Responding and Reflecting: New Historical Lens

After finishing the book Beloved and reading the historical context that occurred in the book I now have a different kind of perspective on how colored people and white people were treated and how separated they were to now (present). I also learned more historical context that I haven't learned or at least wasn't taught enough in History classes. I was disgusted and shocked how African slaves were treated in the book. The stories that were told in Beloved showed how bad the slaves were treated and the embarrassment they were put through. All the pain and suffrage that the African Americans went through during the mid-1800s and the way they are treated is completely different, and what shocks me is all the history of African Americans and how segregated they were from the white people.

I've learned some facts on how slaves were treated and how African Americans were treated during that time, but I didn't know actually understand or really see what they went through. After reading Paul D’s, Sethe's, Stamp Paids and other characters stories it saddens me to know the trauma they went through and how all that trauma affected them in their lives after they were freed. The past is always haunting especially if you have something that reminds of that traumatic past. For example, Beloved is Sethe’s painful memory because Beloved reminds Sethe of her past when she was a slave. Beloved is what brings Sethe back to her past, she wants Sethe to know who she is and what she did to her. Having Beloved at 124 is what makes Sethe weaker and weaker, and once Beloved sees that she is draining Sethe and once she is finished she leaves.

Once I started reading Beloved and the more I got into the more I was confused. I understood the stories that were told and why it was painful for them to remember, but I couldn't understand why Beloved was there and what her purpose was in the book. After reading the end I finally I understood Beloved’s purpose in the book. Beloved helped each character in some way, even though she made them weaker and separated them she made learn and reflect from their pasts. By doing so Beloved stayed because the longer she stayed the more Sethe, Paul D and the other characters would start thinking about Beloved, realizing who she really was, why she came back and what led to Sethe killing her and the events that made Sethe make all her choices. Bringing back their pasts made them weaker which made them stronger in the end because talking about their past and understanding their pasts helps them move on and let go of all the pain and anger they had stuck inside.

Toni Morrison brings life lessons to readers of Beloved by letting readers know more about African Americans and and how they were treated as slaves and in general. It makes us think how racism and discrimination are now a days and how they were during that time period. Makes us think how lucky we are that we treat each other with more dignity and equal. Beloved also teaches us to let go and move on from the past because from all the mistakes that we made or make in life we end up learning from them in the end.