Toni Morrsion Beloved
Is murder a better alternative than slavery for your children
Toni Morrison's novel "Beloved" presents readers with a terrifying account involving a mother having to choose whether to have her children become slaves or whether to have them dead. Torn between these two options, the central character in the novel, Sethe, makes a hasty choice and decides to kill her own daughter. The protagonist is obviously tormented by her past and it somewhat seems natural for her to take this decision when considering the suffering she must have experienced while being a slave. It would be wrong to consider rational thinking given the circumstances, as Sethe could not possibly take on an objective attitude. The main argument in this paper will focus on emphasizing the contrast between being killed and living life in slavery.
Surely, it would be absurd for anyone to consider the thesis of this essay from a rational point-of-view, as only someone who is actually in a position like Sethe's would be able to understand what it actually feels like to experience such thoughts. Her thinking was clouded by her past and considering her choice, it seems clear that she went through horrific events during her time as a slave.
When considering matters from a rational perspective, I believe that slavery is the better option in this case. As cruel and unjust as it was, slavery provided individuals with the chance to actually experience life and to live through events that most people consider essential during their lifetime. The general notion of slavery can even be applied in the case of people living in the contemporary society. Most people today practically sell their time with the purpose of achieving their goals. Going to work and staying there for several hours in order to have access to basic necessities and a little more can be considered relatively similar to a...
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