Table of contentsIntroductionThe role of trees in BelovedAs a symbol of scarsRepresenting the slave systemAs a source of comfort and securityAs a path to freedomConclusionIntroductionToni Morrison uses the imagery of trees throughout throughout his novel “Beloved”. For most of the characters in the novel, trees evoke both good and bad memories of their lives. The trees symbolize the energy through which the characters find comfort and freedom, but they also carry the characters' past traumatic memories. Morrison frequently uses trees as a link to his ultimate message: the characters' intractable struggle to cope with their past although they are now free from slavery. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Trees have a notable role in the story, but each character has a different relationship with each of these motifs. One character may identify with another very positively, while another character may less so. As for the trees, that's absolutely true. For many Beloved, trees represent a fairly positive and comforting thing for them, but not for Sethe. In Beloved, Sethe is described as having a scar on her back that resembles that of a chokecherry tree. This is explained in the first three chapters of the book, and it is the first that we see of trees in relation to the. Sethe's "tree" is a sign of her past, and it's not a good sign. She associates this scar with a lot of her past life and memories that I think she might like to give away. It reminds her of her past as a slave and everything she endured during that time. The role of trees in Beloved Morrison describes the beauty of trees, which ironically reminds the characters of their loss and trauma. At the beginning of the novel, Sethe evokes the spectacle of lynching against trees: “Boys hanged from the most beautiful sycamore trees in the world”. By juxtaposing beauty and its bitter memory, Morrison shows how Sethe, as a former slave, feels deprived of the opportunity to fully enjoy the natural scene. To reinforce this idea, Morrison once again shows the irony in “Sweet Home had more pretty trees than any farm around”. Despite the pleasant and peaceful landscape of the plantation, Sethe, Paul D, and other characters lead very difficult lives at Sweet Home. As a Symbol for the ScarsUsing the "choke cherry tree" as a symbol for the scars on Sethe's back, Morrison helps the reader understand and sympathize with Sethe's psychological scars. Amy metaphorically named the scars on Sethe's back after the chokecherry tree: "It's a tree, Lu. A chokecherry tree." Your back is covered with an entire tree. In bloom.” Reading how Amy compares the scars on the trunk, branches, and leaves of the chokecherry tree, we can clearly imagine what the scars look like. From this imagination, we can't help but wince knowing how anguished Sethe must have felt when the teacher beat her like she was an animal. Additionally, having the chokecherry tree on Sethe's back means that her past miseries follow Sethe wherever she goes. Additionally, knowing that the chokecherry has bitter fruit shows how she psychologically cannot escape the traumas of her past. Moreover, for Amy, who is full of hope and energy in pursuit of velvet, she can see something exquisite in such a horrible and shocking sight of scars. However, Sethe does not see thescars as Amy does: “That’s what she called him. I’ve never seen it and I never will.” Similarly, Paul D disagrees with Amy's opinion: "actually a revolting pile of scars." Not a tree like she said. Maybe fit, but nothing like any tree he knew because trees were inviting.” Unlike Amy, Sethe and Paul D, who have suppressed all hope in their current lives, cannot see scars as something aesthetic. Representing the Slave System Another significant use of trees appears when Morrison uses the metaphor “jungle” to represent the slave system. A jungle, made up of trees, is a home for wilderness and has connotations of ferment and danger. With this word "jungle", Morrison describes the impact of the slave system on its victims and captors. Slaves and their owners agree that “a jungle” resides within the slaves. However, their perception of the jungle differs. Whites, the slave owners, believed that the jungle represented the ravages, deception, and evil among blacks: "Swift, unnavigable waters, screaming baboons swinging, sleeping serpents, red gums ready to receive their sweet white blood.” From the point of view of black people, white people planted this jungle in them: “It was the jungle that white people planted in them. And it grew. It spread.” For slaves, the jungle signifies the emotional pain they endure that comes from the slave system. As time passes, their pain intensifies and begins to consume them. The jungle expands more and more until it entangles its creators: “It invaded the white people who had created it. I changed and modified them. Made them bloody, stupid, worse than they wanted.” This description highlights how the slave system negatively affects all of human society. Not only does the system traumatize its victims, it also makes its controllers more cruel and inhumane. The entire society suffers from the degradation of compassion and humanity. As a source of comfort and security, Morrison also paradoxically describes trees as the source of comfort and security for Denver. However, this positive connotation still reminds Denver of his need to seek comfort: his feeling of desolation. Denver chooses the round, empty place surrounded by five boxwoods and names it "emerald closet" where she goes and contemplates whenever she feels sad, alone and isolated: "First a playroom, then a refuge, soon the place became the point. In this cradle, isolated from the suffering of the wounded world, Denver's imagination produced its own hunger and its own nourishment.” Denver clings to three things in most parts of the novel: the ghost baby, Beloved, and the Emerald Closet. When Paul D arrives at 124 and chases the baby ghost out of the house, Denver has only one thing left to hold on to: “But he wasn't there now. He fled in the whisper of a hazel man's cry, leaving the world of Denver mostly flat, save for an emerald closet.” After the ghost baby is forced out of Denver's life, the Emerald Closet becomes even more important to her as the only companion and trust she now has. When the ghost baby returns as Beloved, Denver reclaims what she previously had and becomes very obsessed with Beloved. Nevertheless, when Beloved does not appreciate Denver's love, Denver returns to her emerald closet for comfort: "She had not once been to the tree room since Beloved sat on their stump after carnival, and did not remember.