Everyone Believes the Same Thing, the Only Difference is in How it is Said or Shown

In Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved, which has been written in 1987, she demonstrates the social divide between classes during the time of slavery through various experiences that the main character, Sethe, goes through. These experiences contain an abundance of imagery that allows the reader to get a deeper, more visual look into the dehumanizing horrors of slavery that History textbooks fail to mention. In Morrison’s novel, there appears to be a very evident pattern in what Sethe experiences as a black slave. Initially in the book, it appears that every white person has a different view and attitude towards slavery, while some may seem to treat blacks more fairly and kindly others violently and sexually abuse blacks/slaves. However, by the end of the book it is evident that the assumptions and theories revolving around slaves and African americans are all the same regardless of  how each white individual shows it. Therefore, these beliefs held by the whites are what causes the ultimate social divide between whites and blacks. As a result, despite a white’s social and economic class, whether they are poor whites in the lower class they are still incapable of seeing past the racial differences between whites and blacks, creating the social triangle with whites at the top and blacks at the bottom.

As Amy’s innocence and willingness to help Sethe may seem kind and genuine she still holds Blacks and slaves in disdain through her racial commentaries and remarks. In the novel Amy Denver is a young girl who is an indentured servant. When Amy and Sethe cross paths, Amy is in the process of fleeing her cruel master who at times whips her; Sethe at this point is also, fleeing schoolteacher and his brutality. As Sethe mentions the pain she is feeling in her back Amy proceeds to unfasten the back of her dress to check what is bothering her; thus, when Amy notices what lies beyond Sethe’s dress, deep rugged whip wounds, she remains silent for several moments and eventually speaks to compare Sethe’s whip wounds to a tree, “A Chokecherry tree (93).” At the sight of Sethe’s wounds, Amy shares that she too had “some whippings,” but not ones like Sethe’s (93). In the article, Bigotry, Breast Milk, Bric-a-Brac, a baby, and a Bit in “Beloved”: Toni Morrison's portrayal of Racism and Hegemony, the author, Heather Duerre Humann, demonstrates that there exists a connection between Amy Denver and Sethe, in spite of their racial differences. They both have a master that they must answer to, they both have experienced physical abuse at the hands of their master, and they are both fugitives as they are running away from their master. The article also, proceeds to mention that because of this connection that they feel, having been in similar oppressive systems, they develop partial affinity for one another (Humann, 2004, 16).

However, as seen in the book and mentioned in the article, although Amy shows benevolence and compassion towards Sethe, she still cannot prevent differentiating herself from Sethe. As a white she still holds herself in higher regard than Sethe. Her conversation with Sethe is littered with racist epithets and fraught with dehumanizing remarks as she nonchalantly mentions to Sethe that she is about “the scariest-looking something” that she has ever seen (39). The article mentions how in this specific phrase Amy is referring to Sethe as a something and also negatively commenting on her appearance (Humann, 2004, 17). By viewing and regarding Sethe as a “something” Amy is essentially suggesting that she is not human, but a thing reaching the idea that Sethe is inferior (less than Amy). Also, by mentioning that Sethe’s image is frightening, she is evidently calling her a beast as emphasizing that she has never before seen such a hideous thing/creature. furthermore, when Amy tells Sethe that she is “the dumbest thing on this here earth (98)” she is deeming Sethe as the thing that is less among all other things, whether living or nonliving. Though Sethe and Amy have much in common, Amy is not able to get pass their social and racial differences, as she believes that whites are entirely human, more attractive, and smarter as opposed to blacks; thus, causing all whites to be superior and all blacks to be inferior.

