Family
Most slave families were separated and bought by different slaveholders. Sethe was left an orphan, and Baby Suggs lost all of her children but Halle. Beloved shows by the relations among those at Sweet Home and the community in Cincinnati that family isn't always blood relatives, and it's much easier to have others to rely on than let pride force you to fend for yourself.
Most slave families were separated and bought by different slaveholders. Sethe was left an orphan, and Baby Suggs lost all of her children but Halle. Beloved shows by the relations among those at Sweet Home and the community in Cincinnati that family isn't always blood relatives, and it's much easier to have others to rely on than let pride force you to fend for yourself.
Slavery
Beloved is all about slavery and exposing the effect it had on people. A slave owner treats his slaves as "real men", and his successor treats them as no more than animals. Sethe murdered one of her children to prevent her from being taken back to the abuse she herself had experienced over her life. Slaves were told they were less than human and that their value could be expressed in dollars. Many lost their sense of self and their true worth, left wondering if they could even call themselves "real men".
Beloved is all about slavery and exposing the effect it had on people. A slave owner treats his slaves as "real men", and his successor treats them as no more than animals. Sethe murdered one of her children to prevent her from being taken back to the abuse she herself had experienced over her life. Slaves were told they were less than human and that their value could be expressed in dollars. Many lost their sense of self and their true worth, left wondering if they could even call themselves "real men".
The past
Sethe believes that the past never really disappears, and that if you go to a place you can still feel the things that took place there, no matter how long ago. No one can completely leave their past behind, and the past haunts the community more than anyone is willing to admit. In the end Beloved is almost like a dream, like she had never been. But traces remain, she isn't entirely forgotten. Forgetting the past is like forgetting yourself. Sethe believes the past should be left in the past, but can not forget it without losing herself.
Sethe believes that the past never really disappears, and that if you go to a place you can still feel the things that took place there, no matter how long ago. No one can completely leave their past behind, and the past haunts the community more than anyone is willing to admit. In the end Beloved is almost like a dream, like she had never been. But traces remain, she isn't entirely forgotten. Forgetting the past is like forgetting yourself. Sethe believes the past should be left in the past, but can not forget it without losing herself.
Community
Community and being part of a community can help one discover themselves, as shown by Sethe during her twenty-eight days of freedom and Denver when she finally leaves 124 and becomes a part of society. Paul D and the other prison inmates in Georgia were not able to escape alone, only when they worked together. The community prevents Sethe from murdering Mr. Bodwin and hurting her family further. The community failed to warn Sethe of the arrival of the schoolteacher, allowing the death of her daughter. It tries to make up for it later by exorcising beloved and releasing Sethe and itself from the past. Community is an important part of everything that happens in Beloved, having the ability to both help and hurt its members. Community is something bigger, that can sometimes help you find yourself and learn your own worth.
Community and being part of a community can help one discover themselves, as shown by Sethe during her twenty-eight days of freedom and Denver when she finally leaves 124 and becomes a part of society. Paul D and the other prison inmates in Georgia were not able to escape alone, only when they worked together. The community prevents Sethe from murdering Mr. Bodwin and hurting her family further. The community failed to warn Sethe of the arrival of the schoolteacher, allowing the death of her daughter. It tries to make up for it later by exorcising beloved and releasing Sethe and itself from the past. Community is an important part of everything that happens in Beloved, having the ability to both help and hurt its members. Community is something bigger, that can sometimes help you find yourself and learn your own worth.