TRACES OF SLAVERY IN COLLECTIVE MEMORY: COMMON THEMES IN TONI MORRISON'S BELOVED AND HARRIET BEECHER STOWE'S UNCLE TOM'S CABIN

Abstract

From the establishment of the United States of America to the mid-20th century, the institution of slavery significantly affected African American society, resulting in profound consequences related to marginalization, racism, racial discrimination, and, most notably, collective memory. In human experience, certain moments or events are sometimes impossible to forget, even when one wishes to do so. Nevertheless, certain events or experiences remain indelibly etched in memory; despite attempts to forget them, they persist in one's consciousness and prevail. Among these concepts, collective memory has been the one that came into prominence among black slaves, even after their freedom. The black society tried to ignore and forget their horrible memories. Two important American writers, Toni Morrison and Harriet Beecher Stowe, have tried to draw attention to the mental and physical damage caused by slavery through their novels. In the novels of both writers, slavery has been abolished, and the protagonists have attained freedom; however, readers' attention is directed by various narrators through flashbacks and recollections to the period during which they were enslaved. This study aims to examine the differences and similarities between these two antislavery literary works focusing on the treatment of collective memory.