Beloved by Toni Morrison - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages It is then left up to them to put the pieces together. The use of the juxtaposition approach of the present and past fulfill that purpose of reinforcing the idea that the past continues to exist in the present. The fact that Morrison is putting the story in fragments, puts the story into one piece that is inseparable . He forces his reader to put the pieces back together. He puts them in a position where they are forced to think of the pieces. The readers are also further forced to think and consider the worth of each piece. When it comes to the style that has been used in the novel, Morrison’s artistry is considered to be nothing but breathe taking. Beloved is a novel that is very complex, and the plot is mainly told by use of flashbacks, which incorporates stories that retold in different perspectives. The novel has a loose structure that was intentionally assigned to it. The plot does not flow in a straight line. The plot meanders, with several flashbacks though forty year since the time when Sethe was born in the year 1835, till when the novel comes to an end in 1875. The plot of the novel revolves around 1873. With the arrival of Paul D in 124 Bluestone , a number of flashbacks come into play. The reason for this is the fact that Paul D and Sethe constantly tend to dwell on a number of issues about their lives. Although the setting of the novel is in 124 Bluestone, the flash backs take the reader to a number of locations, with the inclusion of Kentucky, where Hale, Sethe and Paul D were slaves on a plantation that was known as sweet home plantation. The story goes as far as to the Ohio river, which serves as a line of demarcation between states of slaves, the free states in addition to the place that Denver was born. The flash backs go as far as Delaware, where a weaver woman lived with Paul D for a number of years. Back to the clearing, where the preaching of Baby Suggs was done to the black people, to encourage them to develop a love for themselves, and finally to the lands that were outside sweet home, which is where Paul D and Sixo were captured, and sadly where Sixo met his end and was burnt. The flashbacks are mainly a means of storytelling, which is also a means for the slaves to be able to cope with some of their repressed memories of the past. As the characters remember their stories, it gives the novel a different twist. At the end of the novel, all the pieces fit together. The structure of the novel is a compound of ever-changing perspectives. All the characters, with the inclusion of the dead ones and those that are half alive, have a section of the story in which they tell. At one instance, Paul D and Sethe share flashbacks that are eventually combined into one, (chapter two). There is also an instance in which the point of view transitions gently between four of the characters who are white. Their conversation is a revelation of how some people may view slaves as nothing other than tamed animals. The variance in the various perspectives creates a tapestry of interesting individuals, who are linked with the present and the past, into forming a community. Another perfect example is the instance in which Paul D and Sethe give their narration of the experience of the corn field. Another instance is made the four men on horses when to Sethe. The use of this mechanism dares to challenge the idea of the singularity, which presents history in an objective manner. Perhaps ...Download file to see next pagesRead More