Trapped in Mister: A Fourth Beloved Analysis

Trapped in Mister

            In Beloved, as Paul D recalls Halle’s witnessing of Schoolteacher’s nephews stealing Sethe’s milk, a euphemism for rape, Paul D continues on about his powerless nature and inability to aid Sethe during this brutal act, for Paul D was constrained by a metal contraption limiting both his motions and his mind. In this particular scene, Toni Morrison couples impeccable visual imagery, almost coming off as tactile, and reoccurring images about the comparisons of a human slave to an animal in order to illustrate a key precedent of the novel: the unmentionable horrors of slavery. Paul D recollects the scene by explaining, “How offended the tongue is, held down by iron… the lips… yanked back” (84). Morrison not only recreates a vivid scene but also subtly details the restrictions of a slave, in this case, Paul D, as a result of being property. The fact that the “tongue is, held down” captures how Paul D is unable to speak and unable to receive basic human rights; moreover, “the lips yanked back” furthers the inhumane image, for one usually associates the word “yanked” with an animal, or in this case, human property. Paul D goes on to mention that “[p]eople… who’d had the bit always looked wild after that” (84). Visually, first-hand, “the bit” altered a slave’s outward appearance while at the same time having psychological after-effects from being restricted. As supplementary detail of comparing the status of a slave to that of an animal, Morrison uses the adjective “wild” as in a slave attained a certain jungle-like or untamed beast appearance after being cruelly subjected to such contraptions. In addition, Paul D depicts the rooster, named “Mister… [Who] looked so… free” (86). Ironically, “Mister” has more liberties than Paul D– “look[ing] so free– which ultimately makes Paul D envious of the animal. Morrison includes this detail to exemplify the dreadful realities of slaves and the degradation of a slave to the point where a simple farm animal possesses more power than a human. Overall, Morrison delves into the candid nature of slavery, for she does not embellish history while demonstrating the dehumanizing events that Paul D endured.