Toni Morrison's Beloved: For Sixty Million and More

With its stunning prose, complex characters, and moving examination of the lasting emotional, psychological, and physical trauma endured by slaves, Toni Morrison's Beloved (1987) is considered one of the great novels of the twentieth century. When asked why she chooses to write, Morrison said "If there's a book you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." 

• Whether you are using physical books or an online text, this PDF version of Beloved makes it possible for students to highlight, tag, and make notes as they interact with the text.
• The Toni Morrison Society Website provides a variety of resources for students and teachers interested in the author's biography. 
• This 2015 BBC documentary on the Pulitzer Prize winning author offers another version of Morrison's biography and journey as a writer.
• This free online audiobook can be used for a read aloud and to help students develop their listening comprehension skills.
• These short video summaries can assist with comprehension of the writing style and non-chronological sequence in Beloved.
• Toni Morrison: NEH Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities (1996) and Humanities Medal Award Recipient (2000). 

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.5. Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.9. Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.6. Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).

The lesson activities provided herein are designed so that students and teachers have choices for demonstrating their understanding and interpretations of the text. Students can work individually or in small groups, and activity options are adaptable in case you are reading the entire book as a group or if this is a selection students make individually. Each activity includes a specific text-based example that can be used to model for students or assist students with independent practice. 

Activity 1: Creating Chapter Titles

Famously, the chapters and sections of Beloved are not titled or numbered. While reading with the class, it might be logistically helpful to assign chapter numbers so the class remains on the same page. While students read, have them construct a chapter journal in which they name the chapters and sections based on themes and key plot points in the book. At the start of each class period, have a few students share their chapter titles and their reasoning for them. Consider the following while naming chapters:

• Important events
• Character narration
• Central Themes
• What makes each chapter unique?

If desired, you can assign each student a particular theme (the lasting effects of slavery, love, family, spirituality, the supernatural, memory, etc.) when they begin reading and have them tie their chapter titles to a particular theme throughout the novel. Refer to the handout for Activity One for guidance on designing chapter titles based on an excerpt from Beloved.

Activity 2: Creating Community

"A man could risk his own life, but not his brother's.
So the eyes said, "Steady now," and ‘Hang by me.’”

What constitutes a community? What brings people together or eventually separates them? Working in small groups, have students examine the different types of communities that emerge throughout Beloved and analyze the motivation for their formation. Using the handout for Activity Two, have students consider how communities form, what the members have in common, key figures in the community, and whether they consider these communities to be sustainable. 

Activity 3: Writing a Sermon

Many characters deliver speeches or sermons throughout the novel. Based on one of the themes from the novel (love, masculinity, memory of the past, the supernatural and haunting, the trauma of slavery, spirituality, community, etc.), have students establish what they believe to be the overarching message regarding that theme. Once they have established that message, have students write a short speech preaching that idea to the class based on the handout for Activity Three. Students should include:

• An overarching message delivered by the novel;
• 2-3 references to events or characters in the novel;
• The student’s opinion on that topic.

Close the activity with a discussion about the rhetorical devices used within the speeches that students create and a reflection on the themes chosen. 

Character Diary

Have students write a series of diary entries as one of the characters from the novel. The diary should identify important moments in the story and analyze a character deeply. Their diary should consider/include:

• A narration style similar to one of the characters;

• Important events in that character’s life;

• Themes that are particularly relevant to that character;

• Mentions of symbols that are relevant to the character;

• The development of the character over the course of the novel.

Primary Source Research

Use themes and scenes within Beloved to inform research on slavery and the lasting impact of the institution in the United States. The following resources provide access to primary sources and NEH supported projects related to the study of slavery:

• The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: Primary Sources on Slavery
• The Abolition Seminar
• Emory University: Slave Voyages
• Historic Hudson Valley: People Not Property
• Library of Congress: Slavery Resource Guide
• Library of Congress: Voices Remembering Slavery
• Chronicling America: Fugitive Slave ads
• Ohio History Central: Underground Railroad