Race is one of the most prevalent causes of psychological pain in the novel. The race of all the characters in Beloved affects them in some way, whether it be direct or indirect.
One of the most prevalent ways race affected characters in the novel was by dehumanizing them. This is shown in many different ways throughout the story, but one of the best examples is on the farm, Sweet Home. Sweet Home was the plantation on which Sethe, Baby Suggs, and the Pauls were enslaved. What started as a family oriented planation eventually became strict and corrupt when the new slave master, School Teacher, took over as the owner. The way School Teacher treated his slaves was is they were not even people.
Race also affects the psychological state of the characters in Beloved by separating them from society. This sort of isolation causes many of the main characters emotional turmoil. This is seen most clearly in the two main characters, Sethe and Denver. Denver is already separated from her peers by the stigma surrounding her family. Race only adds a degree of separation between her and the rest of the community. Race is one of the main contributing factors to Sethe’s descent into insanity other than the events surrounding Beloved. Most of the traumatic events that had occurred in her life were due to her color. So, even though her race was not the direct cause of her insanity, Sethe was very harshly affected by other’s perceptions of her due to her ethnicity.
One of the most prevalent ways race affected characters in the novel was by dehumanizing them. This is shown in many different ways throughout the story, but one of the best examples is on the farm, Sweet Home. Sweet Home was the plantation on which Sethe, Baby Suggs, and the Pauls were enslaved. What started as a family oriented planation eventually became strict and corrupt when the new slave master, School Teacher, took over as the owner. The way School Teacher treated his slaves was is they were not even people.
Race also affects the psychological state of the characters in Beloved by separating them from society. This sort of isolation causes many of the main characters emotional turmoil. This is seen most clearly in the two main characters, Sethe and Denver. Denver is already separated from her peers by the stigma surrounding her family. Race only adds a degree of separation between her and the rest of the community. Race is one of the main contributing factors to Sethe’s descent into insanity other than the events surrounding Beloved. Most of the traumatic events that had occurred in her life were due to her color. So, even though her race was not the direct cause of her insanity, Sethe was very harshly affected by other’s perceptions of her due to her ethnicity.