The United States has been built on the philosophy of freedom and liberty.

However, in

the case of enslavement of African Americans, the ideals of liberty is directly contradicted.

Slavery has impacted African Americans for centuries, ending finally in 1865 when Abraham

Lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation. African Americans had lived in captivity, being

torn apart from their families and enslaved at young ages, treated as a commodity.

The award winning novel, ​Beloved,​ by Toni Morrison, documents the life of an enslaved

African American woman named Sethe. Sethe, after being enslaved and degraded for far too

long, tries to kill her children to free them of a life of bondage. Sethe does end up killing one of

her children, named Beloved. This novel brings to life the evils of an institution which we tend to

forget or move past. However, this novel may be fiction, Sethe’s character is based off of a real

slave named Margaret Garner. We cannot forget that these are real people who have names

and suffered for primarily, their entire lives.

Throughout ​Beloved​, the story is centered around African Americans and their lives

post-civil war (post slavery). Slavery has not only affected slaves physically, but the mental

impact is much more complex. Slavery has damaged the minds of the enslaved by degrading

and dehumanizing who they are as human beings; this has led to emotional trauma as a result.

There are multiple people who have elaborated on slaves’ experience, as well as those who

explained being enslaved themselves. Sethe, the main character is Beloved is a concrete

example of this mental suffering African Americans experienced. According to the text it states,

“But now she’d gone wild, due to the mishandling of the nephew who’d overbeat her and made

her cut and run” (Morrison, 176). This quote is important because it shows how one, there was

no empathy for slaves, slave masters did not even think about the condition of those who are

enslaved; and two, Sethe was pushed over the limit. Sethe was demoralized, and it was not just
her, countless slaves felt that way. Slaves lost their sense of being, their sense of hope that

things will get better.

Sethe is not the only character in ​Beloved​ to suffer mentally from the torture of slavery.

Paul D is another slave in the story who is demeaned by the institution of slavery. According to

the text it states, “​But wasn't no way I'd ever be Paul D again, living or dead. School Teacher

changed me. I was something else and that something was less than a chicken sitting in the sun

on a tub” (Morrison, 102). This devastating statements provides readers with the perspective of

someone who has truly felt dehumanized by slavery. Imagine, an animal having more freedom

than you, no matter how much you fought, you were still reduced to a lesser form of yourself.

You are degraded to a point that it makes you reflect on your own state of being. That is indeed

the harsh reality of slavery; an institution that causes emotional trauma.

As an African American, I have seen endless stories of racism quite alive today in

society. I believe that slavery will always be ingrained in American society, no matter how much

we try to avoid discussion about it. Recently, racism has revealed itself multiple times with the

current presidency. The United States has become more divided than it has ever been in

decades. After reading and understanding the events that led up to Sethe killing her own child, I

have gained a major sense of her position. Being a mother is a difficult task in of itself, but also

being repeatedly abused as a slave destroys an individual mentally.

It is not just the constant abuse of the body which is painful, but the constant

degradation of your character. Slavery truly reduces you to lesser version of yourself.

Frederick Douglass created the​ ​Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American

Slave​, in which he explains his experience being a slave. Douglass states, “​Mr. Covey

succeeded in breaking me. I was broken in body, soul, and spirit​. ​My natural elasticity was

crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that
lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery close in upon me, and behold a man

transformed into a brute” (Douglass, page 105). This quote in particular is powerful because it

shows how devastating slavery was to one’s mind and body. By saying that he was “broken,” I

compare his state of mind to Sethe’s. Both slaves experienced different situations, however,

they both had a similar impact. There is the common theme of mental suffering as a result of

psychological deterioration. The human mind can only take so much, and the suffering the

slaves went through can drive them insane. Constantly being told that you are inferior, your an

animal, your just a commodity; these comparisons causes emotional trauma which could last a

lifetime.

As mentioned earlier, Sethe’s character is based upon a real person named Margaret

Garner, who killed her own child in order to free her child from slavery. Levi Coffin, examines the

story of Margaret Garner in ​Defying the Fugitive Slave Act.​ According to the text it states, “Who

can fathom the depths of her heart as she brooded over the wrongs and insults that had been

heaped upon her all her life” (Coffin). The very beginning of this quote asks “who can fathom.”

That is correct, who can fathom what possibly goes through the minds of those who have been

abused physically, emotionally and mentally. We can never truly understand their pain because

we are not in their shoes. Margaret Garner is a real human being, who was treated as an

animal. No regard for her life or her condition was shown by her slave masters. In connection to

Beloved, ​both Morrison and Coffin provide insight into the horrendous treatment of African

Americans.

One incredibly striking quote from Coffin, binds each of these text so far, by connecting

the thought processes of slaves who’ve been through the horrors of an institution created to

demean innocent human beings. Coffin stated, “The resolve to die rather than submit to a life of
degradation and bondage.” Many slaves shared this mentality and it’s usetling to realize this. It

makes you think was death better than living a life of torture?

There are thousands of African Americans who spoke about the horrors being a slave.

One of these African Americans is Fountain Hughes. Hughes staed, “Cause it make people feel

bad. You know. Makes me feel bad. All I know is if I thought that I’d ever be a slave again, I’d

take a gun and just end it all. End it all” (Slavery Narratives, n.d). Hughe’s pain is clearly defined

by the idea of suicide. As mentioned earlier, many slaves saw death as a resolve then to live a

life of pain and torture. It is horrible to imagine what they’ve had to go through, and death was

the only option to escape. This once again, forms a correlation between each of the text

previously mentioned because it shows how slaves were not just abused physically. The mental

pain that came with this abuse is much more deeper and led to dark thoughts of suicide.

In closing, my mother told me to “Treat everyone with respect.” I have always grown up

with this in mind, that everyone is my equal, regardless of race. When reflecting on slavery, it

makes me wonder what could be the cause of hatred/racism. Is it as result of nature or nurture?

We can not truly imagine the pain, especially the mental pain, slaves went through, no matter

how much we try to empathize with them. As a progressing society, it is imperative that we keep

discussing and keep learning about the past. That we never forget about slavery and more

importantly those who were enslaved. They have names and history as we do. We must

continue to research about these people in order to create a society in which we never repeat

such atrocities ever again.

 Works Cited

Coffin, Levi, ​Reminiscences of Levi Coffin, the reputed president of the underground railroad.

Cincinnati, 1876. Print.

Douglass, Frederick.​ Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass​. New York: Clydesdale P, 2018.

“Fountain Hughes.” ​MoAD Museum of African Diaspora,​ 2014,

www.moadsf.org/slavery-narratives/2857-2/​.

Morrison, Toni. ​Beloved: A Novel.​ New York: Knopf, 1987. Print.