African slavery began when Africans were torn from their homes and shipped across the ocean to America. Once in America, the slaves not only lost their liberty but also their past. They had no one to appeal to for help when they were starved, beaten or sold away from their families. Northerners began to notice the injustice against the slaves. Some northerners decided to proclaim justice for these slaves and to fight for their free will. The subject of slavery became a sectional issue as it divided northerners regarding their stance on slavery. This sectional issue inevitably caused a civil war as people held strong convictions regarding slavery. The military conflict between the United States of America (the Union) and the Confederate States of America (the confederacy) lasted from 1861 to 1865. "The war took more than 6oo,ooo lives, brought freedom to 4 million black slaves and opened wounds that have not completely healed to this day" (Encarta). The slaves that were freed were now faced with a new dilemma, how to deal with daily life. Toni Morrison depicts this struggle in Beloved. She connects the horrors of slavery to a victim and her descendants. The torment and torture suffered by Sethe, not only affects her but rather all those around her. Beloved's character serves as a catalyst for re-introducing the past. Beloved re-introduces the past in two different ways. The first example is her presence in Sethe and Denver's life. Beloved is there to remind them of the suffering she lived through when she was away from her family and have them experience the same suffering. The second way Beloved re-introduces the past is by bringing back the past horrors of slavery that victims tried so hard to keep repressed in their subconscious.
             Beloved's first goal is to remind Sethe of the suffering that was beginning to be forgotten due to Paul D's presence. Paul D is the obstacle that scares the ...