Slavery has brought devastation to communities and countries around the world for many years. This destruction can occur in physical, psychological ways, and in a lack of community unity. In Beloved by Toni Morrison, the author presents themes of the ultimate demolition of one's identity through slavery, the importance of community support and involvement, and the limits and powers of language. Because of the crude and inhumane acts of slavery against not only Sethe but millions of innocent people throughout the United States, these people often struggled with the ability to have an identity of their own and the ability to even feel some form of of self-esteem. Sethe begins to lose her mind about self-worth when she meets a school teacher who gives a lesson describing her animalistic characteristics. After this incident, she begins to express thoughts of self-loathing and alienate herself from others. Sethe states that Breaking Free was one thing; claiming ownership of that liberated self was another (Morrison 95). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. Sethe doesn't have a single attribute that she genuinely likes, so she believes that her children are her only positive characteristics. He fears that when he dies, he will live in a state of madness, and to prove this to be true, the act of killing the Beloved shows his extreme madness. Although the horrendous act of murder on Beloved also demonstrates the love Sethe had for her daughter because she not only freed herself from slavery but made it impossible for Beloved to have to suffer the abominable acts of slavery. Slavery, being the cause of these actions and emotions, taught that slaves were only subhuman because they were continually traded and sold at values ​​based on their ability to work. Another example of the destruction of a human being due to slavery is shown through Paul D. Early in the novel he admits that he hears screaming voices and cannot decipher whether he is screaming or if he gets it from someone else. He also had problems with his identity as a man. He feels like it has no value to him, so he can't consider himself a real man (Morrison131). Due to his self-loathing, Paul D later becomes depressed and emotionally tired. Denver also shows a lack of value. She confuses her identity with Beloved's and feels herself, who was Beloved, begin to disintegrate and this not only confuses her with Beloved's character, but makes her disinherit more of what she had as an identity, leaving her with almost nothing. At the expense of managing the personal value resulting from slavery, Morrison emphasizes the importance of community unity. Before Sethe was freed, she admits that life as a slave had "destroyed her legs, back, head, eyes, hands, kidneys, womb and tongue", there was nothing left for her to earn from live if not his heart, which he put to work. immediately" but soon her heart also began to fail (Cosca). When Sethe is released, within her twenty-eight days of freedom she becomes involved in the African American community of Cincinnati. As she becomes involved in this community, Sethe discovers a small part of her new self-esteem. The Cincinnati community plays an influential role in the events that take place in 124. This community, consisting of Sethe, Denver, Paul D and many other African Americans, united at the end of the novel to exorcise Beloved of 124, and this allows to Sethe to finally feel at peace. Paul D. works together with his inmates in prison to prove that the only way to escape is through teamwork. The community also supports each otherreligious. Baby Suggs offered a different approach to the traditional church environment; his church had mass practice, and Morrison described how it all started with children laughing, men dancing, women crying, and then it all blurred out. The women stopped crying and danced; the men sat down and wept; the children danced, the women laughed, the children cried until, exhausted and torn, they all lay in the Glade damp and breathless (Morrison 104). These spiritual experiences led people to grow together and form connections based on their shared religion of Christianity. Some white citizens, however, did not approve of Suggs because they could not stand the constant and reckless generosity he displayed. Some brought what they could and what they believed would work, stuffed into apron pockets, tied around their necks, spread across the space between their breasts. Others carried the Christian faith as a shield and sword. Most people bought a little of both. They had no idea what they would do once they got there. They just started, walked along Bluestone Road and gathered at the agreed upon time. The heat held back some women who promised to return home. Others who believed the story did not want to take part in the confrontation and would not come, no matter what the weather. And there were those like Lady Jones who did not believe the story and despised the ignorance of those who did. Thirty women made up the group and headed 124 towards the gathering. Language was also an issue and a significant power to possess during this period. Olivia Pass, of University College at Tulane, describes the author's writing style by stating that Morrison's Beloved beautifully exemplifies the steps as Sethe goes through them to accept her infanticide by the end of the novel (Pass). When Sixo overturns the master's reasoning to prove that he has broken the rules, the master whips and tortures him to demonstrate that definitions belong to the definer, not the defined (Morrison 176). Slaves eventually come to understand the illegitimacy of most white definitions. Mr. Garner, for example, claims to have empowered his slaves to live like real men, but Paul D. questions how masculine they are. Paul D. finally comes to realize with bitter irony the mistake of the name Sweet Home. Although Sixo ultimately reacts to the hypocrisy of slavery rhetoric by abandoning English altogether, other characters use English to redefine the world on their terms. Baby Suggs and Stamp Paid, for example, are changing names. These characters show how language can be such a powerful yet tormenting skill. When characters are slaves, they manipulate language and transcend its standard limits. Their mastery of communication allows them to adapt its meanings and make themselves indecipherable to the eyes of the white slave owners who watch them. For example, Paul D and the Georgia inmates sing their dreams and memories together by misleading and deceiving the words (Morrison 84). Morrison says they were close friends and shared dreams and sang together to get through difficult times. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The title of the novel, Beloved, alludes to what is generally the product of a linguistic misunderstanding that further demonstrates that language is too powerful. At her daughter's funeral, Sethe interpreted the minister's speech to the Beloved as a reference to the dead rather than the living. All literature is indebted to this elusive and changing quality of language: the power of metaphor, of simile, of.