"The future was the sunset; the past something to leave behind. And if it didn't stay behind, well, you might have to step on it. Life of a slave; freed life every day was a trial and a test. You couldn't count on anything in a world where even when you were a solution you were a problem"1The past is something that, without clinical disease, is impossible to forget. No matter how horrible or emotionally damaging it is, it cannot be changed. What we choose to do with this memory of the past will shape our future. This lesson is one of the most important themes of Toni Morison's novel, Beloved. History was not only a significant theme in the novel, but the book itself was also very historical. I had learned and educated myself very thoroughly on the issue of slavery before reading this novel. Reading this novel I felt like I was experiencing slavery first hand. Morrison creates his characters and chooses his words so poetically that it is impossible not to see the beauty in the way he portrays this historical event. "It's a meditation on history." This was stated by history professor Elsa Barkly Brown of the University of Maryland. Professor Ira Berlin continues: "The discipline of history is such that it limits the imagination. Morrison has an extraordinary imagination, an extraordinary ability to take us into the world of slavery and freedom. Beloved is an attempt to do something that no historian can Do". ." 2Morrison also has a very creative and fun way of slowly revealing each character from the past to the reader. The novel goes back and forth between the present and the past of each of the characters. It can sometimes be confusing for the reader, but it's not designed to be understood at all times. This left many spaces open for the reader to insert...... in the center of the paper ......g. 256 Morrison,Toni. , 1988.2 Marcus, Brad. "Diamond Back." Panel discusses Beloved by Toni Morrison. New York: Penquin Books Inc. 1988.4 p. 198 Morrison, Amato. New York: Penquin Books Inc., .6 p. 182 Morrison. Toni. Amato. New York: Penquin Books Inc., 1988.8 p. 262 Morrison,Toni. Beloved. New York: Penquin Books Inc., 1988.9 pg. 266 Morrison,Toni. Beloved. New York: Penquin Books Inc., 1988.