Gender is a significant role in determining ones self. Gender in sex terms, shows whether we're male or female; in social roles it determines many more complex things. Gender has always been a way to show citizens how to behave or what role they should take in their society. In society now, for example, gender can determine how much you get paid or what kind of job you get, for instance. Back in the 1900s however, gender determined what role you played in society, referring to slavery. White man where usually owners of farmers and plantations. White women were usually social figures in society. Black men were most likely bought and sold to work as slaves on plantains, while the black women were bought and sold to be house keepers, nannies and sometimes work with the men in the fields of the plantation. A lot of these gender roles can be easily seen when reading 'beloved' and they tend to play a huge part in shaping the novel. In Morrison's novel, Toni really seems to focus on the women roles in all of his novels. In beloved Morrison shows the terror and horror of being a women slave in this time period. Rape was something that was normal and accepted amongst the white slave owners and the women slaves. However, rape often ended in pregnancy, which is what happened in Sethes case, once pregnant with "beloved" Sethe knew of the terror her baby girl was going to have to face. Once born, "beloved" was awfully murdered by Sethe to protect her from the life she was going to have to live.