Invincible Supernatural Slavery

I noticed there was a lot of discussion surrounding Morrison's choice to use supernatural elements in her book. in many class discussions, the theme of how"nothing ever dies" frequently came up and led me to think about the meaning behind the Ghost of Beloved. As I read the book, there were several moments where Morrison illustrated how nothing ever died. In Sethe's "rememories", nothing ever went away. All the trauma Paul D locks up his heart (his tin can) never really goes away as well and later on both Sethe and Paul D have to face their traumas that resurface. In this way, I think it's interesting to think about slavery in that context. Although many people like to dismiss the effects of slavery as an "event of the past" that "happened 400 years ago" and people need to "get over" the effects have tremendous impacts on people that we are still dealing with. The fact that Morrison forces her readers to have this view of slavery and become attached to Sethe before they learn about her crime, opens their eyes to understanding the true horrors of slavery and what that does to someone. Though an absolutely horrendous crime, Morrison makes her readers see how little choice Sethe truly had in the matter. Because the circumstances of slavery meant a worse life for her children if they stayed alive, the option of death makes a lot more sense.

As I continued to think about the effects of slavery, the physical representation of Sethe's actions through Beloved coming back made more and more sense. What better way to constantly remind her of the life she has lived, and remind the readers of the lingering effects of slavery. Not only does this supernatural element add enticement to the book, hooking the readers into a hauntingly beautiful ghost story, it serves the purpose of forcing readers to remember Slavery as an event that still impacts people to this day. Without Beloved truly coming back in a physical form to haunt Sethe from more than the dead, there wouldn't be as great of an impact on the readers. The haunting of Beloved physically sucking the life out of Sethe illustrates the tremendous effects of Slavery that impact people so strongly despite being largely dismissed by some people.

I wonder how the book would've been without Beloved coming back, and if Sethe truly would have ever had to go through the process of healing from the events she lived through. I think Beloved's physical presence was crucial in both Sethe and Paul D's journey of healing, and in reminding readers that nothing ever truly dies, no matter how much time passes. This book serves a greater purpose beyond the thrilling story it depicts. The issue of many events in history that negatively impact people of color being written off as not as bad, and undeserving of attention "so long after it happened" is a prevalent thing in our society. Frequently, the experiences of people of color are dismissed as being too sensitive, and too quick to assume racist intentions. However, the racist nature of our society itself is to blame for these events,  and furthermore, the trend of wanting people to "get over" things quickly invalidates their experiences, only adding to the systematic issues of our world. Part of the power of the novel Beloved comes from the jarring facts of slavery readers are forced to experience through Sethe. Beloved physical reincarnation only adds to that, reminding readers that this event cannot be written off a solved, mirroring many of the events we see today.