Literary Analysis

My theme, women in slavery, is depicted in Uncle Tom’s Cabin by the character Emmeline, who was bought mostly for the purpose of being exploited by her new owner, “When Legree scolded and stormed, Emmeline was terrified; but when he laid his hand on her, and spoke as he now did, she felt as if she had rather he would strike her. The expression of his eyes made her soul sick, and her flesh creep.” (Stowe, 313). I can’t imagine the feeling of being assaulted like that, and having absolutely no power to do anything about it. But this was a reality for so many girls and women in slavery. In Beloved, the theme of women in slavery is distinctively shown through Sethe, who was raped and beaten by her slave owners, and Baby Suggs who was only used to breed, never getting the chance to lover her children, except Halle, because they were all taken away from her. I think, especially in Beloved, that it was important to Morrison to get the point across that women in slavery had to endure many difficult hardships that slave men weren’t faced with. The class reading that I believe connects most with Beloved is “How it Feels to be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston. Her line, “I belong to no race nor time. I am the eternal feminine with its string of beads.” (Hurston, 943) reminded me of Sethe. When Sethe was explaining what happened to her second youngest child to Paul D, she seemed confident in her decision, even 18 years later. Just how in “How it Feels to be Colored Me” Hurston is confident too in her ethnicity, and her femininity. Women in slavery have had to endure so many horrific events, but just like any other horrific event, great art comes out of it.