responding and reflecting #2

While reading Beloved, my view on this era of American history has changed, specifically, my view on life for African Americans after slavery was abolished. An example would be the fact that "He [Paul D] was sent there [prison] after trying to kill Brandywine"(125). Before I read Beloved, the idea of freed slaves being imprisoned never crossed my mind. Another part of Beloved that challenged my historical view of the time period was relationship between native Americans and African Americans. In another part of the book, Paul D and other prisoners manage to escape, and come across a sick Cherokee camp who help free them of there chains. This was interesting, as from my research, the Cherokee tribe had the most slaves of all native American tribes. This made me wonder if some native Americans viewed African slaves differently than other groups of natives. Another scene in the book that changed my view historically was when Baby Suggs preached the black community in a place called the "clearing". There, she "told them that the only grace they could have was the grace they could imagine" (103). I never knew the details about the transition for former slaves after slavery was abolished. Former slaves had to get used to a totally new life after being freed. Even though they were freed, there was still severe amount of racism towards them regardless of there freedom. this part of the book sheds light on how freed slaves felt emotionally at this time in history. When I learned about slavery in history class, I was shown merely the numbers and statistics. Beloved showed the emotional side of the people affected by slavery both before and after it was abolished. Beloved showed me the day to day life of former slaves and the constant problems they faced.