As I read Beloved, it gave me a perspective on how slaves in general turned to the supernatural or religion as a means of escape from their reality. It is pretty clear to me that slaves continued their practices after they were free from slavery.
Morrison makes it seem like there is a good side to slavery, and it is that more people were able to turn to their beliefs in order to survive and get through their lives. I think that is how Morrison feels -- she is trying to show that a person’s faith can be strong enough to bring him/her out of his/her misery, no matter what the situation. Through the character of Beloved, the supernatural we see in the book is malicious and shows no mercy towards its familial members. The mindset of former slaves are filled with hope despite constantly being haunted by their brutal pasts, and as a result, they are all able to move on from Beloved’s disappearance. Usually, I did not learn about how religion helped these slaves since religion is a touchy topic at public schools.
This does not change my mind about the hope that religion can garner in individuals -- faith can do wonders for those who believe in it. I went to a Catholic elementary school from grades Kindergarten to third, so I might be a little biased. Being educated at an institution with a religious affiliation is completely different from being educated at a nonsecular institution. Of course it is expected that one is required to attend mass every Wednesday or participate in an extracurricular activity, such as being an altar server if need be. Even though I do not attend Catholic school anymore, this does not mean that I have been wholly stripped from my religious roots. I still attend mass on holidays, and pray whenever I feel as if I am trouble with myself or anyone else/anything. I still keep a rosary in my bedside table, and ask the Heavens to protect those who mean so much to me and/or are deceased. I may not have walked the exact same paths as those of former slaves, but I can empathize with the reliance on our beliefs to help us through the night and/or our personal hardships.
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