Reading Trauma in Toni Morrison’s Beloved 1987

Abstract

Differences among individuals have always created trouble to those regarded as “the other.” African Americans are no exception, they were and still are racially discriminated. from the time of slavery and even long after its abolition, they were always regarded with inferiority and hatred and rarely enjoyed the status of American citizen . As a consequence, they faced a history full of traumatic experiences that had different physical and psychological impacts on many generations. This work investigates trauma and its impacts African Americans by referring to Toni Morrison’s master piece Beloved. How does Morrison’s protagonist exemplify the traumatic experience lived by many African American women is at the heart of this research. From the traumatic impacts of slavery and the physical abuse to the dehumanization by the white supremacists, which are hidden facts that were barely present in the books of history, the author endeavors to rewrite the past in order to highlight its darkest side. Beloved works to mirror the consequences of those experiences on those traumatized selves by tackling the darkest element of the protagonist’s life. In doing so, Morrison gives voice to the pain and wounds of those African Americans who were never heard.