Examine Beloved as a novel of destructiveness of love.

Examine Beloved as a novel of the destructiveness of love

Beloved as a novel of the destructiveness of love

                               

"Beloved" is a novel of the destructiveness of love by Toni Morrison. The main theme of this novel is slavery. Love plays a very vital role in this novel of slavery. She was awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize in 1993 in literature. This American novelist was also awarded, Pulitzer Prize in 1988. She is a novelist who hates slavery from the core of her heart.  Truly speaking, racism is a big threat to the development of a country. She followed the 16th American President Abraham Lincoln,   Martin   Luther   King   Junior, and   Nelson Mandela. Slavery is an inhuman practice. 


Sethe is the protagonist of "Beloved". She was a victim of racial violence. She was sold as a slave when she was 13 years old. This novel shows us the miserable

condition of the slaves. She had four children including two daughters. She loved them a lot. She did not want to see them as slaves. She opined that dying is better than living as a slave.  So,  she wanted to kill all her children but she was able to kill only her eldest daughter. She killed her with her own knife. In "Oroonoko" by Aphra Behn (Honours Third Year) we see that the protagonist Oroonoko killed her own wife Imoinda with his own hand. Imoinda requested him to kill her because she did not want her upcoming child to lead a life as a slave. This is called destructiveness of love. It is discussed below. 

Sethe was the most important character of this famous novel. She loved her children more than her life. In fact, every mother loves her child more than her life. This is the go of the world. Mother is the dearest person in the world. Sethe looked after her children always. It was her prime duty. She was a slave and she did not want her children to be slaves in the future. Because the life of a slave is very painful and unhappy. The white people think that black people are animals who have no human rights.  So,  they tortured the Negro physically as well as mentally. Toni Morrison shows the real picture of racial America in this novel.

Indisputably, she is a tragic character. She suffered a lot in her whole life.  She was sold as a slave to the plantation of Mr. Garner. The name of this plantation was Sweet Home.  She was the only female slave in this plantation. Other male slaves are Sixo, Paul D, Paul F, Paul A, Halle. Paul A, Paul S and Paul were brothers. She had to face the lusty violence from her male slaves. She fell in love with Halle. He was a kind and good male slave. He also loved her deeply. Later on, they married each other. She became a mother of three children by Halle. Her sons were Howard and Buglar and only daughter was unnamed. It must be mentioned that her master Mr. Garner and Mrs. Garner were very kind and affectionate. They had humanity. When Mr. Garner died, a school teacher became the owner of the plantation. The school teacher was a deadly racist. He tortured the slaves. The slaves were extremely dissatisfied with his behavior.

He was a racist like Mary Turner of "The The grass is Singing" by Doris Lessing. Sethe and other slaves planned to escape from the plantation. They tried but some of them were captured. Sethe was captured but she was pregnant at that time. The nephews of the school teacher violated her physically. Later, the school teacher whipped her severely. Her husband Halle was also captured and he was tortured cruelly. To see the painful condition of his wife Sethe, he became mad. The school teacher killed Sixo, a good slave. Regarding slavery, Sethe says,

"Those white things have taken all I had or dreamed. There is no bad luck in the world but white people."

 Sethe escaped from the plantation somehow. Before that, she sent her three children to her mother-in-law named Baby Suggs. Baby Suggs was also a slave. Sethe became senseless in a forest. Later on, a white girl named Amy Denver saved and took care of her. With the help of Amy Denver, Sethe gave birth to a daughter in the boat. Since Amy Denver helped her a lot, she named her newly born child Denver. Later, she went to her own house at 124 with her new daughter. She passed 28 days in her house with Baby Suggs. The school teacher went to her house to capture her and her children. She fled from her house with her children. She wanted to kill all her children because she did not want to see them as slaves. She killed her eldest daughter with her knife. This daughter is none but Beloved. That is, we can say that Beloved is the spirit of her dead daughter. After the death of Baby Suggs, Howard and Buglar left their mother because they were certain that their mother Sethe would kill them. But her youngest daughter Denver did not leave. She was not scared of her mother.

In fine, we can say that "Beloved" is a novel of the destructiveness of love. The suffering of slaves beggar description. Toni Morrison says that love is very powerful and it can win the heart of any person. Sethe shows her deep love for her children. She was alive because of her children. Her affair with Halle deserves our appreciation.  Truly speaking, human love is more important than anything in the world. Toni Morrison has earned name and fame for this tremendous novel