The Baboons of Slavery

Passage: “White people believed that whatever the manners, under every dark skin was a jungle. Swift unnavigable waters, swinging screaming baboons, sleeping snakes, red gums ready for their sweet white blood. In a way . . . they were right. . . . But it wasn’t the jungle blacks brought with them to this place. . . . It was the jungle whitefolks planted in them. And it grew. It spread . . . until it invaded the whites who had made it. . . . Made them bloody, silly, worse than even they wanted to be, so scared were they of the jungle they had made. The screaming baboon lived under their own white skin; the red gums were their own” (Ch. 19).

Throughout the novel Beloved, Toni Morrison constantly attacks the idea of slavery and social norms of the 19th century. This, however, is done rather indirectly through a series of events that are all built upon characteristics of Marxism. Every character is affected by slavery in some way shape or form. Slavery itself, goes against Marxism as it is when some individuals are below others in social class. Karl Marx was a proponent for every individual both benefiting society and being treated as equals within their society. Marxism, in general, focuses on the elimination of societal norms and social classes in order to eliminate a society in which some individuals are above others. The novel was written after slavery was abolished, which is where Marxism is first seen in the novel. Slavery represented a social class, one of which was strictly followed in the 18th century of African Americans being lower in terms of social class that whites. The abolishment of slavery marked the elimination of this social class divide of African Americans and whites. Although this social divide was broken on paper, slavery persisted to follow the characters throughout the novel and affect each character in a unique way. The social class divide, although no longer a major political issue, remained a social issue as slavery had successfully been practiced for two centuries before it was abolished in the 19th century. This connection to the past, and the difficulties getting rid of the past and forging a new path to the future, is a repeated issue throughout the entire novel. This is seen no clearer than with the symbol of the baby, Beloved. Beloved serves both as a link to the past and the hardships of slavery, a symbol in which Toni Morrison uses throughout the entirety of the novel to keep a constant reminder to both the characters of the novel and to the reader that the issues of slavery are never erased from history. Beloved, the ghost baby that haunts the house of Sethe, attempts to expose the evils of slavery both through her actions as well as simply persisting in the material realm. Many people believe that ghosts exist because they have not yet had their peace in the world when they died. Beloved is a ghost, and has not yet had her peace in the world. Sethe killed her own baby to save her from the horrors of slavery, but, in doing so, she condemned the baby to a life never lived and herself to a further slave to slavery itself.

Horrendous Treatment of Slaves, children being stolen and physical punishment bestowed upon innocent slaves

Slavery plays a large role in this passage as it portrays the social gap between whites and slaves in the eye of society. In the passage, Morrison states that white people believe that “under every dark skin there is a jungle,” stating that white people see African Americans as beasts in a jungle instead of man. This is an interesting way of stating the situation as it depicts slaves as animals “ready for their sweet white blood.” This is peculiar as it means that the slaves are bloodthirsty for white suffering but, if this were true, why would white people enslave “animals” that want to kill them? It seems odd that people who fear something bring it closer, bring it into their lives, even as slaves. It would not seem logical, as people would something they fear so close in their lives. This is a way that Toni Morrison protests the ideas of slavery. She describes slavery as an inhumane system that only makes the slavers animals, not only for enslaving people, but also for trying to justify why they enslaved their fellow man. She describes the slavers (white people) as the true animals during slavery when she states that “The screaming baboon lived under their own white skin; the red gums were their own.”  This quote shows Toni Morrison’s true intentions behind this quote as it shows a clear opposition to slavery. She first claims that the slaves are animals that want to consume the white people, but then proceeds to describe the animalistic behaviors as a disease that spread to the white people themselves, creating a society where bloodthirsty animals enslave the falsely accused. This society leads to the white people themselves had a “screaming baboon [that] lived under their own white skin.” This baboon, that represented a jungle animal that thirsted for blood, that the white people feared so much, was the white people themselves. Morrison symbolizes the baboon as the disease that people should fear, the bloodthirsty animal instinct that only “sick” humans possessed. This disease, however, was not present in the slaves but was instead present in the white people that enslaved them. Through an indirect connection to slavery and a metaphor that, on the surface level, simply showed slaves as a disease, Morrison shows the inhumanity of slavery and the wrong that white people force upon slaves. Disease does not die with time, but rather lives within a host. The disease is inhumanity and blood lust while the host is the white slavers. This passage not only protests the ideas of slavery, but also protests the ideas of society. Morrison goes against the idea that white people are above African Americans and that slaves are below others in society by showing that the originator of this disease, of this inhumanity, does not lie with the African Americans, but instead with the white enslavers, who have the screaming baboon underneath their skin, their gums ready for blood.

Fighting Baboons, depicting the aggressiveness and animalistic behavior of the white enslavers

Through the use of the beastliness of screaming baboons, Toni Morrison protests slavery and the idea that one man is better than another. Through this passage Morrison argues against society’s norms by describing the white people, who are seen as above African Americans in the novel, as the true animals in the issue of slavery. Through the Marxist lens, this passage protests societal norms and the ideas of slavery. Morrison indirectly attacks these notions through the use of metaphors, which allow Morrison to achieve an effect of making the white people and society appear to be the true enemies of the people, who prevent society from advancing. This effect shows the reader just how diabolical and inhumane slavery is and how the commonly held societal beliefs are misplaced as the true animals of slavery remain unaffected by the disease of fear.