Past In Toni Morrison's Beloved

In the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison, the past has a crucial effect on individual’s futures. Throughout the novel, each individual's history brings an impact to the four main characters: Sethe, Paul D., Denver and Beloved. Morrison presented each character with different traits to present his theme, don't let the past affect the future. Sethe is one of the four main characters that lets her past play a harsh effect in her individual future. In 1855, Sethe escaped from the cruel occupation of being a slave in the state of Kentucky. While Sethe was a slave in Kentucky, she worked on a plantation, which is commonly referred to throughout the novel as “Sweet Home”. In the novel, Sethe lets this harsh period of her past affect her future by …show more content…
Denver asking about Sweet Home is an example of Sethe letting her past affect her future, Sethe mentioning it in the present to Denver and expresses how much of an impact it has on her life. Sethe also witnessed the traumatic accident of the death of her first born daughter while trying to protect her from a slave owner, that at the time they were escaping from Sweet Home. The death of Sethe’s daughter affects her and the plot of the novel tremendously by giving a reason of Sethe and her family to be haunted. Sethe’s daughter's death effects Sethe’s life everyday because of her constantly receiving reminders of it whether she wants them or not. The reminders that Sethe and Denver receive of their deceased relative is the occurrence of Beloved, a spiritual figure that appears to force Denver and Sethe to recall the memories of their …show more content…
Beloved’s appearance in the novel is significant because she relates with Sethe like she is the daughter Sethe lost previously. The character Beloved, overall represents the past returning to haunt the present. Beloved is a symbol for Sethe’s past because of the relation to her dead baby. Beloved’s relation to Sethe’s deceased baby is the bond between the two and the immediate knowledge they had of each other. Beloved gives Sethe the feeling of her water breaking just like her dead baby daughter gave her when she was born, late on in the novel Beloved’s skin is viewed as almost wet as if she was just born. When Beloved comes into Sethe and Denver’s life, it is their past coming back forcing them to remember their harsh history. Beloved is the present day form of each character's problems in the past, therefore adds to the theme, don’t let the past affect the future. According to Dictonary.com the word “Beloved” is given the definition of “a person who is greatly