Beloved (Cyclopedia of Literary Places)
At a glance:
- Author: Toni Morrison
- First Published: 1987
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Psychological realism
- Time of Work: Late nineteenth century
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Ghost story
- Subjects: African Americans, Family or family life, North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Memory, Mothers, Parents and children, Racism, Blacks, Murder or homicide, South or Southerners, Gender roles, Supernatural, Escapes, Nineteenth century, Slavery or slaves, Abandoned children, Exorcism, Ghosts or apparitions, Guilt, Middle Passage, Midwest, Ohio, Underground railroad, Yards or backyards
- Locales: Kentucky, Ohio
Places Discussed
*Ohio River. River separating the slave and free states that Sethe crosses while fleeing from Kentucky to Ohio. She gives birth to Beloved as she crosses the river. Years later, the child reappears to Sethe in mortal form along a riverbank. Toni Morrison’s choice of the Ohio River for these events is significant. One of America’s major maritime shipping routes, the Ohio extends from the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and flows for nearly one thousand miles before joining the Mississippi River at Cairo,...
[The entire page is 1756 words long]
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