The "Freedom" of Sweet Home
In the story of Beloved, Sweet Home plays a central role in the “rememory” of the characters. Though at first only alluded to, the story of the Sweet Home plantation and how it relates to the current situations and behaviors of the main characters slowly unfolds throughout the book. Before the arrival of schoolteacher, Sweet Home and its owners, Mr. and Mrs. Garner, seem to have been “compassionate” towards the enslaved people that worked there. The Sweet Home men: Paul A, Paul D, Paul F, Sixo, and Halle, were known throughout the area as unique in their position as slaves because they were treated like men by Mr. Garner. He gave them a certain level of respect, and he even allowed the men to have guns, which was unheard of at the time. However, how much autonomy did the Sweet Home men truly have? Though the Sweet Home men had independence and dignity under their original owner, that does not change the fact that they were “owned.” The only reason Paul D. and his brothers had these pri