Critical Commentary Beloved

In the article "From the Seen to the Told": The Construction of Subjectivity in Toni Morrison's Beloved the author Jeanna Fuston-White talks about how in the novel the characters break out of the confines that is built by society because of their race, "Morrison's characters, who have been rendered voiceless and helpless by their society, speak, command reason, and demonstrate agency (Fuston-White 462)." She also discusses how Morrison wrote the book in a way that differentiates between "seen" and "told". Fuston-White says, "Therefore, she creates a new way of knowing and of telling the story that empowers the powerless, and that recalls the 'disremembered and unaccounted for,' those 'Sixty Million and more' who died as captives in the Middle Passage, never making it into American slavery (463)." In this article I think the author is analyzing Beloved as a representative of those who didn't make it through the middle passage and not solely Sethe's lost child.
This article adds to the understanding of the novel because it brings a whole new vantage point. I read several different takes on the book and quite a few stated that Beloved could represent the route to America and the other well-known hardships of African Americans, but in class we didn't really discuss that take on Beloved's character. It also helps to better understand the situation that Sethe was in when she decided to commit infanticide, I've never heard or read anything about slaves or previous slaves doing anything like that so at first it shocked me, but after reading "From the Seen to the Told": The Construction of Subjectivity in Toni Morrison's Beloved it provokes thought about if this was an actual reality for some African Americans. Personally, I never really thought about that while reading the book, I was too much in shock to even think past what Sethe had just done. It also provokes thought on what other horrific events or thoughts could have gone through slaves or previous slaves minds whether it was on their way over to America or after they had been freed or escaped. I really do like the analysis of Fuston-White, she says that Beloved is a thought provoking book, but to me, her article brings you to think about what she's saying, but then you're drawn into thinking about the novel and the characters and the events.

Fuston, Jeanna. "From the Seen to the Told": The Construction of Subjectivity in Toni Morrison's "Beloved." African American Review, vol. 36, no. 3, Fall2002, pp. 461-473. EBSCOhost.