Symbols

1.) Sethe's milk- produced to feed babies but Schoolteacher's nephews steal this from Sethe which she sees as the worst thing they could have done to her. This dehumanizing experience scared Sethe as badly as her whippings.
2.) Paul D's Tobacco Tin- this is Paul D's way of expressing how he locks his memories away, like storing tobacco for cigarettes, so that he doesn't have to think about them until he needs to.
3.)Chokecherry tree- stands for the brutality that people endured while serving as slaves and even could represent the burden that Sethe will always carry with her or the internal scarring she will always have similar to that which is carved into her back.
4.) Stamp Paid's Red Ribbon- represents the pain and torment that slavery caused and what was lost to everyone as a whole that was abused during slavery.
5.)124 the house- this represents the number of children Sethe had and how the third child she had was removed from the sequence just as the number is.

Historical Significance

A. Invention of the cotton gin in 1793

- Created by Eli Whitney this machine allowed for  seed separation from cotton fiber which farmers could save many hours workers would have to pull in order to separate seed from fiber.

B. Margaret Garner

-Former Kentucky slave that escaped over Ohio River with family and four children as she and her family were about to be brought back by their masters she grabbed a knife, slit her baby girls throat, and attempted killing her other children and herself but was captured before she could complete her task. Inspiration for Toni Morrison's Beloved.

C. Fugitive Slave Law (1850)

- Anyone aiding fugitive slaves will be imprisoned and fined, slaves that escape from masters may be captured and returned, even if they make it to a free state, if person is suspicious of fugitive slave they can take them in without any proof or warrant to be claimed. 

D. Supreme Court Decision of 1857 (Dred Scott Case)

-Scott went to court for freedom in 1857 and through a long period of time the court decided that all slaves and those that were free could never be citizens of the U.S and could not sue in court and the federal government did not have the power to prohibit slavery in its territories. Scott stayed a slave.

E. Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

-freed slaves in states that had seceded from the Union during the Civil War.

F. Thirteenth Amendment (1865)

- this abolished slavery and involuntary services in the U.S.

G. Klu Klux Klan(1866 )

- Originated for confederate army veterans that walked around as the 'ghosts' of the rebellion. Soon after established these men started harassing the black population especially those that acted as if they had the rights of white people.

H. Reconstruction

- post Civil War attempts to rebuild nation, and reconstruct Southern states.

Characteristics of the Genre:

As a contemporary novel, Beloved also resembles the ghost story, a mystery, and a work of historical fiction. Morrison's novel is steeped in popular black culture, its music and folklore. Her novels juxtapose and combine joy and pain, laughter and tears, and love and death. These same combinations are the essence of blues, jazz, and spirituals.The tradition of black female writers is also a strong factor-Phyllis Wheatley and Lucy Terry (1st published black females in America who were also slaves), Zora Neale Hurston ( Harlem Renaissance) and Maya Angelou and Alice Walker (Women's Rights Movement and Black Rights Movement). She relies heavily on both oral tradition, and the slave narrative. Writing in the 20th Century, Toni Morrison's purpose is still a corrective one: the history of slavery must not be forgotten. Her purpose is to 'fill in the blanks that traditional slave narrative left.'

Themes

When significant issues are ignored or neglected they will soon resurface as much worse matters. Each person in this novel has a terrifying past tied to memories of slavery and the trauma they faced as not being people but worth less than livestock. Many of these men and women have chosen, like Sethe and Paul D, to repress the past. There really can't be a solution to this problem of the past if the people that cling to its memory also turn their backs on it in disgust.They each must learns to accept and deal with the past . Only then can a future be found.

Race and racism- and possibly what does it mean to be human. This is amplified by the actions of Schoolteacher and what he promotes through his students. Much of the novel focuses on a community of ex-slaves and how they manage to get on track with their lives. But this man tries to blur the line between how African-slaves are characterized as animals. The novel also addresses the concern of whether it is better to endure the injustices of an unfeeling people or to fight against them.

