Beloved Character Analysis Essay

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Beloved by Toni Morrison includes the memories and experiences of slaves, so to pick an antagonist is hardly any trouble. The harder identification is who in the novel would be considered the protagonist. Every character has their own twisted past that makes it hard for them to be considered the hero of the story. Along with this past A protagonist does not need to be the hero for the entire story rather they could grow into their role, which I believe is exactly what Denver does. Denver’s character development throughout the novel allows her to grow into her own personality and become a responsible grown-up which ultimately makes her the protagonist in Beloved. In the beginning of the novel, Denver acts and can be assumed to be a child. …show more content…

Her sister has taken over the family and sucking the life out of Sethe. The roles switch in Denver’s life and while she still has that maternal instinct to protect, she is now responsible for her mother. Along with this change of responsibility, Denver does the one thing Sethe has yet to have done, ask for help. She goes to Lady (IDK) and asks her for a job so she can start to provide for what is left of her dysfunctional family. It would seem probable for Denver to get a job to start saving up money so she can finally leave her house and start her own life away from the mess that has been created, but that is not her goal. She is taking the money she is making and putting it back into her mom and sister. She is providing for them, despite how awful they have treated her. This says more about her character than anything else in the book. She is going so far beyond her comfort zone and asking for help, all to give back to people who honestly don’t deserve her kindness. At the end of the book, Denver is a working woman and has developed into her own personality that shows through in her conversation with Paul D. (ADD IN CONVERSATION WITH PAUL D). This transformation that Denver makes turns her into the protagonist of the novel as none of the other characters show this same sense of determination to give their life a sense

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