Slavery caused devastation in communities and countries around the world for many years. This destruction can be physical, psychological and linked to the lack of community cohesion. In Beloved by Toni Morrison, the author presents themes of the extreme demolition of individual identity through slavery, the importance of community support and involvement, and the limits and powers of language . Due to the brutal and inhumane acts of slavery committed not only against Sethe but against millions of innocent people across the United States, these people often struggled to have their own identity and to even feel a certain form of self-esteem. Sethe begins to lose all sense of self-esteem when she comes across a school teacher giving a lesson describing her animal characteristics. After this incident, she begins to express thoughts of self-loathing and withdrawing from others. Sethe expresses that breaking free was one thing; claiming ownership of this liberated self was another (Morrison 95). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay. Sethe also doesn't have a single attribute about herself that she truly likes, so she believes that her children are her only good characteristics. She fears that when she dies, she will live in a state of madness, and to prove this to be true, the act of killing Beloved shows her extremity of madness. Although the horrific act of homicide against Beloved also demonstrates the love that Sethe had for her daughter because she not only freed herself from slavery but also prevented Beloved from suffering the abominable acts of the slavery. Slavery, being the cause of these actions and emotions, taught that slaves were only subhuman because they were continually traded and sold at values ​​based on their ability to work. Another example of the destruction of a human being due to slavery is shown by Paul D. At the beginning of the novel, he admits to hearing screaming voices and he is unable to decipher whether he is screaming or understanding what someone else says. He also had issues with his identity as a man. He feels like he has no value in his eyes and therefore cannot consider himself a real man (Morrison131). Due to his self-loathing, Paul D later becomes depressed and emotionally fatigued. Denver also shows a lack of value. She confuses her own identity with that of Beloved and feels that she herself, who was Beloved, begins to disintegrate, which not only confuses her with the character of Beloved, but causes her to further disinherit what she had as her own identity, leaving her with almost nothing. At the expense of managing the self-worth derived from slavery, Morrison emphasizes the importance of community cohesion. Before Sethe was freed, she admitted that life as a slave had "broken her legs, her back, her head, her eyes, her hands, her kidneys, her uterus, and her tongue." She had nothing left to live on, except her heart, which she put to work. immediately", but soon her heart began to fail too (Cosca). When Sethe was released, during her twenty-eight days of freedom, she became involved in the African-American community of Cincinnati. While involving in this community, Sethe discovers a small part of her new self-esteem. The Cincinnati community plays an influential role in the events taking place at 124. This community, made up of Sethe, Denver, Paul D and many other Afros. -Americans, banded together at the end of the novel to exorcise Beloved of 124, which allows Sethe.to finally feel at peace. Paul D. works with his inmates in prison to prove that the only way for them to escape is through teamwork. The community also supported each other. religious support. Baby Suggs offered a different approach to the traditional religious framework; his church was active and corporal, and Morrison described how it started with children laughing, men dancing, women crying, and then it mixed together. The women stopped crying and danced; men sat and wept; the children danced, the women laughed, the children cried until, exhausted and torn, all lay in the clearing damp and breathless (Morrison 104). These spiritual experiences caused people to grow together and form bonds based on their shared religion of Christianity. However, some white residents of the town did not approve of Suggs because they could not stand the constant and reckless generosity 124 demonstrated. Some brought what they could and what they thought would work, stuffed in their apron pockets, slung around their necks, placed in the space between their breasts. Others brought the Christian faith – as shield and sword. Most people bought a little of both. They had no idea what they would do once they got there. They just started, drove down Bluestone Road and met at the appointed time. The heat held back a few women who promised to return home. Others, who believed this story, did not want to participate in the confrontation and would not have come, whatever the weather. And there were those like Lady Jones who disbelieved the story and despised the ignorance of those who did. Thirty women made up the group and walked casually towards the gathering. Language was also an important issue and power to possess during this period. Olivia Pass of Tulane University College describes the author's writing style by stating that Morrison's Beloved beautifully illustrates the steps Sethe goes through to come to terms with her infanticide by the end of the novel (Pass). When Sixo turns the schoolteacher's reasoning on its head to prove that he broke the rules, the schoolteacher whips and tortures him to demonstrate that definitions belong to the definers and not the defined (Morrison 176). Slaves eventually understood the illegitimacy of most white definitions. Mr. Garner, for example, claims to have allowed his slaves to live like real men, but Paul D. questions how masculine they are. Paul D. finally realizes with bitter irony the error in the name Sweet Home. Although Sixo eventually responds to the hypocrisy of slavery's rhetoric by abandoning English altogether, other characters use English to redefine the world on their terms. Baby Suggs and Stamp Paid, for example, are rebranding themselves. These characters show how language can be both a powerful and tormenting skill. When characters are slaves, they manipulate language and transcend its standard limits. Their mastery of communication allows them to adjust meanings and make themselves indecipherable to the white slave owners who monitor them. For example, Paul D and the inmates of the Georgia prison sing about their dreams and memories together by tricking and distorting the words (Morrison 84). Morrison says they were close friends and would share dreams and sing together to get through difficult times. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The title of the novel, Beloved, alludes to this.