Beloved

Beloved Essay Test
Essay #1: Explain Toni Morrison’s statement that, by killing Beloved, “Sethe is claiming her role as a parent, claiming the autonomy, the freedom she needs to protect her children and give them dignity.”
Toni Morrison states that by killing Beloved, “Sethe is claiming her role as a parent, claiming the autonomy, the freedom she needs to protect her children and give them dignity.” As both a mother and fugitive slave, Sethe naturally wants her children to have a better life than she had. Sethe feels she needs to spare her children from the physical and emotional pain of slavery.
For Sethe, slavery entailed sexual abuse, lashing, extreme emotional pain and inhumane treatment by her owner, Schoolteacher. When Sethe finally ran from Sweet Home and slavery, her children seemed to be more hers than ever. She was finally able to decide how her children lived rather than a slave owner, like Schoolteacher. She saw the only way to keep her children from sl...