe’s psyche caused her to flirt between the line of sanity and insanity as her motherly instincts, conditioned by slavery, told her that it was better for her to murder her children than to even allow them the slightest chance to be swept away by the horrors of the South.  The distortion of the familial system is also flagrantly apparent as the vicious cycle of the destruction of natural relationships between family members is seen when Sethe reveals that her own mother was hanged for reasons she cannot recall.  The lack of a mother figure in her life along with the emotionally disfiguring scars of slavery  already put the odds against her success in motherhood, however she chose to love her children wholeheartedly, the best way she knew how.  Denver’s attachment to beloved and resentment towards her mother is finally revealed as a consequence of the absence of her father, and the vicious cycle set in motion by the destructive nature of slavery penetrates yet another generation.  

One of the most poignant points within the novel is the moment in which Schoolteacher, nephew, and the slave catcher come to retrieve Sethe and her children, planning on returning them back into slavery. It is not only a sad moment but also reflects the brutality of slavery. The fact that a mother would rather kill her children and herself rather than returning to Sweet Home is a testament to it’s physical and psychological damage as Sethe decided she would be not be hurt or taken advantage of anymore. She held back on loving her children for too long and finally had the opportunity to love them wholly at 124. Out of that love she was convinced she  was doing the right thing by not bring them back into such a terrible way of life. Also, slavery’s effects are shown within other people’s reaction to the event during the story. Slavery taught slaves to love less, if all, and to live in modesty being careful not the exude too much happiness or live in excess. So when the community saw the love and ample happiness within 124, displayed by the meals they would have, they grew jealous. To think that being so entrapped in mind by the parameters set by slave culture would cause a community to not help a family or at least warn them when people were literally coming to take away their freedom is appalling. However, it shows the lasting mental effect that slavery has on a person.