In Beloved, Toni Morrison paints a picture of the cruelty of slavery. It highlights African Americans' desire for a new life as they seek to move beyond their past to achieve their freedom. In Beloved, “Much of the characters' grief occurs as they rebuild themselves and their families after the devastation of slavery” (Kubitschek 115). Throughout the novel, Morrison uses color to represent a life complete with joy, freedom, and protection, as well as things like community and family. In many sections, Morrison uses color to portray a character's desire for this life while, in other cases, Morrison uses color to illustrate the pleasure and fulfillment the characters experience once they obtain this life. Morrison uses color to explain the life Denver leads. Throughout her life, Denver would never leave 124 alone. Since she was young, she has never ventured out into the world. Morrison exploits Denver's lack of freedom by removing the color from Denver's life. Throughout his life, Denver has never truly seen color; However, when life at 124 forces Denver to turn to others for assistance, his color blindness is cured. When he visited a neighbor, Denver “only half heard her because she was stepping on something soft and blue. Everything around her was thick and soft and blue” (Morrison 253). Walking down the street, Denver points out the “yellow shutters…[and] vases of green leaves with white hearts” (Morrison 245). This sudden bloom of color in Denver's life signifies his transition from slavery to freedom. Throughout her life, Denver has been possessed by her mother's love. So she was a slave to this love. When she finally freed herself from these shackles, Denver began to notice the color that indicated her f... middle of paper ......authenticates this by removing the color from Sethe's life and making her "color conscious as a chicken." . ” (38). For example, “Sethe looked at her hands, at her bottle green sleeves, and thought how little color there was in the house” (Morrison 38). Because in her house, “the walls of the room were the color of slate, the floor was earthy brown, [and] the wooden sideboard of the same color” (Morrison 38) His life was “like the raw life” (Morrison 38). Sethe is devoid of hope. Works cited Kubitschek, MD Toni Morrison: A Critical Companion. London: Greenwood Press, 1998. Morrison, Toni Amato. New York: Random House, Inc., 2007. Kindle Fire.Works citedKubitschek, MD Toni. Morrison: A Critical Companion. London: Greenwood Press, 1998. Morrison, Toni Amato. New York: Random House, Inc., 2007. Kindle Fire.