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"To take the sin out of slicing trees ...": the law of the tree in 'Beloved.'

From: African American Review  |  Date: 3/22/1997  |  Author: Bonnet, Michele

Toni Morrison's 'Beloved' dwells on the religious and moral ramifications of a transgression, which involved the murder of a child at the hands of her own mother. In the book, the culprit is not the individual but the system that created the conditions for the infanticide. The transgression was also measured against man's natural environment. The author's African background inspired her into making trees a prominent part of the novel. Trees also have a referent to African religion as they are ...

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