In addition, When schoolteacher orders his nephews to rape Sethe, while he observes and takes notes on the act, he demonstrates his belligerent style of subjugating the slaves of Sweet (in this case Sethe). In the novel Sethe still remains haunted and traumatized by this occurrence, as she recalls when the boys came and “stole [her] milk (81).” This violent act of brutality and humiliation is depicted powerfully as Sethe states, “I am full God damn it of two boys with mossy teeth, one sucking on my breast the other holding me down, their book-reading teacher watching and writing it up (83).” This shows Sethe’s raw pain and trauma as she is able to easily recall the memory. According to the article, Bigotry, Breast Milk, Bric-a-Brac, a baby, and a Bit in “Beloved”: Toni Morrison's portrayal of Racism and Hegemony, “When the nephews steal Sethe’s milk, they treat her, on one hand, like an animal by milking her and laying claim to all that it produces (Humann, 2004, 9).” Also, by observing and documenting the rape, schoolteacher is sexually exploiting Sethe. Therefore, as he has ultimate power and control over her, he is able to rebuild the overall nature of her existence, one that is less than human and animal. Through the nephews and schoolteachers actions it is clear that they are dehumanizing Sethe, in this case both violently and sexually. To schoolteacher and his nephews the divide between whites and blacks go way beyond social, economic, and racial differences, they consider blacks to be nothing like them. As the schoolteacher and his nephews stand at the very top of the social triangle there beliefs of superiority over the blacks is very heightened, which enables them to commit violent acts against their slaves; Thus, abusing the institution of slavery, in order to show their power and keep blacks in their “rightful” place, under whites.

Beloved, shows social classes are created, not through the economic status of the individual, but through the race of an individual. In Toni Morrison’s novel she demonstrates that social classes and triangles are usually divided up into racial differences, which if we look through social classes throughout history this can be proven. In the end, what makes those social classes remain where they are on the social triangle is beliefs. If one social classes believe something of every other social class, including that same social class, then the people with the social classes know where they stand and who has the most and least power in the triangle. Therefore, everyone believes the same things, but what is, is different is the way they ultimately decide to show their beliefs; they can be shown through the Garner’s gentleness, the schoolteacher’s aggressiveness, Amy’s innocence and youth, or Bodwin’s denial.

The Endless Social Divide Between Whites and Blacks

From Toni Morisson's 1987 "Beloved":

“The night after I heard why schoolteacher measured me, I had trouble sleeping. When Halle came in I asked him what he thought of schoolteacher. He said there wasn’t nothing to think about. Said, He’s white, ain’t he? I said, But I mean is he like Mr. Garner?

‘What you want to know, Sethe?’

‘Him and her,’ I said, ‘they ain’t like the whites I seen before. The ones in place I was before I came here.’

‘How these different?’ he asked me.

‘Well,’ I said, ‘they talk soft for one thing.’

‘It don’t matter, Sethe. What they say is the same. Loud or soft (230-231).’”

In this passage, Sethe overhears a lesson that schoolteacher was instructing to his nephews. In his lesson schoolteacher tasks his nephew to categorize Sethe’s characteristics. Therefore, as Sethe walks past this instructional she hears schoolteacher, say to his nephews, “No, no. That’s not the way. I told you to put her human characteristics on the left; her animal ones on the right (228).” Therefore, this causes discomfort and curiosity in Sethe, which leads her to ask Halle what he thinks about schoolteacher. He responds by mentioning that schoolteacher is white, and that, that was all there was to it; just the simple fact he is white was all he and she had to acknowledge. This demonstrates that there exists a social divide between whites and blacks, that no matter what they or anyone else thinks blacks will always be below whites on the social triangle; thus, society considers whites as superior and blacks as inferior. Therefore, it is evident that there exists a racial divide between the classes.

Throughout the novel, it is clear where each individual lies in the social triangle: White planters lie at the very top of the triangle, poor whites lie below white planters, free blacks lie below poor whites and slaves lie at the very base of the triangle. This shows that blacks no matter their economic, educational, or social status will always be below whites (any white). In the passage Halle is well aware of this gap because he knows that it does no matter what he thinks in the end he is a slave and schoolteacher is a planter, while he lies at the very base of the triangle schoolteacher lies at the very top of the triangle. He was aware of the beliefs that “Ain’t no nigger men (12),” niggers “don’t know a thing (94)” they are not entirely human beings as they have animal characteristics (228). In Beloved, Toni Morrison explains the divide between blacks and whites as not just a racial separation, but also a hybrid and human separation. During this time, 1870s, society considers blacks as not entirely animals, but also not entirely humans, referring to them as hybrids (half human, half animal); thus, society views them as less than whites. As a result, the lasting effects of this racial and human difference enables whites to commit acts of hate and violence due to feelings of superiority, which ultimately degrade and dehumanize blacks. 

