Inhumanization And Destructions Of Black Identity In Toni Morrison's Beloved
1376 Words6 Pages
Aanan Rahman
Purna Chowdury
American Classics
Oct 18, 2014
The Dehumanization and Destructions of Black Identity
There are three major themes that is prevalent in Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved; root, identity and sense of community. The novel demonstrates in multiple ways how oppressive period of slavery has affected the African American identity. In Beloved, Morrison exposes the consequences of the inhumanities of the slavery system on the culture of African Americans. Beloved shows the trauma of injustice and oppression and how victims of slavery struggled to create a new identity. This is seen through the character present in the novel; Paul D with his failure to feel emotion, Sethe with her deprivation of emotional bonding with her…show more content… In spite of his motivations to endure and persevere, the animalistic treatment he experienced is the reason he has turned him into an emotionless man with a fragmented identity even after achieving his freedom. There were many events which led up to Paul D incapacity to feel emotions, one of which was the use of the infamous bit on him. Many slaves had to experience the torture of having a bit in their mouth; for Paul D it was not the torture which was the breaking point but, instead, the feeling of inferiority towards an animal. These feelings were towards a rooster named Mister; to Paul D, Mister was a far more superior being compared to him. Mister was allowed to be what he was without fear of punishment, whereas Paul D was constantly being punished for being…show more content… It was terrible for the great number of African Americans that had to endure the traumatic experience of slaver; the physical abuse, the mental abuse, the slow destruction of an immensely rich culture. Morrison’s novel Beloved responds to the dehumanization and humiliating treatment of slaves is the cause of their inability to create new identities for themselves. It deals with the degrading treatment of male salves in order to destroy their masculinity. The systematic treatment of females in order to terminate any bonds that might occur with their off springs. Finally the subhuman treatment of slaves which slowly lead them to believes that they truly are subpar. Morrison is demonstrating that these heinous acts are the reason why slaves were not able to move forward and create new individual and community identities for