A Web Case Book on
BELOVED
by
Toni Morrison

Historical Context of Beloved

While the actual chronology of Beloved is often difficult for readers to determine, it is important for readers to understand the overall historical context in which the story is narrated.

One of the most essential historical elements to understanding the plot of Beloved is the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793. Among other provisions, this law made it illegal for anyone in any free or slave state to assist slaves in escaping or protect and house escaped slaves and their children (born before or after their initial escape).

While the events of Beloved are fictional, the Fugitive Slave Act would certainly have supported the events surrounding to Sethe’s recapture. To find out more about the chronology of the story and the historical context in which it was narrated, visit the following sites:

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1993/morrison-bio.html

http://home.litminds.org/forum.html?id=7

http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/intro.html

http://english.unc.edu/faculty/andrewsw.html

http://docsouth.unc.edu/browse/author/allAuthors.html

http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/biblintro.html

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2838/is_1_37/ai_100959603

http://exchanges.state.gov/education/engteaching/course/aa_links.html

http://bindings.lib.ua.edu/gallery/slave_narratives.html

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Narrative+and+community+crisis
+in+Beloved-a086063231

http://www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/literature/winter.html

http://www.union.edu/PUBLIC/LIBRARY/guide/fp/morrison.html

http://www.union.edu/PUBLIC/LIBRARY/guide/fp/garner.htm

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/wpa/wpahome.html

http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/slave.htm

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/wpa/index.html

http://www.vgskole.net/prosjekt/slavrute/primary.htm

http://museumoftheafricandiaspora.net/salon/exhibits/
slave_narratives/index.html