In the passage Sethe mentions that the whites, she has met before are different from schoolteacher and his nephews. She thinks that Mr. and Mrs. Garner have a different attitude towards blacks because “they talk softer (230).” However, she fails to realize that Garner’s gentleness and empathy are only a diminishing version of schoolteacher’s conspicuous and violent attitude towards blacks. Halle warns her of this by saying, “‘It don’t matter, Sethe. What they say is the same. Loud or soft (231).”

Having been Educated on the idea that slaves/blacks are not actual human beings, but more animals, schoolteacher and his nephews abuse their power over the slaves as they exploit the slaves physically and racially. In part 2 of the novel Sethe describes the horrors and experiences that she went through at Sweet Home under the schoolteacher’s order. In this part she remembers how schoolteacher regards the slaves as things or guinea pigs that he can study and experiment on: “Schoolteacher’d wrap that string all over my head, ‘cross my nose, around my behind. Number my teeth (226).” In these sentences, schoolteacher uses a string to measure the slaves’ bodies and counts the number of teeth the slaves have in order to study them. By measuring and counting the slaves body parts he is studying the overall structure of the slaves’ body. This process of measuring and recording turns into a form of humiliation and abuse, that strips the slaves of their dignity and humanity, making them species that schoolteacher seems to be studying. Also, this divides the racial and social gap between blacks and whites more, by deeming slaves as inferior and a distinct species of that of whites, who are full human beings. As a result, schoolteacher shows that he has full power of the slaves as they are his own personal subjects in his investigation and uses this study to further demonstrate that he as a white holds the ultimate power in the social triangle, by implying that slaves and all blacks are animals that require studying, analyzing and taming.

Furthermore, the Garners attitude over blacks remains the very same as any other white during this time, that they are animals and are inferior to the white race. However, these beliefs hide through the Garners kindness and condescending manner. For example, Mr. and Mrs. Garner’s treatment over their slaves, such as Baby Suggs (Halle’s mother) promotes a more fair and civilizing attitude towards slavery: “In Lillian Garner’s house, exempted from the field work that broke her hip and the exhaustion that drugged her mind (165).” This demonstrates the Garner’s compassion and empathy over Baby Suggs, as they understand that she is no longer able to do labor and rather than forcing her to continue until the very pain and exhaustion kills her, they free her from her responsibilities/duties. It appears that the Garner’s practice a “special kind of slavery, treating them [slaves] like paid labor, listening to what they said, teaching them what they wanted known (165).” This ultimately allows the slaves to trust their masters and not feel fright or threat from them. However, despite that they show their slaves kindness and compassion, this only serves as a cover for their actual beliefs and intentions. For instance, Mrs. Garner considers her slaves “niggers” and not men, meaning she does not deem her slaves as actual human beings but more animals or creatures. On the other hand, Mr. Garner does consider his slaves men, as he mentions at the beginning of the book, “my niggers is men every one of them. Bought em thataway, raised em thataway. Men every one (12).” However, he believes this, in order to consider himself more superior and powerful than every other man, “One tough enough and smart enough to make and call his own niggers men (13).” In the end, by calling his slaves niggers he exposes his true hate and superiority over blacks. Therefore, Mr. and Mrs. Garner show their overall power and dominance over African Americans and even other slave owners, by showing their slaves compassion and kindness, despite the fact that their views on blacks does not vary from all the other whites.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

I will be reading the book Beloved, by Toni Morrison, through the Marxists lens. This means that I will focus on the different socio economic classes present in Toni Morrison’s novel; therefore,  I will be identifying and analyzing the relationship between these different social classes. I decided to do the Marxist lens as I found myself very intrigued by this particular lens. In school, especially History class, I was able to learn about the different social and/ or economic class (triangles) that are present in today’s world and that have taken place throughout history. I have learned of the harmful and in some cases beneficial effects that these socio economic classes have had on society and the overall country. Thus, reading Beloved through a Marxist approach, will allow me to gather a deeper understanding of the socio economic classes that took place in America during this particular time period. This will also enable me to gather an understanding what it was like and what it meant to live in a country that has different social classes. I myself believe that everyone is equal despite their social, economic, and political status; therefore, in no cases should they ever be considered inferior or superior than one another. For this reason, I am further interested in this lens as I can relate it to my life. I in past situations have been regarded as less and higher than another group or person based on my social and economic status, and so would be able to connect with the characters of the novel to a certain level. As a result, I hope to gain a deeper understanding of the social classes present in the novel, their roles, and relationships with one another so that I may develop a new outlook on society.  

