Toni Morrison’s beloved book, which was released in 1987 and won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, is well-liked. As it follows the life of a Black lady named Sethe from her pre-Civil War days as a slave in Kentucky to her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1873, the work explores the terrible legacy of slavery. Even though Sethe lives there as a free woman, the pain of her existence as a slave keeps her imprisoned.
Beloved provides a horrifying examination of slavery and its long-lasting effects. The lengthy fragmentary monologues and several voices used in the profoundly upsetting and heartbreaking story, which at times is unclear, like the Beloved character herself, were written in. However, Morrison’s exquisite prose and compelling imagery were rightfully praised in this timeless book.
Slavery quotes from the novel “Beloved”
1. “I looked at the back of her neck. She had a small neck. I decided to break it. You know, like a twig—just snap it. I have been low, but that was as low as I ever got.” -Toni Morrison
In this quote, Stamp Paid describes to Paul D the trauma his wife underwent as a result of being raped repeatedly by their owner’s son. In order to aid Paul D in comprehending how Sethe could decide to hurt her children, he does this. The cruelty and ugliness of slavery are exposed in Stamp’s story. Since neither Stamp nor his wife can do anything to stop the rapes, Stamp directs his wrath at his wife instead of at the white man, who should be the target of his rage. It is unknown if he killed his wife, but the fact that he changed his identity suggests he is free of any responsibilities.
2. “That anybody white could take your whole self for anything that came to mind. Not just work, kill, but dirty you. Dirty you so bad that you couldn’t like yourself anymore.” -Toni Morrison
Sethe is desperate for Beloved to comprehend how the degrading nature of slavery influenced her decision to murder her children, which is seen in this quote. She and the other slaves who lived under slavery have become dirty. However, the children are still pure. Those people are accustomed to living with ruthless, unpredictable owners. They are familiar with how it feels to be unable to defend one’s, own children. Sethe won’t allow her kids to live in such a place. Death prevails when she compares living in slavery to having no existence at all.
3. “daylight comes through the cracks, and I can see his locked eyes, and I am not big small rats do not wait for us to sleep; someone is thrashing, but there is no room to do it in.” -Toni Morrison
As though she were there, Beloved transmits what her ancestors went through on the slave ship. Her words are inconsistent, much like the story and the happenings. She does, however, go into sufficient detail about the claustrophobic living conditions below deck, the surrounding waters, and, subsequently, the sexual degradations to make it evident that she is describing the Middle Passage. Beloved, a ghost who has come back to life, is the absolute epitome of the past and possesses the capacity to access the shared past shared by all slaves.
4. “He would have to trade this here one for $900 if he could get it and set out to secure the breeding one, her foal and the other one if he found them.” -Toni Morrison
Paul D., in this quote, overhears the schoolteacher making plans on what to do with him and how to get Sethe and her kids back after his unsuccessful escape. The reader and Paul D. are both made acutely aware of the financial side of slavery by the schoolteacher’s reflections on his possibilities. While Paul D. had thought of himself as a member of the Sweet Home society, slavery actually reduces him, Sethe, her children, and the others to the status of mere farm animals, valued only for their labour and output. This scene demonstrates how slavery dehumanises and erases humanity.
Past quotes from the novel “Beloved”
1. “It amazed Sethe (as much as it pleased Beloved) because every mention of her past life hurt. Everything in life was painful or lost.” -Toni Morrison
According to the narrator in this quote, Beloved likes to hear her mother’s stories when she visits 124, which makes Sethe uncomfortable because she would rather not bring up the past. The paradox is that Sethe has to deal with the past every day, even though she doesn’t want to talk about it. Due to Sethe’s previous crimes, Denver doesn’t leave the house. Due to her rupture with her community over what transpired in the past, Sethe has no friends. Even the happiness she had experienced with Halle or her companions at Sweet Home is disregarded by Sethe. At this point in the book, Sethe allows her past transgressions to determine who she is.
2. “Not a house in the country ain’t packed to its rafters with dead Negro’s grief.” -Toni Morrison
In this quote, Baby Suggs claims that leaving 124 is not necessary in order to avoid the baby ghost because she or another black ghost will follow them wherever they go. Her statements reveal the baggage that she and the other slave-affected people brought with them to Cincinnati from the South. While Paul D, Baby Suggs, Sethe, and Stamp Paid leave their lives as slaves behind and adopt the trappings of freedom, they are unable to escape their painful pasts; they can only make an effort to live with them.
3. “Sethe,” he says, “me and you, we got more yesterday than anybody. We need some kind of tomorrow.” -Toni Morrison
Paul D, through this quote, begs Sethe to stop thinking about the pain and tragedy of the past, especially all the times she has let those she loved down. He musters the courage to face his history and come to terms with it; he wants the same for Sethe. Although Paul D is aware that the past will always be a part of his tale, he nonetheless expresses optimism to Sethe that they can forge a new future together. Paul D wants Sethe to follow in his footsteps by making the same decision to move on, even if it means reopening his heart.
4. “No, I think he is dead. It’s not being sure that keeps him alive.” -Toni Morrison
When Paul D comes at 124, Sethe reveals that although she believes Halle is dead, she is unsure of this and that. As a result, he is neither present nor past. In a way, Sethe is haunted by Halle and his tragic ending. He keeps her bound to the past, and even though she doesn’t think he’ll ever leave, her doubt keeps her from embracing a life without Halle. The complicated connections Sethe has to Halle represent the importance Sethe has in the past. She is not only plagued by memories of the past, but her prior experiences also keep her from moving forward in the present.
