Beloved Healing
Beloved - HealingThe theme of “healing” is ever present in the novel, Beloved by Toni Morrison. Many forms of “healing” take place, with many different characters undergoing the “healing” process. These forms of “healing” range from healing personal conflicts from within, to healing as a community, and by overcoming individual prejudices. I feel that the overcoming of individual prejudices is one of the most important aspects of this novel. Throughout the story, Sethe (the main character) has many encounters with a variety of people. These encounters leave a definite impression on her, which is why I think that Sethe does the most “healing,” both from within and by overcoming her own prejudices. The meeting of Sethe and Amy Denver is the focal point of Sethe’s “healing.” This takes place when Sethe (being pregnant) is a slave on the run and goes into labor. She meets Amy Denver, an indentured servant who is leaving to Boston. At first, Amy doesn’t seem that she wants to help Sethe because of her skin color, while Sethe isn’t too trusting of Amy’s white skin. Sethe later states, “You don’t know how they’ll jump. Say one thing do another”(Morrison 77). This kind of distrust is present in Sethe when she tells Amy that her name is “Lu.” The combination of Amy’s nonchalant attitude, and Sethe’s distrust displays the prejudices of society at the time. As Sethe and Amy converse, Sethe realizes that Amy is unlike any other white person she has ever met. After Amy tells Sethe about her situation, and that her “employer also beat her” Sethe realizes that not all whites were the slave owners, but in fact some were indentured servants. Amy then begins to massage Sethe’s swollen feet, and says, “More it hurt, more better it is. Can’t nothing heal without pain, you know” (Morrison 78). I think that at that point Sethe begins build trust towards trust Amy. Amy then goes and finds spider webs to heal Sethe’s bleeding back, which displays Amy showing a little compassion and trust towards Sethe. As Amy again massages Sethe’s feet, the reader begins to feel like they are no longer just black and white, but actual people that have feelings. I think that Morrison wants the reader to get this feeling that people are people and not property. I feel Amy agrees with this, but at the same time the prejudices in the society that she has grown up in makes her say things like, “She...
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