Toni Morrison’s Beloved is a 1987 classic American novel which speaks words of truth about the social class structure in America. Specifically in pre and post civil war America, and how race has affected the social class structure. And reading the text through the Marxist lens, we’re able to get a deeper understanding of the overall message that Toni Morrison is trying to convey. What she’s telling us is that society needs a scapegoat, and a lowest social class to keep those on the top happy. This most of the time is placed on a single race or religion so that an entire group can be easily oppressed and recognized. Because of this, those on top continuously focus on the bad parts and the negative news of this group to keep the stereotypes of them running. In a way this is a necessary evil in the world and it’s what keeps the social class system from falling apart, someone needs to be on the bottom. And those on the top want to stay on the top so they continuously push the bottom lower down. During the American Civil war and even decades after the slaves and former slaves were the lowest social class, causing obvious discrimination on African Americans that still exist today.

One of the moments in Beloved that demonstrated this, was when Sethe was pictured in the news after she had killed her infant baby. Paul D is looking at the news clipping, and even though he’s convinced that the person pictured isn’t Sethe, he know that anytime an African American is pictured in the news, it’s not a good thing. Toni Morrison tells us this when she writes that, “there was no way in hell a black face could appear in a newspaper if the story was about something anybody wanted to hear...since the face was not there because the person had a healthy baby, or outran a street mob” (183). What this is saying is that the media at the time only focused on the bad parts of African Americans, to re-solidify the negative connotation that people had of the lowest social class. This happened because the media is run by the rich and the white during the time so they’re only furthering their power over the other classes.

Although I’m not the only reader who believes that Toni Morrison is conveying this theme, Heather Duerre Humann online article “Bigotry, Breast Milk, Bric-a-Brac, a Baby, and a Bit in ‘Beloved’: Toni Morrison's Portrayal of Racism and Hegemony” also talks about a theme that is very similar. In her online blog article, she wrote about how, “In her 1987 novel Beloved, Toni Morrison, too, draws from these ethnic notions to further complicate her discussion of racism” and that the “cultural and hegemonic forces that attempt to generalize, essentialism, and stereotype a specific group of individuals in order to maintain an exploitive and oppressive society”. This means that the way our culture is currently, is using slander and the media to stereotype and oppressed an entire group of people in order to create a society that exploits a single class. Toni Morrison argues in her book that this is true and that the problem of the stereotyping and exploitation of African Americans aren’t long gone after the days of the civil war, but are in fact still here. Today we still see news articles like the one Paul D saw, that only focus on the negative side of African Americans, while they turn a blind eye to those same traits in a different social class and race. The “cultural and hegemonic forces” that Humann was talking about comes in all shapes and forms, as seen in Beloved with the newspaper and the laws at the time, are still present today.

So as we can see, Beloved can tell us a lot about the social classes of the time in the book, but also about today's social class. And thanks to the Marxist lens I now have a deeper understand of not only the novel, but of real life, and what Toni Morrison was telling us through her 1987 masterpiece.

If you want to read Heather Duerre Humann's full article go here: Beloved Article

The Scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz" Just Wanted a Brain...and Social Equality.

“He thought what they said had merit, and what they felt was serious. Deferring to his slaves' opinions did not deprive him of authority or power. It was schoolteacher who taught them otherwise. A truth that waved like a scarecrow in rye: they were only Sweet Home men at Sweet Home. One step off that ground and they were trespassers among the human race” (147).

Scarecrow in a field of crops, similar to the one described in the quote above from Beloved

When someone reads a text through the Marxist lens, they are observing how the social classes of the book interact and how their social classes affect one another. By doing this, the reader is able to see which social class has power over the rest, and how this changes interactions between characters from different social classes.

One of the moments in Beloved where this is shown clearly is when Paul D began to look back on his time at Sweet Home. Paul D quickly realized that the world of Sweet Home and the rest of Southern America at the time were two very different places. With the realization that even though Mr. and Mrs. Garner treated them like men, “they were only Sweet Home men at Sweet Home”. Toni Morrison used diction and the use of similes in this quote to convey Paul D’s realization of just how differently they were treated at Sweet Home, than anywhere else.

