Like a King: Second Analysis of Beloved

When Sethe asks if Paul D wants to talk about the bit put in his mouth, he talks instead about walking past the roosters with the bit in his mouth. Toni Morrison uses a metaphor to show how slavery dehumanized slaves and turned them almost into animals. When Sethe says that Mister (the rooster) loved perching on a tub, Paul D replies, “Like a throne” (85). This simile introduces the rooster as having a high position. The irony is that roosters are not so intelligent and usually humans are thought of as ruling the animal kingdom. As Paul D continues his story, he says: “He was still king and I was…” (86). Even though Mister would not have survived without Paul D, Mister had a high rank and Paul D can’t even find the words to express what he was. He says that “even if you cooked [the rooster] you’d be cooking a rooster named Mister” (86). Alive or dead, the rooster would still have a better title than Paul D. Toni Morrison uses metaphors to demonstrate how even though Mr. Garner talked about his slaves as “real men,” they are still brought to a point of existence that is worth less than an animal’s.