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Dehumanization In Sethe's Breast Milk

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The dehumanization that Sethe experienced took away her most desired identity: being a mother. Sethe experienced dehumanization when “those boys came in there and took milk”. Her milk, the substance that would sustain her child’s life, was the one thing that truly belonged to her, but the white boys took it from her, hence diminishing her worth as a woman, a mother, and a human being. Breast milk is the life force for an infant and having this integral human connection taken away from her diminished her self worth. This emotionally scarred Sethe, as she talks more about her milk being taken than the actual scars on her back (19). Despite this, Sethe still worked to be the mother that she never had. Sethe made it her purpose to protect her children,

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