Sweet Home plantation in Alabama, similar to the plantation in Beloved

If we read this passage through the Marxist lens, we can see how Paul D’s experiences at Sweet Home has changed his views of how Social Classes affect people. It’s important to note that this scene takes place during the times of slavery in Southern America. This resulted in social classes to be very impacted by your ethnicity, with the Caucasians usually on the top and the African Americans on the bottom. This was because at the time African Americans were seen by many as subhumans, or as Paul D put it, “trespassers among the human race”. Which led to strong discrimination and thus they suffered financially even after slavery was abolished.

We can also see in this quote that Toni Morrison uses diction and smart word choice to help convey the point that at the time slaves were the lowest social class. The main part of the quote where diction is used is the final sentence in which Toni Morrison writes, “one step off that ground and they were trespassers among the human race”. She chooses the word “trespassers” because earlier we can see that plantations tend to be societies of its own, with their own ideals and treatment of slaves. In the case of Sweet Home, Mr and Mrs. Garner treat them with respect but if they trespass outside of Sweet Home they’re no longer welcome, nor treated with respect. Not only that but we can also see how the word choice of “human race” conveys the point that Toni Morrison was trying to show us. I believe that she chose the word “race” because during this time the African American race was looked down upon almost like non humans, which is shown here because Toni Morrison talks about how African Americans are “trespassers among the human race”, in other words, only unwelcomed guests of the human race, and not a part of the human race, but something worse.

We can also see that Toni Morrison uses similes to convey her point throughout the book. We can see this when she writes about how African Americans have no power compared to those higher up in the social chain then them, which is, “a truth that waved like a scarecrow in rye”. I believe that Toni Morrison chose the simile of a scarecrow in the rye because Sweet Home was often described in the book as a beautiful place full of fields. However, the truth of just how oppressed the slaves who lived on the land were still apparent, and casted a shadow over the fields, like a scarecrow. Also, African Americans were compared to crows many times during that era, mainly because of the Jim Crow laws that made African Americans second class citizens. Another example of this is in Dumbo with the crows who are portrayed in a very racist way. So we can see that Toni Morrison chose the Scarecrow because it perfectly represented the obvious oppression of the African Americans despite the beauty and the fairness they experienced sometimes at Sweet Home.

In conclusion, we can see how if we read through Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved through the Marxist lens we get to see how social classes affect everyone, especially the African Americans in early America. We can see this in the passage shown above, and in many other places throughout the book. Thanks to reading through the Marxist lens I now have a deeper understanding of the social classes of that time.

To learn more about the Jim Crow laws click on this link: Jim Crow laws

I'm Sensing a Theme in the Classes

The novel Beloved, written by Toni Morrison in 1987, is filled to the brim with symbols and imagery. All of which hint towards the divisions of the class, and the similarities across race in certain classes. In fact, there appears to be a pattern, where the lower and middle white classes tend to be kinder and more accepting to the freed lower slave class, which indicates that different races, if they belong to the lower classes look past their racial differences to help each other.

Most slave owners did not have huge plantations, they generally could only afford 5-6 slaves, and a small number owned more than that. Throughout the novel, it seems very apparent that these middle class slave owners, with a few exceptions, treat their slaves kindly, such as the Garners at Sweet Home and were described by Baby Suggs as treating her kindly and went so far as to say that she had never lived better on any other farm or house(171). The Garners only owned about 5 or 6 slaves and while life was not perfect, they were “encouraged” to “correct” Mr. Garner, and explain why they thought a different method would be better(147). The Garners were not extraordinarily wealthy, especially considering the wealth of some plantation owners at the time of the novel in the 1860’s. The Garners may have been seeing a little of themselves; struggling to survive with more wealthy people in the classes above them, and thus were able to look past the racial differences and treat those at Sweet Home as “men”(147). However, this was not perfect, as some middle class whites badly mistreated the slaves, though this was likely a product of the common beliefs at the time that blacks were inferior mentally to whites. Schoolteacher is an example of this, at one point Sethe remembers him telling the Garner’s nephews to put her[Sethe’s] “animal” features on the right side of page. Schoolteacher not only believes in the racist principles keeping the blacks enslaved, but he also teaches it to others. So while not all middle class whites are perfect examples of kindness towards slaves, there s definitely more of an inclination towards it in this class.