Family quotes from the novel “Beloved”
1. “I wouldn’t draw breath without my children.” -Toni Morrison
Sethe highlights in this quote that a mother’s duty is to safeguard her child as she discusses the connection between a mother and a child. She thinks about her own mother, who was hanged, and assumes that she didn’t attempt to flee because a mother wouldn’t willingly leave her kids. Similar to Sethe, who chose to kill her own children rather than allow them to be sold back into slavery, it was a difficult choice. The perversion of the family and the typical links of love are highlighted by the fact that Sethe had no viable options when she was in danger of being captured.
2. “…each time he discovered large families of black people, he made them identify over and over who each was, what relation, who, in fact, belonged to who.” -Toni Morrison
The narrator states in this quote that Paul D is captivated by black families. Made up of several generations of slaves. When he travels because it demonstrates that they are related to one another rather than an owner. These households have a very different dynamic from Paul D’s. He was raised on Garner’s farm with his two half-brothers; they were never introduced to their parents. As Halle and Sethe did, people were frequently compelled to start their own families while they were slaves. Though Paul D. is free from slavery, he hesitates to form strong relationships because they are so flimsy because of this instability.
3. “I had eight. Every one of them gone from me. Four taken, fand chased, I expect, worrying somebody’s house into evil.” -Toni Morrison
Baby Suggs, in this quotation, responds to Sethe’s request. That they leave 124 by explaining the grieving and loss-filled nature of the black family. She gives herself as an illustration: Eight children were born to Baby Suggs. But eight of them were either sold, fled. Or, in the case of Halle, remained in slavery so that she could be free. The institution of slavery is eliminated. Even if the ties between black families are strong and genuine. As demonstrated by her willingness to take in Sethe and her grandchildren.
Community quotes from the novel “Beloved”
1. “When they caught up with each other, all thirty, and arrived at 124, the first thing they saw was not Denver sitting on the steps, but themselves.” -Toni Morrison
The moment in which the nearby women help Sethe after learning of Beloved’s return is described by the narrator. Despite the fact that Sethe has lived alone for eighteen years, the women recognise the injustice of her being held accountable for her past and wish to end it. Significantly, the women are greeted by the spirits of the parties. They formerly attended with Baby Suggs. This incident acts as the cleaving event that separates the people of 124 from everyone else. Coming full circle, the women, who stand for the soul of the black community. Show that they are prepared to reunite with Sethe and her family.
2. “Days of the company: knowing the names of forty, fifty other Negroes, their view, habits; where they had been and what done; of feeling their fun and sorrow along with her own, which made it better.” -Toni Morrison
Twenty-eight days after arriving in Cincinnati, Sethe gets to experience life in the thriving black community. A large group of people with whom she may share her concerns, anxieties, and joys is something new that she discovers. Only during this moment has Sethe experienced such effortless intimacy. Sethe had relationships with friends and even loved when she was a slave. But her community was subject to the whims of the white proprietors. She feels comfortable and secure in the Cincinnati community. But when her new friends betray her by failing to warn her of the approaching educator. She withdraws into isolation.
3. “Some lose direction, and their neighbours, feeling the confused pull of the chain, snatched them around. For one lost, all are lost. The chain that held them would save all or none, and Hi Man was the Delivery.” -Toni Morrison
Paul D. in this quote works with his 45 other prisoners on the chain gang to rescue themselves. The rains in this setting have allowed the mud to become loose enough. For them to emerge from their underground boxes. Working together is sensible on some levels. Because if one man were to fall, it would set off a chain reaction. The males, however, also provide emotional support for one another. Singing and chatting with one another while doing so. The men do this to lessen their own despondency. And sense of desperation by building a social framework.
Some More Quotes From “Beloved”
1. “Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another.- Toni Morrison
Find the version of yourself that makes you happy, that you can be proud of, and that you don’t hesitate to flaunt. When you do that, things shift, doors begin to open, your mind begins to open up, and you transform into your highest power, the highest form of yourself because you are at last free. This is totally different and claiming ownership is different.
2. “Love is or it ain’t. Thin love ain’t love at all.”- Toni Morrison
With intense feelings of attachment, love is a collection of feelings, actions, and beliefs. So a person might declare, for instance, that they love their dog, freedom, or God. The idea of love could transform into something unfathomable, and it might also occur to each person differently.
3. “Sweet, crazy conversations full of half sentences, daydreams and misunderstandings more thrilling than understanding could ever be.”- Toni Morrison
Sometimes half and crazy conversation, day dreaming and misunderstanding is better than getting fully understood.
4. “You are your best thing”- Toni Morrison
Life can occasionally feel unstable since self-love contributes to laying the foundation of who we truly are. When we start to genuinely accept who we are, things start to fall into place for us and life starts to seem truly beautiful, just as it was meant to.
What then is self-love? Self-love encompasses far more than just feeling good or giving ourselves time to relax. It’s a feeling of gratitude for ourselves.
5. “Something that is loved is never lost.”- Toni Morrison
With intense feelings of attachment, love is a collection of feelings, actions, and beliefs. So a person might declare, for instance, that they love their dog, freedom, or God. The idea of love could transform into something unfathomable, and it might also occur to each person differently and if something is loved it can’t be forgotten. People say we move on, but love can’t be forgotten.