While it might tempt an author of lesser talent to group all victims of American slavery into one basic stereotypical characterization, Morrison’s distinct flair for creating well-rounded human beings is exhibited throughout. She insists that the reader see what most white people in those days were unwilling to acknowledge – that is to say, that the black people were every bit as individualistic and unique as were their masters, and that they too had levels of intelligence and logic which elevated them into “human” status.
Two Young Men Bound by Slavery
An example of this particular aspect of Morrison’s writing can be found by comparing the characters of Sixo and Stamp Paid. Both are youngish black males, bound by slavery, and each bears his share of misery courtesy of whitepeople – but the similarities abruptly stop there. Sixo is, by nature, a wilder, more headstrong man, much less tolerant of his situation and far more willing to exhibit his fierce defiance in an open, belligerent manner.
Even worse for Sixo, he has a cunning intelligence that in today’s society would most likely be admired and utilized to its fullest. His argument, in defense of himself against the charge of stealing a pig, is worthy of any top-notch attorney and would no doubt give today’s court at least a good pause for thought. However, in this story’s time frame, it only earns him a beating; this is a punishment bestowed for daring to show his intelligence and for trying to reason/defend his action, rather than the actual theft that precipitated the punishment in the first place. The white man (Schoolteacher) recognizes Sixo to be a severe threat, because of his “wildness” but even more because of his inherent intelligence – for which Sixo will eventually pay with his life.
A Different Kind of Rebellion
Whereas Sixo’s defiance is sharp and acute, Stamp Paid has a far more easygoing, subtle approach to the crafty art of outsmarting and coping with whitepeople. During his enslaved days, still answering to his given name of Joshua, Stamp Paid reluctantly turns over his wife (Vashti) for the sexual pleasures of the “young master.” Never one to openly fight, argue or question the white authority, Joshua nonetheless counts an impressive psychological coup upon the young master’s own wife by casually mentioning the cameo Vashti wears, courtesy of the master, around her neck. Although he does so under the guise of innocently asking after Vashti, the implication is clear; Joshua is well aware that the spurned wife is equally aware of what’s taking place, and that it hurts her as much as it does him.
Compassion Can Liberate
What further separates these male characters is the fact that Joshua admits that hurting the young wife did not give him as much pleasure as he’d thought it would. One can easily imagine Sixo being far more brutal and taking unprecedented joy in the pain his words would cause. Joshua is obviously a more sensitive, kind human being – blessed with a wisdom far less threatening than Sixo’s blatant intelligence, and yet able to strike with an inner, latent force which is far more potent because it lurks beneath the surface and disguises itself under politeness and humility.
The ‘Sixos’ of slavery didn’t tend to survive, because their actions and attitudes were so easily observed and anticipated. Conversely, people like Joshua (Stamp Paid) lived to see freedom and went on to help advance their race because the white man never bothered to look deeply enough into them to see the true “human-ness” beneath the skin.
Morrison, Toni. Beloved, Penguin Books, NY, 1988. 290 pages.
ISBN: 0-452-26446-4
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