Another interesting example is that of Amy Denver, a white, runaway indentured servant, the same as the black, runaway slave Sethe. Runaway’s could almost be considered a class of their own, since they shared many of the same characteristics, but they could also be considered part of the lower classes. The article, To Be Loved: Amy Denver and Human Need: Bridges to Understanding in Toni Morrison's “Beloved”, by Nicole M. Coonradt points out that there are a great many similarities between the experiences of Amy Denver, in her indentured servitude, and Sethe’s experiences in slavery and their escapes from enslavement(Coonradt, 2005, 9). Morrison describes Amy’s eyes as “fugitive”, suggesting that Amy herself is a runaway from somewhere, which immediately puts her in the same class as Sethe, especially since if she is a runaway she has nothing that she truly owns, much like Sethe. Coonradt argues that the parallel description of the two indicates that they share a connection that is bigger than their simple meeting and time together, an almost supernatural connection. The two women are from different races, yet they share a connection that bypassess their racial differences, allowing them to break free of social constructs and help each other. Something that would have been impossible without their shared backgrounds. The backgrounds of a person do not necessarily indicate social class, but usually those of the same class share similar experiences. The slave class is a good example, as shown by the parallel description in Morrison’s novel.

Morrison's novel hints that the class structure often breaks down across races, so rather than there being a separate lower and middle class for both blacks and whites, there is more of a universal lower and middle class. Because the experiences are shared, the lower classes of a dominant race often can identify with similar classes of a different race, and subsequently treat them with more respect.
Nicole M Coonradt's 2005 literary analysis Article: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25115312?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

The Beard, The Lens, The Legend

Karl Marx went down in the history books for his enlightened ideas, world changing revolutionary political structure, and his facial hair.

We all have different experiences when we pick up a book, for some it’s relaxing, to others it’s just an assignment. We all find different aspects of a book's plot to be the most interesting, and we all have different takeaways or lessons we learned from the reading. The reason behind these phenomenons is simple, we all read through different critical lenses. A critical lens is the theme that you focus on while reading, using that perspective we get a deeper picture of what the book is telling us about that theme. Using critical lens we can figure out what a book is telling us about feminism, ethnicity roles, society at the time of the book. But the critical lens I’ve chosen to read through is my personal favorite, the Marxist lens. Through this lens I’ll be able to take a deeper look into the politics and the social classes inside the book.
I eventually decided to choose the Marxist lens because I’m fascinated by history and the political landscape of the world, both past and present. I’ve been studying Communism and Capitalism for years with help from my History classes at school, and the documentaries that I watch at home. I’ve also had previous experience thanks to my readings in books other than “Beloved” in which I used the same critical lens. Some examples of these are books like “No Easy Day” “The Rise of the German Third Reich” and “The Cold War: A New History”. However, for these books I mainly looked through the Marxist lens in the political sense, in “Beloved” I feel excited because I believe that the Marxist lens will mainly be about the social class of the characters. Also, I haven’t read many civil war or slavery books through the Marxist lens so it’ll be an interesting experience for me.
However, the Marxist lens isn’t the only thing that will form my understanding of the book, my personal beliefs will also play a role in that process. My personal beliefs for the Marxist lens has to do with my personal beliefs for social class in our society. I believe that the gap in social class is very apparent in our society today, however I also believe that the social class in the times after the civil war was even worse. When slaves were freed they quickly became the lowest class and in many cases their life was even worse then when they were slaves.
Even though I chose the Marxist lens, I came close to choosing a different type of lens. My second choice would of been the Biographical historical lens because I believe that the history behind the book is just as important as the history in the book. This is because what’s going on in the world around the author as they write can influence their point of views on very important issues that are in the book. I ended up choosing between these two because I’m very interested in history and I think that the civil war era would provide a very interesting aspect to literature.
However, I know that the Marxist lens was the right choice, and I can’t wait to get started. By the end of this project I hope to understand more about the political structure of America after the civil war. And how freed African Americans were integrated into the social classes. I hope to grow as a reader and as a history through this project.

If you want to learn more about Marxism watch this video: Marxism introduction
If you want to learn more about the Marxist lens read this article: Marxist lens

When Life Gives you Earrings, Don't Wear Them

From “Beloved” by Toni Morrison(1987):

“‘The lady I worked for in Kentucky gave them to me when I got married. I guess she saw how bad I felt when I found out there wasn’t going to be no ceremony, no preacher. Nothing… “‘I want you to have them and I want you and Halle to be happy.’”(70-71).

