Toni Morrison and Beloved and The Black Slave Trade

I have uploaded student example essays that my professor has given me as a support. I did my essay completely wrong. My topic is about the book Beloved by Toni Morrison and the black slave trade involved in the book. It is suppose to be an analysis literature essay. So my guess is you can pick character or even two, and speak about their slavery experience after the war or during in the book, or whatever you think is best. My professor wants it heavily quoted as support for what my essay will be talking about. I hope the student example essays will help you understand what kind of essay my professor is looking for.

Professor P. Morgne Cramer

English 1616W

December 4, 2018

Five-page essay (draft)

Why Women Stay in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Ann Bronte’s portrayal of an abusive relationship in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848) is remarkably consistent with contemporary findings about domestic violence. Domestic violence has predictable recurring patterns which makes it hard for women to get out. Women stay in abusive relationships because [1] they believe it is their responsibility to fix him, [2] the perpetrator has promised to never do it again, [3] it is safer for the child, and the [4] woman is financially dependent on the preparator and doesn’t have a place to go if she does leave.

Domestic violence is violence or abuse of a spouse or intimate partner. There are three types of abuse that occur in abusive relationships and they are emotional abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. Emotional abuse is any abuse using words or voice to show control or to hurt another person. Emotional abuse destroys a person’s self-esteem and can have the same psychological effects as physical abuse. An example of emotional abuse is name-calling. Physical abuse is any behavior that is aggressive towards the victim’s body. An example of physical abuse is pushing or hitting. Sexual abuse is any sexual behavior that is forced. An example of sexual abuse is rape. The power and control dynamic are any way the abuser gains and tries to maintain power and control over the victim. In The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Helen, the main character, is abused physically and emotionally. Arthur abuses Helen by telling her stories of his past relationships, cheating on Helen with Annabella, and by taking her money and jewels and burning her art supplies.                                                                    Women in abusive relationships tend to stay because they feel like it is their responsibility to fix him. In The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte the main character, Helen, is in an abusive relationship with her husband. After meeting Arthur once, Helen already feels inclined to try and save him. While Helen is talking to her aunt about Arthur Helen says, “Perhaps not, exactly; but it is only for want of thought: if he had someone to advise him, and remind him of what is right-” (148). Women feel like it is their fault that their boyfriend or husband is abusing them, so they feel like it is their responsibility to fix them. Whenever Arthur goes to London, he always returns sick so Helen must take care of him. Even though Helen knows that Arthur is not worthy of her care she feels inclined to take care of him. While taking care of Arthur, Helen tells herself, “I will shame him into virtue if I can, and I will never let him leave me again.” (224). Helen is telling herself that she will try to make Arthur a better man than he is. Towards the end of the book Helen finally leaves Arthur but, when Helen finds out Arthur is sick, she returns home to take care of him until he dies. Helen knows that she shouldn’t go back to take care of Arthur but she does because she feels like it is her responsibility as a woman and as a wife to take care of her husband. Women tend to stay in abusive relationships because they feel like it is their responsibility to fix him.

