In his final interaction with Sethe, Paul D embodies the novel\u2019s final message: he acknowledges the weight of the past as well as the need for a future separate from this past. He tells Sethe, \u201cme and you, we got more yesterday than anybody. We need some kind of tomorrow\u201d (322). Slavery withholds much of the future\u2019s promise from its victims; having been denied the opportunity to shape his own tomorrows, Paul D must also claim his ability to decide what happens next.<\/p>\n
Throughout Beloved<\/em>\u2019s final chapter, Morrison repeats the phrase \u201cIt was not a story to pass on\u201d twice and then switches to the present tense to note that \u201cthis is not a story to pass on\u201d (323-324). The initial use of the past tense establishes irony as the whole novel recounts a narrative that was \u201cnot a story to pass on.\u201d Over the course of the novel, the characters struggle to liberate themselves from memories of their traumatic pasts in order to move forward. This message could serve as a reminder that the only way to advance in life is to forget about the past. In a literal sense, the phrase also demonstrates that the atrocity of slavery is not to be replicated in the future. In order to prevent this duplication, individuals and authors such as Morrison must continue to share the horrific yet important narrative of slavery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In his final interaction with Sethe, Paul D embodies the novel\u2019s final message: he acknowledges the weight of the past as well as the need…<\/p>\n