American Gothic Mid Term Use Of Color - 1723 Words

Skylar Leaf American Gothic Mid-Term The Use of Color in Beloved In Beloved, color is a common and important theme, especially the color red. This is because color can symbolize a variety of different things such as a specific emotion or a memory. Throughout Beloved Morrison uses color to give various meanings to various objects and spaces. The emotional qualities of the characters in Beloved are so strong that Morrison utilizes color as a way to express their feelings. Since the book tells a story about slavery and the color of a persons skin, color in the book is often used as a way to express conflict. In Beloved, color is seen as the cause of all the trouble and tension in the novel. The color red is a commonly used symbol in Beloved†¦show more content†¦One of the first appearances of the color red in the novel is when Paul D enters 124 and is frozen in a pool of red and undulating light that locked him where he stood.(Morrison 10) There is also a common theme of Paul D’s red heart which has been re placed by his old tobacco tin. He would not pry it loose now in front of this sweet, sturdy woman, for if she got a whiff of the contents it would shame him. And it would hurt her to know that there was no red heart bright as Mister s comb beating in him.(Morrison 86) The idea of the red heart represents the pain of Paul D’s past and the life as well as manhood he was denied. There are many other examples of the color red in Beloved. For example, the red rooster which for Paul D represents the manhood in which he was denied. Amy Denver’s red velvet represents the notion of a happiness sometime off in the future, which Sethe believes Amy will never reach. The red choke cherry tree which was whipped into Sethe’s back as well as the memory of the blood of her dead child are a constant reminder to Sethe of the horrors and negative memories of her life. The use of many other colors as symbols occur throughout Beloved, even on the first page of the novel where Morrison describes 124 as a dull gray and white and absent of any color, which sets the tone for the space in which a large portion of the novel takes