Beloved

8 Pages 1959 Words

Toni Morrison, in her novel, Beloved, uses plant life, such as trees, to represent sources of healing, comfort and life, in a world where it is hard to find hope. These images of trees are an escape from the brutal world of slavery that the characters of Sethe, Paul D and Baby Suggs faced in Beloved. For these characters, trees brought hope against the white men who brought only fear and sadness. For Sethe, trees are associated with her escaping toward freedom. They also are used to mask the realities of her former slave life. Paul D uses trees as a place of comfort, while Baby Suggs uses trees as a way to make a difference. But the ability of trees to function as centers of solace and peace is complicated by the way white men have perverted their natural function. Trees are naturally supposed to provide joy and bring peace, yet in Beloved, they are also used as sites for lynches and burnings. Just as white men destroyed the lives of slaves, white men have distorted the function of trees as gatherers of happiness and hope for the future. The connotation that trees have for Sethe, Paul D and Baby Suggs are altered by the images that slave holders have created. Because of this, nature has a split meaning for the former slaves in Beloved. Sometimes, the concepts of trees bring hope for a better life and soften the blows of slavery, while other times, trees hold with them the memories of a life filled with shamefulness and brutality brought on by the white slave owners.
Each main character in Beloved has a special idea of what trees represent. But for every happy idea that each character has about trees, there is the opposite meaning conveyed in the characters mind that reminds them of their traumatic past. Sethe, Paul D, and Baby Suggs peaceful memories about trees are paralleled with memories from the darker side of humanity.
For Sethe, trees are a symbol of masking the true horror she has faced in her life. The beau...