Repressed Memories In Toni Morrison's Beloved

The ability to free oneself from blame or guilt, referred to as absolution, and the meaning of this with reference to the character Clare Wald will be discussed with reference to Absolution as a whole. In the novel, Absolution, both of the protagonists are plagued by their past but more noticeably with Clare who is guilty of unspeakable violence in a different form compared to the past of Sam. Clare searches for forgiveness and release from the crimes she believes she has committed. She is pre-occupied with three memories in particular which include her being indirectly responsible for the death of her sister and brother-in-law Nora and Stephan; her failings as a mother to her daughter Laura who disappeared in 1989 who she presumes is dead and lastly her rejection of Sam as a child. She attempts to find absolution for each of her past ‘crimes’ in different ways, but has little hope in finding absolution.

Lady Macbeth and Curley’s Wife are portrayed as victims in some parts of the play and the novel, respectively. Lady Macbeth is shown as a victim of guilt; whilst Curley’s Wife is shown as a victim of physical abuse from Curley. E Lady Macbeth is shown as a victim when the guilt of killing Duncan finally takes its toll on her health. She starts having nightmares as she tries to remove blood from her hands saying “Out, out damned spot out I say” (Poel, 2013). Curley’s wife is shown as a victim in the novel, at the point when Curley goes to accuse Slim of talking to his wife, and at this point Slim says “it seems like she can’t stay away from the men”.

Maya Angelou was born in 1928 and suffered a hard childhood that later on affected her writing. When she was eight years old, Maya was sexually abused and raped by her mother’s boyfriend. After he was found guilty, the man was murdered and it was thought that it was by Maya’s

The suspect, their own daughter, Lizzie Borden. For the duration of her trial Lizzie Borden was seen as a bane, a murderer, and would be treated like one for the rest of her life. Sarah Miller recognized the wrong in this and aspired to give Lizzie another chance to clear her name by giving nothing but the facts about the case since, during her trial, evidence was left out or overlooked. In her book “The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the

Some resort to violence and others experience depression. Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones tracks the lives of the characters after their beloved daughter, sister, and friend, Susie Salmon dies. Although all of the characters grieve, Jack Salmon, Susie’s father, grieves in a unique way that most closely follows the grieving pattern described by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler Ross. At first, he denies Susie’s death, then he becomes angry and depressed about her death, and finally he comes to accept it near the end of the novel. Jack Salmon is the character in The Lovely Bones

The last few pages of Kindred the prologue comes full circle to the epilogue. With the start of Kindred, Octavia Butler brings us the pain of Dana losing her arm. Without knowing how the loss occurred, more physical pain consisting of beatings and emotional pain of having friends and others family members torn apart. To Dana gripping a knife in one hand, Rufus gripping the other. Dana tries to pull away, angry she sinks the knife into Rufus’s side.

Due to unfortunate circumstances in one’s life, individuals often engage in self-harm. The novel Cracked by M.K Walton, shows this through the characters - Victor and Bull – by their emotional state being disrupted by a of series of events. The two main characters in the novel both try to commit suicide due to them feeling neglected from family and friends and have experienced bulling or abuse. After reaching a state of mind where they want to give up on life, they are given an opportunity to wish to live again. K.M Walton demonstrates throughout her novel how a series of tragic events will drive someone to commit suicide or find a “cure” for themselves through her characters.

The novel Beloved by Toni Morrison fundamentally relies on the relationship between the former slave Sethe and the daughter she murdered as an infant, only known to the reader as Beloved. In one scene, Beloved is attempting to make Sethe feel guilty as Sethe argues that her attempted murder of her children was out of love, and that she intended for them to be “together on the other side.” Beloved’s response, in which she points out that, after she “died,” “ghosts without skin stuck their fingers in her and said beloved in the dark and bitch in the light,” shatters the intensely loving, devoted tone that Sethe attempts to establish in favor of a more dramatic, graphic tone and creates intense juxtaposition, a device which is continually used throughout the text. (254) The phrase “ghosts without skin,” overall, exemplifies Beloved’s immature perspective. Although she is physically only about a year older than Denver, her rhetoric is not as developed, and has many childish qualities to it; the

Another symbol is Madeline Usher. She symbolizes the evil side of a person. When she comes back to the house, Poe writes, “...fell heavily inward upon the person of her brother, and in her violent and now final death-agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse, and a victim to the terrors he had anticipated.” Madeline came back and killed her brother; adding a creepiness to how he died. In a big way, Poe uses symbolism to add a tone to the story and cast more fearful

After returning he made the statement, “The queen, my lord, is dead.” (Cowther 5:5: 17). It is evident that Lady Macbeth killed herself due to guilt as just a few scenes prior she was recounting the murders in her sleep, proving it was on her