Toni Morrison's novel, Beloved, accounts for various experiences that haunt the well being of individuals who obtain remorseful pasts due to the historic events regarding racism and it’s effects. Targeting the inferior and the development of a society where “scientific racism” is commonly believed in causes a differentiation in the status and value of a person. In terms of wealth and power, Sethe, along with her community, are segregated and discriminated upon due to their origins. As time progresses and slavery starts to diminish, social philosophies begin to formulate, causing a difficult social life style for the African American community.
In Beloved, different forms of racism are commonly seen after the Civil War and it's important to consider this as there is still a gap when focusing on the enterprise culture. It is evident throughout the novel, that hegemony is commonly seen in various obvious and subtle ways. The white race obtains significant amounts of power in terms of racism and demonstrates different ways it maintains its power. This upper class reflects clear characteristics that are significantly used to preserve their authority towards African Americans and is seen through objects like bric-a-bracs, slave bits, and breast milk.
There are significant symbols one should understand as they reflect on the value and power African Americans acquired during the late 1800’s. As slavery became more common, it generally reflected the economic status a “master” had towards his community. Slave owners gradually became more wealthier as the amount of slaves owned increased, thus indicating a greater value in power. Individuals that owned “more than 500 slaves were essentially millionaires in 1860” (Measuring Slavery- 2011). Labor and other affects regarding slavery initiated high power and order to the white owners and it became evident that much of the slaves- especially women- were majorly abused. Sethe in the novel is brutally milked by Schoolteacher's nephews as she represents a figure that associates herself with an animal. According to the source, Interdirisplinary Literary Studies, Racism and Hegemony 2004, by Penn State Press, Sethe is defined “animal-like” due to her skin color and is used as a form of “humiliation, sexual harassment” and a view “no other than a cow to be milked”, ultimately signifying a “breeder for life-stock” to the oppressive American groups. In the novel Sethe experiences this and further expands on the power whites had by stating that "anybody white could take your whole self for anything that came to mind. Not just work, kill, or maim you, but dirty you" (Beloved 251). Sethe, along with other female slaves, is abused by those who obtain high forms of power due to the amount of hatred her racial group carries. The power portrayed through Sethe's breast milk mainly signifies that she is a “breeder” in order to preserve and continue the power associated with the “life-stock” of a slave owner. The slave owner associated with these acts is clearly demonstrating a racist perspective as he is abusing a lower class due to their skin color in order to still maintain his power(wealth). Slave owners and generally whites, can further extend their dominance towards African Americans by heavily oppressing the lower class, ultimately reflecting a fearful preservation of power to whites when observed by African Americans. 
Despite the presence of a slave owners wealth in slavery, another form of power is how slaves were visually seen and the malignant objects they corresponded to. Morrison gives an example of a bric-a-brac item that reflects the general customs African Americans had to encounter by displaying a slogan on a particular object. Morrison focuses and describes the “inscription, eyes, and mouth in gross detail” which convey a significant meaning when considering the context and power of the time period(Racism and Hegemony- 2004). The text inscribed reads, “At Yo’ Service.” (300). It is evident that throughout the novel the white communities are superior which ultimately conveys a moral message of slave labor for their racial group(white). Hence, it is reasonable to infer that the bric-a-brac represents a slaves meaning to American groups(service). Slaves are brutalized and inferior to society, as seen with Sethe and Paul D’s experiences with schoolteacher, which generally initiates a clear sense of hatred and mandatory labor to serve the whites. Morrison then describes the items “mouth” which can signify a clear representation of a slave “bit”(Racism and Hegemony- 2004). Morrison describes the mouth in “gross detail”, implying that slaves were forced to wear bits, restricting them from speaking. Sethe harmed from her past, undertakes these attributes by showing “that the hurt was always there-- like a tender place in the corner of her mouth that the bit left”(69). Moreover, Sethe was not the only victim to this instance due to the fact that Paul D also experiences similar events by telling Sethe that the “wildness that shot into the eye the moment the lips were yanked back...how offended the tongue is, held down by iron”(71).
As Morrison focuses on the mouth of the bric-a-brac, she specifies its mouth which when connecting it to Sethe's past, could represent the brutal events she had to uptake by wearing that object. The “gross detail” of the mouth and more importantly the bit, symbolize the amount of say African Americans had and how it helped whites maintain their control over this un-superior population. All in all, the power associated with the different aspects of this item(bric-a-brac) establishes a clear restriction to the amount of power slaves obtained when being heavily oppressed by white groups.
To sum up, slavery is not only necessarily seen through the physical actions individuals commit but also through items that recollect remorseful events. It is important to consider this as physical objects can represent slavery and allow its development to continue for significant periods of time, ultimately allowing social groups to become more dominant. As this progresses, clear distinctions regarding power advance and as seen in the novel, cause major gaps between superior and un-superior groups.
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