Write on the Theme of Memory in “Beloved.”
Beloved is a notable literary work by Toni Morrison. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, and various study materials of Beloved.
Answer
Write on the theme of memory in “Beloved.” [NU: 2015, 20]
In “Beloved” (1987) by Toni Morrison (1931–2019), memory is a central theme. The novel shows how the past of slavery lives on in memory. For Sethe, Paul D, and Denver, memory is painful, haunting, and necessary.
Painful Memories: Sethe carries memories of Sweet Home. She remembers being whipped until scars formed a “chokecherry tree” on her back. In Part One, Ch. 3, Morrison writes,
“Your back got a whole tree on it. In bloom.”
These spots show how memory marks both body and spirit.
The Haunting Past: The past returns as a ghost. The house at 124 is haunted by Sethe’s dead child. Morrison writes in Part One, Ch. 1,
“124 was spiteful. Full of a baby’s venom”.
Beloved herself is a living memory of Sethe’s infanticide. Memory becomes flesh, forcing Sethe to face her guilt.
Buried Memories: Paul D hides his memories in a “tobacco tin.” Morrison says, in Part One, Ch. 7
“That tobacco tin buried in his chest where a red heart used to be”.
He tries to forget, but Beloved opens the tin, releasing his buried pain.
Memory and Identity: Memory also shapes identity. Sethe insists on owning her past. She says in Part Two, Ch. 20,
“Beloved, she my daughter. She mine”.
Even when memory is painful, it gives meaning and connection. The memory of Baby Suggs’ love helps Denver grow strong.
In short, in Beloved, memory is never simple. It hurts, haunts, and sometimes heals. Morrison shows that slavery lives on through memory. To survive, the characters must face the past because forgetting the past is impossible.