DOI: https://doi.org/10.59321/BAUETJ.V4I2.24
AUTHOR(S)
Mahbuba Sarker Shama
ABSTRACT
This paper analyzes the detrimental impact of slavery on the Africans who were forced to leave Africa to work as slaves in America during the 19th century. In spite of the fact that the American Civil War between the pro-slavery South and the anti-slavery North of 1861-65 gave the Black Africans independence, they were still the marginalized victims. In order to examine the horror of rape, enslavement, domination, beating, inferiority complex and the destruction of African language as well as family, Toni Morrison’s Beloved is scrutinized in the light of Aimé Césaire’s Discourse on Colonialism. The heinous misdeeds of the white colonizers led to infanticide by African raped victims like Sethe who is hemmed in by the juggernaut white rule. Baby Suggs, Ella, Sethe’s mother and Sethe are sexually abused. Atrocities of colonialism kill Sixo, Paul A, and chains Paul D resulting in their immense suffering and the psychological turmoil of Africans did not end even after they got emancipation in the late 90s. Relations of domination and submission due to slavery have dehumanizing effects on the lives of African descent slaves and this paper aims at throwing light on the inert African slaves who are shorn of their land, family, and sense of self under the appalling encroachment of slavery in post-civil war.