Magic Realism in Beloved

梁爽

In Beloved， Toni Morrison exhibits a magic world before us， in which ghost can go out from the underground， human fates are dominated by mysterious power， and fantasies are accepted as daily life.Magical realism is a literary form that combines fantasy with raw physical reality or social reality in a search for truth beyond that available from the surface of everyday life.Firstly， magic realism tries to dim the boundary between reality and fantasy to create or reflect a magic world by which truth beneath the marvels is reflected， secondly， magic realism employs mythic pattern including traditional folklore and foreign myths to endow reality fabulous meaning.Lastly， utilizing various modern narrative techniques to cause magic effects is another artistic principle of magic realism.

Toni Morrison mainly discusses three kinds of themes in Beloved， such as the physical and psychological harms caused by slavery， how to keep the cultural independence under oppression， and how to go out of shadows of slavery history and obtain freedom of mind.Each of them is built up on one artistic principle of magic realism.

1.Magic world to show the brutality of slavery

In Beloved， Morrison creates a grotesque and magic world according to the first artistic principle of magic realism， “reflecting reality through magic phenomena”.In the magic world， boundaries between human and ghost， fantasy and reality， death and life are suffused.Ghost returns to the human world for demanding the repayment of the deprived mother-love； magic tree grows on humans back； red ribbon floating on sobbing river accuses white peoples crime； little birds carry the suffered people to fly.The writer narrates stories from a special angle which give readers more intense shock.These magic phenomena in Beloved are not created groundlessly or used aimlessly.By employing appearance of ghost and magic manifestations of nature， Morrison of ghost and magic manifestations of nature， Morrison presents the physical and psychological harms of black people caused by slavery before our eyes vividly.

According to the traditional Africans concept of eschatology， death is perceived as a significant phrase in a cyclic movement including birth， life， deaths， and rebirth.When individuals die， their forms change--- they no longer have physical bodies---but their personalities remain and directly influence happenings in the present.If they are remembered or called by the surviving member of their family， they can come back from the “living dead” world （a community of the departed.So， it is no cause for surprise that the ghost of Sethes murdered daughter haunts 124 houses from the very beginning of the novel.

It is a spiteful ghost， fills the house with “a babys venom” because of the “fury at having its throat cut （by her mother）”.The ghost cant tolerate anyone to invade her territory or share Sethes love.However， Paul D drives it out by whipping the table to beat.But just as the suffering past can not be forgotten so quickly， the ghost can not be cast off so easily.The ghost comes back later in the shape of a young woman， her purpose is clear---because she was deprived of the life and mother-love in her childhood， she came back to demand the repayment.

By the ghost returning to the human world， Morrison probes deeply into the distorted love， the damaged mother---infant bond and deformed identity under slavery.

2.Mythic pattern to reveal cultural oppression and repellence

Employing mythic patterns is one of the most important artistic principles of magic realism.The mythic patterns， as Karl Jung believed， are “archetypes” of human experiences.Magic realists often use myths as a central method to explore the life of their times.

Toni Morrison also draws upon traditional African folklore as well as western myths in her composition of Beloved so that they carry not only the power of natural ties and psychic meaning but also speak to a “necessity” in the social order.The fusion of biblical myths， Greek allusions and sacred stories from African cultures makes this novel a modern fable which conveys themes in a hinted way.

Firstly， Beloved has a “Judeo-Christen mythological pattern” which consists of movement from the idyllic life of a Garden of Eden into the wilderness， the struggle for survival， the providential help， and the arrival into the Promised Land.Sethes journey very much resembles this mythic pattern.Another Biblical allusion is the name of ghost， Beloved， which comes from the ninth chapter of Bible-Romans.Sethe names her little murdered girl Beloved because this is the only word she hears clearly in the preachers pray on the funeral.Though the girl was called Beloved， she is murdered instead of getting any love.Here， again， we see another instance of Morrisons ironical use of biblical referents.Irony is hinted in these revised patterns： slavery not only makes African identity impossible， but also prevents African from developing tenable American identities.Bible is white peoples Gospel while black peoples misery.To black people， it is a “the wrong book full of lies.”

3.Magic narrative strategy to convey the theme

In Beloved， Toni Morrison employs various kinds of modern narrative devices to create magic atmosphere.Among them， the “jigsaw puzzle” narrative structure is the most important one which not only satisfies the aesthetic requirements but also is an important way to convey the theme how to go out of the shadows of slavery history.

In this novel， two sets of time scheme are used to narrate the story.One set is the “present time scheme” which is pointed out at the beginning by author “For years each put up with this spite in his own way， but by 1873 Sethe and her daughter Denver were its own victims.” Another set is the “past time scheme” which appears when the character rememorized （a new word created by Toni Morrison in Beloved， which means the memory appears by itself.） the past， it begins in 1850s when Sethe was bought by Mr.Garner to substitute the old Baby Suggs.They are mingled and mutually interfered with the development of plots which constitutes the “Jigsaw puzzle” narrative structure.A simile is useful to exemplify the structure： the author draws the main events as if on different glasses， then breaks them and blends the fragments together in a dazzling way.The juxtaposition of past and present things or characters at the same time and place in Beloved reflects the special time concept of African people.

The “jigsaw puzzle” narrative structure presents a bizarre co-existence of the past and the present fragments which symbolizes the dilemma of main characters in this novel： they want to remember the past， but the past is too intolerable to be recalled； they should forget the past， but the paste merges by itself.Just as what Sethe says to her daughter Denver： “Its never going way.Even if the whole farm---every tree and grass blade of it dies.The picture is still there and whats more， if you go there， it will happen again； it will be there waiting for you.” In the “jigsaw puzzle” narrative structure， every character possibly encounters the past ant any point of the present time， no matter how hard they want to escape or forget.

As a writer of highly social responsibility and national consciousness， Morrison reviews the slavery history by employment of magic realism in Beloved.The action has its realistic social significance for the present time.On one hand， the author intends to dispel the slavery shadows haunting black peoples minds by examining the past and reconstructing the history.On the other hand， she alerts the people today that the “real” freedom doesnt only mean the physical freedom， but also the freedom of the mind.In order to obtain such freedom， people should review history to draw lessons and resist the cultural oppression to maintain their own identities.