Using Scars to Communicate in Beloved There are certainly complications regarding assumptions about how scars are used as a means of communication in the novel, Beloved. The character called Beloved has his own distinct scars which have significance in the story. His scars are distinct not only in their origins, but also in their meaning, and create a point of deviation from the traditional pattern established by the role of scars in the lives of other characters. The scratches on his forehead and the cut on his neck were made not by a white oppressor, but by his mother, Sethe. Sethe kills her own daughter in a fit of anxiety, rather than have her children taken away by the slave owners who tracked her down after her escape. These marks tell Beloved's story, of how her mother sawed the little girl's neck open, her nails clawing at her forehead. Ultimately, this is how Sethe can also identify the Beloved returned from the dead (now an adult). These scars serve as a reminder of all that the Beloved has been through. They become a symbol...