In the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison, memories and past experiences play an important role in the daily lives of most, if not all, of the characters in the novel. Many of the characters in Beloved had to experience slavery and the evils that accompanied it. The trauma the characters experienced during their time as slaves and even after changed who they are forever. In Stamp Paid's case, he gets a whole new identity and name. He takes the name Stamp Paid because he had to abandon his wife to his master's son and therefore believes that he no longer owes anyone anything. We are told that “breaking free was one thing; claiming ownership of this liberated self was another. It's one thing to try to repress and forget the horrors you've experienced, but it's another to overcome those horrors and not let them affect who you are and how you live. This couldn't be a more accurate description of what happens to the protagonist, Sethe. Although Sethe has long left the chains of slavery behind, she continues to be enslaved by her own experiences and memories of her slavery as a child and on the Sweet Home plantation. She carries these experiences with her like the chokecherry tree on her back. The relationship between Sethe and her mother was practically non-existent, which made up for it at every turn. She only saw her mother “a few times in the fields and once when she was working with indigo” (72). Nan, a one-armed nanny, tells Sethe about her journey with her mother through the middle passage and how her mother “threw them all away except you” (74). She killed all of her children who had white fathers, but kept Sethe because she was in the middle of... Sethe's past to resurface. Beloved knew what to say to make Sethe remind him of the bad experiences. Beloved's mere presence was a constant reminder of the terrible thing Sethe had done and what had driven her to do it. With Beloved gone, Paul D will be able to help Sethe overcome her past. Together, Paul D and Sethe will be able to heal the scars of their past. Paul D begins his attempt to make her understand that she is not subhuman, not just a mother, but a human being when he tells her, "You are your best self, Sethe. You are." (322). There is hope for Sethe because she doesn't completely deny what Paul D says, she just asks, "Me? Me?" (322). With her support, Sethe will be able to overcome her fear of being an animal while helping Paul D overcome his fears as well. Works Cited Morrison, Toni. Beloved. 4th ed. New York: Vintage International, 2004. Print.