Anne Kim
Period 3
After venturing towards 124, Stamp Paid realizes that no
matter the time nor place, there’s no way to save oneself from the
discrimination and violence of whites. In this sense, Stamp Paid feels defeated
by the “whitefolk” who “were still on the loose” despite the abolishment of
slavery years before (212). Morrison uses a series of chiasmic phrases and
lucid imagery to illustrate an endless cycle of torment and suffering from
slavery to the present time of “eighteen seventy-four” (212). She writes how “grown
men [were] whipped like children; children whipped like adults”(212). By
employing chiasmic structure, Morrison inverts the roles of “men” and “children.”
This reversal shows how adult slaves were punished in the same
way parents punish their children and illustrates the white’s assumed dominance
and patriarchal role over blacks. The line "children whipped like grown
men" displays how children received no mercy, as their punishment was
equal to that of adults. By showing no differentiation between ages, Morrison
exhibits how whites generalized slaves simply as widespread tools to complete
work. Stamp Paid continues to recount, "black women raped by the
crew; property taken, necks broken”(212). By using fragmented language, Morrison
succinctly categorizes each facet of life in which blacks have suffered: rape,
murder, and loss of economic autonomy. "Property taken" has a double
meaning. It reflects how whites strip blacks of their property and way of life,
but also alludes to slavery, as blacks are taken as property. With seeing no
escape to the suffering, Stamp Paid and other characters in the novel are reluctant to find secure satisfaction within their lives.
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