BELOVED – TONI

MORISSON
 CONTENTS

 ABOUT TONI MORISSON

 ABOUT BELOVED
 MR. GARNER
 SCHOOLTEACHER
 COMPARE $ CONTRAST BETWEEN THE
TWO $ THE PRINCIPLE OF EVILISM
 CONCLUSION
 TONI MORISSON
 Chloe Anthony Wofford.
 Born February 18, 1931, Lorain, Ohio, U.S.—Died
August 5, 2019, Bronx, New York.
 American novelist, essayist, book editor $ professor.
 The Bluest Eye (1970).
 Her novels are known for their epic themes, exquisite
language and richly detailed African American
characters who are central to their narratives.
 Her works revolve around African-Americans.
 She received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993.
 countless prestigious awards including the Pulitzer
Prize(1988) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from
President Barack Obama.
 BELOVED
  Set after the AMERICAN CIVIL WAR (1861–1865).
 Destructive legacy of slavery as it chronicles the life of a Black
woman named Sethe.
 Inspired by the life of Margaret Garner.
 Escaped slavery in Kentucky.
 It was adapted as a 1998 movie of the same name,
starring Oprah Winfrey. 
 The protagonist Sethe.
  Historical fiction, gothic story, and bildungsroman. 
  Less a suspense novel than a treatise on acceptance and
endurance
 Dehumanisation of slavery, motherly figure, past memories,
masculinity, destruction of identity$ concept of freedom etc.
 MR. GARNER
  The owner of Sweet Home who treats his slaves
humanely.
 Generous by the standard of slave owner.
 They allow Halle to buy Baby suggs freedom.
 They aren't flat-out horrendous like schoolteacher.
 The slaves at Sweet Home get to act more like self-
managing employees than slaves.
 Mr. Garner dies and Mrs. Garner becomes too sick to
leave bed, the slaves are left under schoolteacher's
"care.“
 His "enlightened" slavery, however, proves to be a
sham after his death.
 SCHOOLTEACHER
 Mr. Garner's brother-in-law.
 Cruel ,sadistic master and vehemently racist.
 Break the wills of his slaves.
 A pseudo-scientific study of the slaves.
 Treating them in his study the way a biologist treats lab animals.
 His nephews held Sethe down and stole her milk while
schoolteacher took notes.
 Giving her the distinctive scars on her back.
 Taking body measurement.
 Schoolteacher’s own habits are extremely ascetic: he eats
little, sleeps less, and works hard.
  Teaching lessons to his white pupils on the slaves’ “animal
characteristics.”
 COMPARE AND CONTRAST
 At first blush, Mr. Garner and the schoolmaster seem very
different.
.
 Mr. Garner is the archetype of the “benevolent slave
master.”
 Not only does the schoolteacher treat Sethe and the others
in a cruel manner typical of most slave masters, but he
also views them as scientific experiments.
 This added level of scrutiny and dehumanization level. 
 Perversely, in Mr. Garner’s eyes, his benevolent treatment
of his slaves justified his participation in slavery.
 So, although Mr. Garner physically treated his slaves
better than the schoolteacher did, we cannot definitively
say that he was the lesser of two evils.
 CONCLUSION
 Written by Toni Morrison – Pulitzer prize.
 Protagonist – Sethe.
 Cincinnati, Ohio. 124 Bluestone road.
 Sweet home , Kentucky.
 Owner – Mr. Garner
 Schoolteacher – brother in law
 Humanly, generous, benevolent slave master
 Cruel, sadistic, vehemently racist. Engaged in
dehumanizing activities.
 Different approach of treatment towards slave.
 Dehumanization of slavery, motherly love, loss of
identity, concept of freedom etc.
THANK YOU ..!!