Chris Nkoy
AP Language
Period 3
April 3, 2013
Loving Yourself: Third
Beloved Analysis
In Beloved, Baby Suggs preaches to former
slaves and urges them to love and respect their bodies. Baby Suggs teaches
these distraught individuals to love themselves for who they are, and she helps
them move on from the emotionally scarring memories of slavery, in which a
slave did not control his or her own body; slaves were completely dominated
under the command of their master. During one of her sermons, Baby Suggs declares,
“And O my people they do not love your hands. Those they only use, tie, bind,
chop off and leave empty. Love your hands! Love them” (103). In this small
passage, Toni Morrison, the author of Beloved,
uses strong verbs, visual imagery, and an assertive tone of voice to divulge
the struggle slaves went through and to stress the necessity of self-importance
among oppressed African-Americans. The catalogue of verbs “use, tie, bind, chop
off and leave empty” becomes more severe as the list moves on. The connotation
connected with verbs such as “bind” act as a reminder that revisits the
restraint and oppression of slavery. The phrase “chop off and leave empty” uses
active verbs that enforce the visual image of the tortures of slavery.
Morrison’s quick transition from verb to verb shows how little slave masters
cared about their slaves and further emphasizes the heartlessness of slavery.
The imperative tone of voice Morrison uses at the end of the quote shows
strength and courage. The use of the exclamation point to insist that the
former slaves “love [their] hands” shows resiliency against the maltreatment of
slaves. Baby Suggs’s strong words give the former slaves hope and self-confidence
to move forward from oppressing times.
Why choose to focus on the hands, rather than one of the other body parts Baby Suggs mentions in her sermon? What is so significant about the image of hands in particular? How do the hands relate to the rest of the sermon?
ReplyDeleteI think, to answer Connor's question, that hands to Baby Suggs truly represents freedom. On page 166, when Baby Suggs has finally become free, the object that causes her to realize this are her hands. She states she "suddenly saw her hands" and realized "these hands belong to me. These are my hands" (166). In a way, these are the first objects she has truly owned -- she doesn't own her body or her children. Another interesting thing to note, adding to this idea of freedom, is her hands are one of the few parts of her body that have not been permanently changed by slavery -- her hip, womb, and heart have been modified by what she has experienced. So one could say that her hands are one of the few objects that is "free" from the stains of slavery. Or you could propose that hands are a very human aspect, and by telling the former slaves to focus on hands helps soothe the dehumanization that occurred as a slave.
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