Dismantling Identity: The Portrayal of Slavery's Impact in Toni Morrison's Beloved

Abstract

Differences among individuals have always created trouble for those regarded as “the other.” African Americans are no exception, they were and still are racially discriminated. From the time of slavery and even long after its abolition, they were always regarded with inferiority and hatred and rarely enjoyed the status of American citizens. As a consequence, they faced a history full of traumatic experiences that had different physical and psychological impacts on many generations. This work investigates the impact of slavery on the African Americans' identity by referring to Toni Morrison’s masterpiece Beloved. How Morrison’s protagonist exemplifies the experience of slavery lived by many African American slaves is at the heart of this research; shedding light on the traumatic impacts of slavery and the physical abuse to the dehumanization by the white supremacists, which are true hidden facts that were barely present in the books of history, the author endeavors to rewrite the past to highlight its darkest side. Beloved works to mirror the consequences of those experiences on those traumatized selves by tackling the darkest element of the protagonist’s life. In doing so, Morrison gives voice to the pain and wounds of those African Americans who were never heard.