Slavery, Ghosts, and Beloved: Crash Course Literature 214 - YouTube (2)
The novel itself is a dialogue with the American idea of itself and with the original American
sin of slavery, and it tells us something about how to walk on two feet, not four.
And yes, like any horror novel, it is revolting. It's revolting because we are forced to look
at ourselves as we have been and as we still are in many ways. We've seen this from Oedipus
to Slaughterhouse Five—great books can show us the ways that man can be a wolf to man.
But they also show us something of how to go on and why.
Morrison's genius here is in taking the tragedy of slavery and giving it shape for us to deal with it.
So often, horrors feel overwhelming to us, and formless, and that can make them unfathomable.
Near the end of the book, Morrison writes, "Disremembered and unaccounted for,
she cannot be lost because no one is looking for her. And even if they were, how can they
call her if they don't know her name?" But now we do have at least one name: Beloved.
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