When a reader chooses to examine a work of literature through the Marxist lens, he or she is observing the connections between social classes and the interactions between those classes. Furthermore, the Marxist Lens examines the social values that are either condemned or supported by the work.

In the scene containing this passage, Sethe is trying to rest while after cooking something on the stove. As she is drifting off, she is approached by Beloved, a mysterious character who just appeared one day near the house. Beloved asks her about her pierced ears and where her “diamonds” are (69). Sethe then launches into the story about the crystal earings one of her previous owners gave her after her marriage. Morrison’s usage of dialogue, syntax  and this passage note how the two classes, the ruling, slave-owning, white class and the enslaved african-american class interact with each other, and how some interactions were not always the norm.

One of the most notable parts in this passage is how the woman Sethe is working for seems to care about her happiness, something that appears to go against the accepted thinking of the time, which was that african slaves were barely better than animals, with no real emotions. The dialogue in the passage further supports this by showing that Sethe’s owner wants Sethe and her husband to be “happy” (71). Here, it is apparent that she does care about her happiness, when her words are coupled with her actions, it shows that the ruling social class, the white slave owners, actually in some cases weren’t always cruel and punishing to the slaves below them. Building off of this , it would also seem that the work supported the way the classes were set up. Even though Sethe was caught stealing, there is no indication in the dialogue that her owner is greatly upset with her, and even gives her a pair of earrings from her own collection. So even though the institution was fundamentally wrong, the work does not appear to be criticizing the social class structure of the time, nor does it appear to be showing that the slave owners were always cruel to their slaves, and were kind to them in some cases.

Another interesting point raised by the passage is that how blatantly the enslaved african classes try and be subservient to the slaveowners. In the dialouge, Sethe is very careful to speak very little, and always addresses her owner as “ma’am” (71). Furthermore, through Morrison's use of language and syntax, it is indicated that Sether doesn’t really want to wear the earrings. Later in the passage, after the dialogue takes place, Sethe “thanks” Mrs. Garner for the earrings (71). However, Sethe doesn’t wear them until after she “got away” from the farm, despite the fact that the earring were intended for her to wear while she was working for Mrs. Garner (71). Morrison uses a short sentence to describe Sethe’s thank you, and the passage quickly moves onward. THis further supports that Sethe only took the earring because she felt that she had too, as her owner was giving them to her and Sethe felt saying no was out of the question.

LONG LIVE KARL MARX, and the Marxist Lens

Karl Marx, a philosopher well known for his philosophy promoting social, economic and general equality for all, and his great facial hair

I decided to view the book Beloved through the Marxist lens. This lens is of great interest to me because I enjoy looking at the politics and the interactions between social classes and those in power. A lot of my views about power and social structure are unconventional and I would like to see if there are any similar views in the novel. Furthermore, while there is a lens that looks at race and ethnicity, I believe that the Marxist lens will allow for more in depth analysis of the interactions between the enslaved and the slave owners. I have very little experience with this lens, which is another reason why I choose it. I have had a lot of experience looking at the psychoanalytical lens and the topics covered by it, so it would be relatively easy to find information relating to this topic and it, I think, too easy for me. I want something that I haven’t had any experience with before. I personally believe in a more equal distribution of power between the classes, rather than the upper class having more power and influence than those well below the poverty line. I also believe that there is a vast amount of inequality between certain groups of people and that there is an under representation in the government of certain ethnic groups and social classes. I am hoping to gain a deeper understanding of how the different classes interact and how power is distributed, something that can be applied to our lives today. I am also curious about the author’s perspective on the issue of power distribution around the time she wrote her novel and whether she agrees with the consensus of the time that there was a significant push to create equal rights for people of color. I did some careful consideration before choosing this topic, and nearly went with psychoanalytic, but at the last minute I decided that I would rather work with a different lens. Part of the reason I was so interested in psychoanalytical is because knowing what makes a character or person tick has always been one of my passions and interests. Furthermore, I thought it would be interesting to look at what was driving the characters to stay in the house, even though it was haunted, this was from a  section of the text we wrote before choosing our desired lens.