RESISTING SLAVERY AND RACIAL SEGREGATION IN LIGHT IN AUGUST AND BELOVED

Abstract

Light in August (1932) and Beloved (1987) differ greatly when it comes to the presentation of the role of the American black community in resisting slavery and racial segregation with Light in August‘s portrayal of this role as inaccessible, at least at the level of language, and Beloved‘s presentation of this role as the main strategy of resistance. The two novels, however, share an important aspect of resistance to slavery and racial segregation, which is the enlisting of some white characters in this struggle. This article studies the presentation of these white characters in the struggle against segregation by analyzing the nature of their abolitionist ideologies, which sometimes proves to be quite problematic and even racist in its own way, versus the employment of ideological "innocence" as a more effective motive in combating racism and segregation. The abolitionist heritage in three families: the Hightowers and the Burdens in Light in August and the Bodwins in Beloved are juxtaposed with the example of innocence set by Amy Denver in her relationship to the runaway slave Sethe. This comparative study makes use of some elements of the theory of ideology in examining the different versions of abolitionism in these texts in light of the debates over slavery and racism.