Tony Morrison's Beloved: The Theme of Black Madness and Physical Disabilities

Tony Morrison's Beloved: An Analysis of the Theme of Black Madness and Physical Disabilities
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Tony Morrison's Beloved: An Analysis of the Theme of Black Madness and Physical Disabilities
Themes of madness and physical and cognitive disability typically associated with black slaves have frequently been recurrent in novels based on black or African Americans' horrifying experiences of slavery. Such novels comprehensively explore the contextual background of mind-numbing physical and mental torture conducted on black slaves that eventually led to their mental derangement and physical disability. This gradual loss of cognitive and physical disabilities manifests the inhuman behavior conducted against black slaves in American history. For the same reason, one scholar argues that the study of madness in the context of black slaves is crucial as it helps the reader comprehend the extent and nature of oppression committed by white people and their subsequent ableism (McConville, 2019).
In terms of exploration of the themes of black madness and disabilities, Tony Morrison's Beloved stands out as a comprehensive study of the psychological, racial, social, and ethical context of black madness. In this novel, feeling of self-alienation, disorientation, complete loss of grip on reality, and violent physical behavior are some of the aspects of madness that has been elaborated in the lives of black slaves. In addition, one aspect of this story explores the gradual loss of self-respect of black slaves as the preliminary cause of madness; another dimension explores the nature and extent of the physical torture that further accelerates the psychological degradation of black slaves and, finally, by the utter madness manifested by Hall's mental delirium. Even more so, the addition of supernatural elements further accentuates the dire consequence of racial prejudice and oppression of black slaves. Therefore, this essay aims to explore this novel's various aspects to comprehend the context of the madness and physical disabilities of black slaves.
The death of Mr. Garner, the owner of Sweet Home, a farm where black slaves work, leads to the beginning of an unending spell of physical and psychological turmoil for the black slaves. His successor, Mrs. Garner's brother, is a cruel, utterly racist, and sadistic person who enhances the sense of self-alienation in blacks by his incessant assault on their self-respect. For instance, Paul D keeps getting remarks about his racial inferiority by the schoolteacher, and consequently, he loses grip on his sense of being a dignified human. This sense of self-alienation in Paul D comes to the fore when while screaming at Denver; he becomes so disoriented that he cannot find identity whether these are his screams or someone else's (Morrison, 1987). This sense of self-alienation can be considered the onset of his journey toward complete loss of self-respect and value. For the same reason, when Paul D sees Halle's madness, he visualizes the practical manifestation of his psychological state.
Reading and interpretation of the theme of madness in this novel can be substantiated by a transgressive st...