Freedom is a theme and what it would take to become free. We must look at the actions Sethe partook in to keep her, and her children's freedom- was it worth it? Halle worked difficult hours on top of his slavery to buy his mothers freedom not soon after he has a family then goes crazy still as a slave. Can it really be considered freedom if it is bought? What does freedom mean to us if the memories of being forced into slavery haunt every corner in the new life because we are all vulnerable to out minds.

Perhaps the theme of guilt or strong emotions can lead to the thorough demise. We see Sethe initially weakened or broken down by her overpowering memories and emotions linked to those. In countries that partake in war do we not see examples of emotion breaking or strengthening them? Think about Germany in the Holocaust, or the U.S in its own wars- especially after Pearl Harbor. 

Explanation of Bibcial Allusions

The Beginning

The novel opens with this:

I will call them my people,

Which were not my people;

And her beloved,

Which was not beloved.

Romans 9:25

This reference comes from a book of the New Testament written by the apostle Paul. Before leaving for Rome, he sends a letter stating his beliefs. He discusses the nature of God's relationship with humanity.  He also raises the problem of the justice of God, power mixed with mercy, even if it leads to problems. This chapter, despite its examination of the evils on earth, ends on a note of reconciliation.  This allusion mainly refers to the closeness of the black community and how they had so much power over one another.  The fact that no one told Sethe of the horsemen show that, as a group there was a decision not to help Sethe and the power to change her life forever.

Loaves and Fish

This line is used to describe Baby Suggs' feast for the others in the community. This allusion comes from Matthew 15-16, Mark 6, and Luke 9. They all mention the miracle of Jesus feeding the thousands with 5 loaves of bread and two fish.  In the book, this shows how Baby Suggs tried to benefit all with what little she often had.

The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse

When Schoolteacher comes to get Sethe, Morrison describes the group as "four horsemen." The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are described in Revelation 6. The chapter tells of a scroll in God's right hand that is sealed with seven seals. When the first four of these seals are opened, four horsemen appear.

"And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering and to conquer.

And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.And there went out another hourse that was red: and power was given him that sat thereon to take peace from the Earth, and that they should kill one another: and tehre was given unto him a great sword.

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

And when he had opened hte fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and beheld a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth." Revelation 6: 2-8

These four horsemen of both the Bible and Beloved bring about a change in the lives of others and share the characteristics described above.

Pride

Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

This verse form the book of Proverbs relates to the actions of the community after the feast by Baby Suggs. Although Baby Suggs was kind enough to let the whole community participate in the feast and celebration for her family, the community seemed to let pride get the best of them and revert to jealousy and despise. Much like the verse says, pride goes before destruction, and just as the community turned their back on Baby Suggs and her family, the destruction of the life and home she created followed.  This Biblical allusion also refers to how Sethe was not sorry for killing her oldest daughter and, instead, drove Paul D away and began to whither under Beloved's control.

Old AP Qestions

Beloved has been listed on Question#3 the following years: 1990, 1999, 2001, 2002(B), and 2003

AP Question #3 (1990)

 Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.

AP Question #3 (1999)

The eighteenth-century British novelist Laurence Sterne wrote, "No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man's mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time."

From a novel or play choose a character (not necessarily the protagonist) whose mind is pulled in conflicting directions by two compelling desires, ambitions, obligations, or influences. Then, in a well-organized essay, identify each of the two conflicting forces and explain how this conflict with one character illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. You may use one of the novels or plays listed below or another novel or work of similar literary quality.

AP Question #3 (2003)

According to critic Northrop Frye, "Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divisive lightning." Select a novel or play in which a tragic figure functions as an instrument of the suffering of others. Then write an essay in which you explain how the suffering brought upon others by that figure contributes to the tragic vision of the work as a whole.

Setting of Beloved

Beloved is set during an appalling period in America's history: the years before, during, and immediately after the Civil War. After the Civil War. After the Civil War ended, life was still dreadful for black people, whether slaves or freed. While the action of the novel covers only a brief time, by use of flashback approximately 50 years is covered. Although other places are mentioned, the two major setting are Sweet Home in Kentucky and 124 Bluestone Road outside Cincinnati, Ohio.