Women tend to stay in abusive relationships because the perpetrator promises to never to do it again. Domestic violence often occurs in a cycle. There are three stages in the domestic violence cycle and they are tension rising, abusive episode, and the honeymoon period. The tension rising period is the stage when the abuser gets stressed and the victim is watching her every move and making sure she doesn’t do something to upset the abuser. The abusive episode is the stage where the abuser abuses the victim either physically, emotionally, or sexually. The honeymoon period is the stage where the perpetrator promises the victim that he won’t abuse her, getting the woman flowers, and professing his love. The honeymoon period is the most dangerous part in the cycle for the victim because this is when the abuser will try to lure the victim back into the relationship. During the honeymoon period there is no real remorse it is just an absence of violence. An example of the honeymoon period in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is this conversion between Helen and Arthur, “Then you won’t go to London, Arthur?’ I said, when the first transport of tears and kisses had subsided. ‘No, love, – unless you will go with me.” (215). The conversation is an example of the honeymoon period because the only reason why Arthur agrees to let Helen come with him to London is to make Helen happy and to make her think that abuse will stop. Another example of the honeymoon period is when Arthur says, “‘Forgive me, Helen! – dear Helen forgive me, and I’ll never do it again!’” (233). Arthur is asking for forgiveness and promising that he won’t hurt her anymore, but he doesn’t feel bad about what he did to Helen. The honeymoon period makes women think that the perpetrator is sorry so women forgive the abuser. Then the cycle starts all over again making it harder for women to leave abusive relationships.                                              Women tend to stay in abusive relationships because it is often safer for the child. Often the perpetrator will threaten to kill the victim and the child if the victim tries to leave. Arthur never threatened to kill Helen and their son if she tried to run away with her son. Arthur did threaten to drop his child when he said, “Come, take it, Helen; take it,’ he cried at length. ‘I shall drop it, if you don’t” (241).  Helen knew that her son’s life would be better if she left but she couldn’t because Arthur would find them and bring them back. Helen thinks to herself, “But this should not continue; my child must not be abandoned to this corruption: better far that he should live in poverty and obscurity with a fugitive mother, than in luxury and affluence with such a father.” (351). Helen is telling herself that it is better for her child to live in poverty but have good influences than to live in luxury with bad influences and ultimately decides she needs to leave. When Arthur finds out that Helen is planning on leaving, he tells her, “And so,’ said he at length, ‘you tried to disgrace me, did you, by running away and turning artist, and supporting yourself by the labour of your hands, forsooth? And you thought to rob me of my son too, and bring him up to be a dirty Yankee tradesman, or a low, beggarly painter?” (366-367).  Arthur gets upset with Helen because he doesn’t want her to leave. Helen does ultimately leave Arthur.

Women tend to stay in abusive relationships because the woman is often financially dependent on the perpetrator and doesn’t have a place to go if she does leave. Arthur makes Helen financially dependent on him by giving her an allowance and taking away her painting supplies so she couldn’t make money. The abuser often doesn’t allow the victim to work so they victim doesn’t have enough money saved to be able to run away and be economically stable. Arthur oversees finances and he says to Helen, “I shall put you upon a small monthly allowance, in future, for your own private expenses; and you needn’t trouble yourself any more about my concerns;’” (366). Arthur is ensuring that Helen doesn’t have any say in finances by giving her an allowance. Women that are finically dependent on their abuser could face many hardships if they leave their abuser and try to support themselves and their child. Women that were finically dependent on their abuser and left the abuser are often living in poverty. Women in abusive relationships don’t have a place to go if they do leave because they are unwillingly finically dependent on the abuser. Helen knows that she will be in poverty and have no place to go if she leaves Arthur. Women face the choice of staying with their abuser but having a place to live or to leave their abuser and not having a place to live. The option most women choose is to stay with their abuser. They don’t choose this because it is the easy way out, they choose it because they want to have a place to live and think that they can live with the abuse but they can’t live without a place to live.                                   Women stay in abusive relationships because they believe it is their responsibility to fix him, the perpetrator has promised to never do it again, it is safer for the child, and the woman is financially dependent on the preparator and don’t have a place to go if she does leave. Women in abusive relationships face the choice of staying with their abuser where they have a place to live and stay warm during the winter and cool off in the summer or not having a place to live. It is sad but most women chose to stay with their abusers not because they like being abused but because they want to have a place to live. Domestic Violence Services say, “most of a battered women’s daily energy is spent surviving. Her focus is on placating the abuser in order to keep herself, and often her children, safe.” This shows just how hard a battered woman’s life is. Many women want to leave abusive relationships but they often can’t because the abuser makes it hard for them to leave. Battered women often thinks that it is safer to stay with their abuser because the abuser threatens to kill her if she tries to leave.