Toni Morrison uses the literal mode of magical realism in Beloved as a decolonizing agent for the post-colonial context as narrated in the story. Morrison uses both magic and realism to narrate the experiences and life of African Americans during the post-colonial period. It focuses on the experience of ex-slaves trying to rebuild their lives in the United States after being freed from slavery. Morrison also uses the narrative as a way of addressing some of the silent experiences about the African Americans under the slavery of the white man. Sethe, the protagonist in the story is from the African American because the mother was African. Her experiences during slavery and after slavery have been used to reflect on the experiences of people from the Black Community.
Morrison uses the magical aspect by involving the ghost of Sethe’s daughter to represent the dominant racial aspects during the post-colonial era. The ghost of the dead girl does not hurt anyone physically as it only moves things around as a way of showing the presence and instilling fear. The fear instilled by the ghost resembles the fear that the Black citizens portrayed when under the colonization by the white people. The ghost in the story would be used and understood in various ways. In this case, the ghost appears to represent the white people. The dead girl’s ghost would do anything in the house because she had the freedom. Denver also felt sacred when the ghost moved things around. Therefore, Denver acted like the scared African people oppressed by the white people under slavery. Eventually, the ghost disappears showing that the strong character that Sethe and Denver portrayed as the ghost attempted to scare them away. Therefore, Morrison shows that the oppression of the white people would also diminish just like the way the ghost also disappeared. The persistence and struggle of the Black people would eventually eliminate the racial hierarchical system.
Morrison uses the ghost in the house of the dead girl that was Sethe’s daughter. Ghosts are believed to walk around for two reasons; they may have unfinished business in the living world or have died a very violent death. In this case, Morrison uses the ghost to represent undermining of racial hierarchies (Ward, 2002, 12). Morrison uses flashbacks to narrate Sethe’s past as a slave based on her race. The story shows how the African Americans faced torture under the white settler who run the management of the plantations. Slavery was the gateway to the United States during the Post-Colonial Period for the Black People. Morrison narrates the struggles that Sethe endured in an attempt to escape and prevent her children from being enslaved. Sethe feared that all white people were masters of slavery. According to the story, the hierarchy based on race placed the white people as superior to the Black people. The white people would own lands and practice the freedom of human rights. They denied the Black people the freedom by oppressing them to work as slaves in their plantations (Gray, 1999, 34). Murder is among one of the consequences that the Black people faced if they attempted to disobey or run away from their White employers. Sethe’s friend was captured after fleeing the plantations and he was killed while Paul D was forced back to the plantations. Morrison shows the effect that white people had on the Black People as they instilled fear. In the final scene, Sethe sees Denver’s employer and fears that he would take away her children into slavery.
Morrison uses the ghost to undermine that racial hierarchical system that exists between the White and the Black Americans. The ghost represents the transgression of the black race from white slavery to the free nation. The ghost comes from a very dark place when Denver asks where Beloved comes from she replies from a very dark place. According to the story, the dark place being referred to would be the grave or the other side of the dead. However, the representation shows the dark side as the dark past filled with torture and struggles for the black people under the white governance. The ghost of the dead girl disappears after Paul D and Sethe get involved in a relationship but only disappears after the appearance of Denver’s white employer. However, the ghostly representation of the racial hierarchy is used by Morrison to explain the concept. Morrison also tends to show how unsuccessful the aspect of racial hierarchy is in the modern day.
Racial and social discrimination in the post-colonial period affected many black communities. However, the aspect of racial mixing through interracial marriages. Morrison shows the actions of the ghost of the dead girl in the hues initially as it moves around things making Denver scared. However, Sethe does not seem bothered the ghost haunting the house. Sethe believes that she only killed her daughter as a result of defending her children from being tortured by the white settlers under slavery (Ward, 2002, 45).
Morrison does not support the racial discrimination in the form of forced labor. He introduced the origin of the ghost as a result of being killed by the mother in attempt to escape slavery. The story ends with a happily-ever-after kind of ending that shows that after the end of slavery, Sethe and her family lived happily. Beloved disappears mysteriously and the truth of her existence was never uncovered. It gives a similarity between the disappearance of the ghost and the disappearance of the racial hierarchy that existed in the past. In the modern day, the Black community dominates many activities in leadership and the general society. It shows that after the freedom from being enslaved by the White settlers, the Black people became strong and fought for their rights. Slavery is now considered a crime against humanity in many nations. People should encourage and allow their subordinates enjoy their rights and freedom without any form of forced labor. Morrison was effective in using the narrative to address the issue of racial hierarchy and discrimination against the Black community. In the modern day, the use of the constitution ensures all peoples’ rights are addressed and people found oppressing other based on their genders or race are punished accordingly.
The narration of Beloved as written by Morrison is an excellent reflection on the History of the Black American in the United States. It clearly demonstrates the existence of racial hierarchy and discrimination that led to slavery as experienced by the main character, Sethe. Morrison also uses the aspect of symbolism; where he uses the presence of the dead girl’s ghost to represent the hierarchy based on race. He manages to convince the readers on the importance of equality regardless of social, economic, and cultural differences.
References
Gray, L. 1999. Beloved, Toni Morrison: Notes. Harlow: Longman.
Ward, S., & Horgan, P. 2002. Beloved: Toni Morrison. New York, NY: Spark Pub.
