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Personification In Beloved

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Beloved is a historical fiction book that indirectly depicts the life of Margaret Garner, a young mother during the mid 19th century who was arrested for murdering one of her children after having escaped slavery in order to prevent them from being returned and enslaved by the slave owner. This gory act was induced by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which gave the authorization to slave owners to return escaped slaves to their plantations. Sethe, representing Garner in the book, murdered her two-year-old daughter, who left unnamed. While the story revolves around the powerful, yet traumatic life of a former slave, the author of Beloved, Toni Morrison, uses different literary techniques, such as personification and metaphor, and a literary …show more content…

Mood is simply the ambience of the text influenced by the author’s style of writing, such as his or her choice of setting, details, and words. After Paul D left 124, “[Sethe, Denver, and Beloved] ice skated under a star loaded sky and drank sweet milk by the stove, to the string puzzles Sethe did for him in afternoon light, and shadow pictures in the gloaming” (282). The author’s word choice evokes a warm and family-like moods, conveying that they are bonding as a family. In spite of Sethe’s tragic past, she was able to feel contentment through her meeting with Beloved. Paul D commiserated with Sethe and uttered, “me and you, we got more yesterday than anybody. We need some kind of tomorrow” (322). Paul D’s words created a hopeful aura after Beloved’s departure from 124. Paul D, being a slave in his early years, had a horrendous past, but he realized that “he did not have to feel the shame of being collared like a beast” (322). His choice brought forth the realization that enabled him to live peacefully without having the fear of being haunted by the past. It was clear that it is possible to remain unaffected in the midst of

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