Slavery as a life shaper

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Richard Rodriguez

IB World Literature

Word count: 800

Slavery as a life shaper

Beloved

Thesis Question: In Beloved, how does Toni Morrison develops Sethe as a dynamic character?

Thesis statement: Sethe, the main protagonist, is significantly shaped by slavery, not only influencing her past experiences, but her character in the present and her interactions with other characters.

“This is not a story to pass on” (275). Toni Morrison discuss, in Beloved, how African American slavery has  had a substantial impact on American society, it has shaped the actions of many important characters in American history. She makes references to it by describing slavery as constant conflict faced by characters. Sethe, the main protagonist, is significantly shaped by slavery, not only influencing her past experiences, but her character in the present and her interactions with other characters. The most evident features of her life, shaped by slavery are: Sethe’s setting, characterization, and inner-conflicts, which might emphasize one of the main themes of the novel “slavery as a life shaper”.

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 The setting has a great influence on Sethe’s character development due to slavery’s negative impacts. Its first feature is the time period, around the middle 1800’s. Sethe’s story not only makes allusions to slavery but also other shaping events in US history, such as the Civil War and the KKK’s formation. From Baby Suggs perspective, reflecting on Sethe’s character, describes how “she had learned…. there was no bad luck in the world but white people”(104) showing  how the unstable setting would lead Sethe to kill her daughter, in  a way to save her from the bitter life of hate ...

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