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.