Introduction
The American history of the 18th century saw a plethora of grief examples of the suppression of African-Americans where white people dominated and exploited the Blacks. This confrontation between races is based on the prejudiced attitude to the otherness of people leading to inferior relations (Loomba 104). The memory about the violence did not let slaves live in reality but to in the world of allusion that could give them at least the minor hope to live in a better world (Toufic 7). Still, the past cannot be forgotten, as it is perpetuated in the deeds and feelings, which were brightly perceived in the novel Beloved by Morrison and in the art world of Kara Walker visualizing the history of ongoing repressions and eternal confrontation between the whites and the blacks.
The representation of “memories” in Morrison’s Beloved
Morrison’s literary work, the main protagonist Sethe, a former slave, escapes from slavery and repressions and tries to build a new life and a new reality deprived of the past. However, she is constantly haunted by the voice of “memories” that hamper and destroys her present. By this, the author emphasizes the inevitability of this past-present opposition which is the main indicator of her past affiliation. In this regard, Morrison sets another confrontation between the law and the spirit where the ghost is the disguised symbol of the past. The Beloved, the killed child, is the clue between the hardships and the new life. “[Sethe wants to] forgot her like a bad dream” (Morrison 7).
The art of Kara Walker and her vision of the racial repressions
The artworks of Kara Walker also reveal the themes of racial affiliation and identity. In her drawings, she often depicts exaggerated facial features and body shapes to highlight ethnicity and to present the way race defines people (The Art of Kara Walker n. p.). The utilization of the silhouettes originating from the eighteenth century is a sophisticated means for addressing the above issues. Through visual perception, Kara allows viewers to define themselves and their past national affiliation. This is an intimate way to disclose racial identities. When referring back to the past, Walker states, “Blackness became a very loaded subject… – all about forbidden passions and desires, and all about a history that’s still living, very present…the shame of the South and the shame of the South’s past…” (The art of Kara Walker n. p.).
Conclusion
Through both textual and visual, we can relate to the historical problems and the phenomenon of “memories”. On the other hand, we can fully perceive the tragedy of slavery through Morrison’s descriptions of torments experienced by the blacks. On the other hand, it is possible to pursue history through feelings and visual perception allowing it to signify the racial identity. Still, the text is a more effective tool for depicting the historical processes like ongoing migrations where the readers can distinguish between the Diaspora and exile, between the “host” and “the other” (Mercer, 5). In this respect, the memory of origins keeps people close to their ethnic roots.
Works Cited
Loomba, Ania. Colonialism/postcolonialism. NY: Routledge, 1998.
Mercer, Kobena. Exiles, Diasporas and Strangers. US: The MIT Press, 2008.
Morrison, Toni. Beloved. US: Vintage International, 2004.
The Art of Kara Walker. Walker Art Center. Web.
Toufic, Jafal. Ashura: This Blood Spilled in My Veins. US: Post-Apollo Press, 2005.