earticle

영어

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the negative influence of possessive relationship
on forming personal identity in Tony Morrison’s Beloved. Dividing into two parts, one examines slavery’s impact on black people’s identity, and the other that of possessive love on other’s self, not true love. First, black peoples’ self was broken completely under the slavery, for it regarded black slave as possessions, not as human being. In the mean while, Sethe, the main character of this novel, misunderstands possessive love as “thick,” which is due to the slavery. Accordingly, she considers it better to die than to live as a slave, so she commits infanticide of her own baby, Beloved. With this prejudice, Sethe leads a very lonely life alienated from her community. In conclusion, Possessiveness, whether slavery or love, is a will to control the others, preventing their character from growing. Also those who try to possess others may be ruined by their prejudice and arrogance. (Chungnam National University)