THE USE OF METAPHOR IN MODERN FICTION (IN THE EXAMPLE OF "BELOVED" BY TONI MORRISON)

Abstract

This article explores seminal work of modern American fiction that explores the haunting legacy of slavery through the life of Sethe, an escaped slave living in post-Civil War Ohio. The novel centers on Sethe’s struggle with the past and the physical manifestation of her dead daughter, Beloved, who returns as a ghostly presence. As Sethe attempts to reconcile with her traumatic history, Beloved employs metaphors to delve into themes of memory, trauma, identity, and the inescapability of the past. Morrison uses the metaphor of Beloved herself as both a literal ghost and a symbol of the psychological scars left by slavery. The character’s spectral presence represents the unresolved pain of Sethe’s past, particularly the extreme actions she took to protect her children from the horrors of enslavement. The haunted house at 124 Bluestone Road is another metaphor for the lingering effects of trauma, embodying the way the past can continue to affect those who lived through it and those who inherit its wounds. Morrison’s use of rebirth and cyclical trauma serves as a powerful metaphor for the process of confronting one’s history. Sethe’s own act of violence, meant to prevent a worse fate for her child, is simultaneously an attempt at liberation and a painful reflection of the unhealed scars of slavery. Furthermore, Morrison’s fragmented narrative and the silences of her characters convey the limitations of language in articulating the depths of their suffering, with silence itself functioning as a metaphor for the unspeakable nature of trauma. Overall, Beloved is a richly symbolic novel that uses metaphor to communicate the profound psychological and emotional impact of slavery. Through the layered metaphors of ghosts, houses, and rebirth, Morrison creates a narrative that not only represents the persistence of historical trauma but also the difficult path toward healing and understanding.