Beloved Summary

The novel, “Beloved” written by Toni Morrison is a story about slavery in the post civil war period in America. Inspired by the story of Margaret Garner, an African American who escaped slavery in Kentucky in January 1856 and went to Ohio. In Morrison’s novel, the novel is centered around Sethe, who lives at 124 Bluestone Road, more commonly referred to as 124. 124 has a haunted past, primarily due to the fact that Sethe allegedly killed her infant child inside. This killing prompted the departure of her two sons, who have fled. Currently, Sethe resides in the house with her daughter Denver, who she treats with sincere kindness. Sethe has witnessed the horrors of slavery, and does everything in her power to make sure that her daughter Denver does not have to experience the tragedies that she had to bear. The novel is told from the perspective of a slave living in a post civil war environment, where slavery was still very much alive.

There is something eerie about Sethe still residing in the house where she allegedly killed her infant child, even more chilling is that she brought another child into her life and continues to reside in the same house. Sethe’s child Denver is isolated from the other local children due to the fact that she lives in a haunted house. From the perspective of a child, you can not push blame onto them for having a fear of Denver and the house she resides in since the theory that an infant child was killed there runs rampant in the community.

It is important to take note of the fact that this is not like a “normal” novel about slavery. Most works on slavery go into great depths about day to day activites, primarily focused on the atrocities that they witnessed. Beloved is more focused on a personal story, and I think that this is the most interesting aspect of the novel.