Why Sethe Why?

Many of the actions in this novel exhibit the barbaric nature of humans especially when in strenuous and taxing situations. Morrison’s account reveals the power struggle between whites and blacks during slavery. The actions of schoolteacher and his nephews are aimed at dehumanizing the slaves. Since there were no women on the plantation of Sweet Home, the male slaves had to satisfy their sexual desires through bestiality by having sex with cows (Morrison 13). Evidence of these sexual acts of desperation, the white slave owners held immense power over blacks.

Sethe is extremely disturbed when under schoolteacher’s surveillance his nephews took her breast milk from her (Morrison 19-20). This act is a violation of her personal space and it eliminates her ability to provide for her own child. Sethe is beaten within an inch of her life after this encounter for telling Mrs. Garner what had transpired (Morrison 20). This is schoolteacher’s method of breaking the will and pride of Sethe, a strong, black woman. This abuse of power demonstrates the ruthless, animalistic tactics utilized by white slave owners.

The ability to experience freedom is “to get to a place where you could love anything you chose—not to need permission for desire” (Morrison 191). Throughout the novel, Morrison explains situations where the characters to not have agency over their own lives. This is not fulfilling; this is not freedom. Sethe had lived much of her life not as her own free agent, and she did not want her children to have to grow up under such circumstances. Sethe took the power that she did possess and chose to kill her own child. She would rather free her child from this oppressive world by murdering her toddler then allow for her daughter to be made a slave, not ever free to make her own decisions. Are barbaric acts ever justifiable? Sethe gives up preemptively on the possibilities of her child’s future being worth living. My concern lies in that the agency of the rest of her child’s life seems to have been an afterthought. If she did not want anyone else to experience the horrors of slavery, then why did she have children?