In Toni Morrison’s "Beloved", it is Sethe, a black woman and a former slave, who tries to find her own identity within herself through stories. She has to go back to the stories of her ancestors and to the memories she has of her life on Sweet Home in order to find out what being free really means. While trying to start a new life she listens to many stories about her past and is confronted with her own stories. In whichever form, told, sung, or danced out in front of her, the stories appear, they mark her, her daughter, and her companion’s identity.
This paper argues that stories are the marker of one’s identity. Stories, that are based upon personal experiences and tellings of others, which enter ones mind and never let go are the stories we live by and those we are to tell since “we are all storytellers, and we are the stories we tell”. Furthermore our “[…] identities are the stories we live by”.
After giving some background information to the book the paper is going to define the concepts of story, history, memory and identity, which are relevant for the thesis, afterwards it will be analyzed what impact stories can have on the life of a person and various examples from Beloved will be discussed. It will be tried to explain in which form the stories appear and how the characters deal with their life stories. In conclusion, it will be analyzed how the stories, by which Toni Morrison’s characters live, can break the silence.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Backgrounds
1.2 History
1.3 Value of History in the book
1.4 Story
1.5 Memory
1.6 Identity
2. Silence and Holes
3. Telling Stories – Gaining a Voice
4. Stories about Sweet Home - Sethe
5. Paul D
6. Being together – Sethe and Paul D
7. Denver
8. The function of Beloved
9. Songs
10. Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
This paper examines how the act of storytelling serves as a critical mechanism for identity formation and healing in Toni Morrison's novel "Beloved," arguing that acknowledging and verbalizing traumatic pasts is essential for breaking the silence imposed by the history of slavery.
- The role of memory and history in individual identity construction.
- The relationship between silence and trauma in the lives of formerly enslaved people.
- The function of storytelling and songs as a medium to transmit history and culture.
- The transformation of unspeakable past experiences into accessible knowledge.
Excerpt from the Book
3. Telling Stories – Gaining a Voice
“Throughout Morrison’s novels, women are the primary tale-tellers and the transmitters of history” (Rigney, 1991, p. 11). Morrison indicates that women learn how to tell their story from their mothers and therefore makes clear why it is much harder for Sethe to tell her story because she did never really get to know her mother. Sethes mother was never able to teach her how to love herself and how to use her voice (cf. Rigney, 1991, p. 13). In a way, Sethe lost her language (cf. Rigney, 1991, p. 68) because “one’s mother serves as the female precursor who passes on the authority of authorship to her daughter […]” (Washington, 1987, p. 147).
Additionally it is said that “Black women carry the voice of the mother and women [have to be seen] as carriers of the voice, [they] carry wisdom – mother wit” (Holloway & Demetrakopoulos., 1987, p. 123). Morrison even states that she believes that women do speak in a kind of code which can open up old sores or close them and that a woman’s voice can be the one key to break “[…] the back of words […], a wave of sound wide enough to sound like deep water and knock the pods off chestnut trees” (26; cf. Rigney, 1991, p. 9).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the significance of stories for identity and sets the academic framework for analyzing trauma and memory in the novel.
1.1 Backgrounds: Discusses the historical inspirations for the novel, specifically the life of Margaret Garner and other real-world events that influenced Morrison.
1.2 History: Defines history as a narrative of the past and examines its role in shaping the present.
1.3 Value of History in the book: Analyzes how historical horrors like the Middle Passage and the Fugitive Act are woven into the characters' personal experiences.
1.4 Story: Provides definitions of 'story' ranging from historical accounts to fictitious narratives used for communication.
1.5 Memory: Explores the concept of 'rememory' and the importance of connecting with the past to avoid losing one's present identity.
1.6 Identity: Examines identity as a dynamic, evolving construct shaped by social environments and personal life stories.
2. Silence and Holes: Investigates how enforced silence acts as a form of trauma and how the novel gives a voice to the marginalized.
3. Telling Stories – Gaining a Voice: Focuses on the transmission of knowledge between generations and the struggle to reclaim language.
4. Stories about Sweet Home - Sethe: Addresses Sethe’s internal conflict between forgetting her traumatic past at Sweet Home and acknowledging it as part of her identity.
5. Paul D: Examines Paul D’s role as a character seeking to share his burden and find a future by connecting his story with Sethe’s.
6. Being together – Sethe and Paul D: Discusses the complexities of their relationship as they navigate shared history and the haunting presence of Beloved.
7. Denver: Analyzes Denver’s perspective as a young person struggling to define herself independently of her mother’s traumatic past.
8. The function of Beloved: Interprets Beloved’s character as the embodiment of repressed memories and the collective grief of the past.
9. Songs: Explores how songs transcend traditional language to convey historical and cultural truths when speech fails.
10. Conclusion: Summarizes the necessity of confronting the past to achieve healing and suggests that storytelling is the ultimate bridge to the future.
Keywords
Toni Morrison, Beloved, Slavery, Memory, Identity, Storytelling, Silence, Trauma, History, Rememory, African American literature, Voice, Healing, Narrative, Women's roles
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this research paper primarily about?
The paper explores how storytelling and memory act as tools for identity reconstruction and trauma healing among the characters in Toni Morrison’s novel "Beloved."
What are the central thematic fields?
The main themes include the impact of the history of slavery, the psychological burden of silence, the construction of personal identity, and the power of oral traditions and song.
What is the primary objective of the work?
The goal is to demonstrate how the characters' struggle to share their stories helps them break the silence caused by slavery and gain agency over their own lives.
Which scientific methodology is used?
The author uses a literary analysis approach, drawing on concepts from identity research, historical context, and previous literary criticism of Toni Morrison's work.
What is covered in the main section of the paper?
The main section analyzes key characters—Sethe, Paul D, and Denver—and discusses how memories, songs, and the character of Beloved function as representations of the suppressed past.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include "rememory," identity, trauma, silence, slavery, narrative, and voice.
How does the author interpret the character of Beloved?
Beloved is interpreted as a physical manifestation of the repressed memories and the collective suffering of those lost to the Atlantic slave trade, forcing the other characters to confront their past.
What is the significance of the "songs" mentioned in the analysis?
Songs serve as a form of non-verbal communication that bypasses the limitations of language, allowing characters to express deep emotions and a heritage of freedom that standard speech cannot capture.
- Quote paper
- Anika Kehl (Author), 2013, How Stories break the Silence in Toni Morrison's "Beloved", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/279024
