Loss

“Singing love songs to Mr.Death, they smashed his head. More than the rest, they killed the flirt whom folks called Life for leading them on. Making them think the next sunrise would be worth it; that another stroke of time would do it at last. Only when she was dead would they be safe. The successful ones-- the ones who had been there enough years to have maimed, mutilated, maybe even buried her-- kept watch over the others who were still in her cock-teasing hug, caring and looking forward, remembering and looking back” (128).

In this passage, Paul D is remembering the horrors of the time where he was sent to prison in Georgia for the attempted murder of Brandywine. This was one of the darkest time periods in his life. In addition, Paul D personifies the idea of life and finds himself fighting it. He sees it as an evil thing that mimics him and everyone around. He goes on to show that the only way out was “when she was dead”. This clearly results in death and is basically what he wanted at that point of his life.

Paul D experiences alone show that it wasn’t just physical abuse that was going on, but mental abuse as well. It was another form of oppression that one could say is even worse and leaves a long term impact on a person. We see Paul D having flashbacks of this and how it still affects him even as a freed man. This begins to uncover the impacts of societal conditions one is placed in. Paul D in a sense starts to rethink his morals and beliefs. This symbolizes a complete defeat in a person. You can beat and verbally abuse someone but if no reaction is made and they stand strong, they have beaten you but the moment you start to rethink who you are and what you stand for, you have been beaten and the battle is lost. This happened to Paul D. They broke him to the point where he changes his whole mindset about life. A desire was ripped out of his life that has affected him severely. Its another type of dominance that is portrayed in Beloved, something much more than socioeconomic. The true power of a class over another remains in one's reactions.