Toni Morrison's novel Beloved contains many secondary characters, of which one of the most significant is the character of Sixo. Although the novel is set in post-Reconstruction America, much of the content is in the form of recollections of former slaves. It is in these memories that Sixo's character is revealed. Both Sethe and Paul D were among the six slaves living at Sweet Home, the remaining four are long gone but continue to live on in their memory. Morrison appears to have wanted Sixo's name and roots to be ambiguous to portray an "everyman" sense of him. Along with this portrayal, there are several parallels to Christ that can be drawn from Sixo's character. Although only a minor character, Sixo is representative of a larger slave ideology that is evident in Morrison's description of him. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Searching Beloved for an alternative to Paul D's established masculinity, we find Sixo. Sixo is drawn on a heroic scale, not defining himself by the opinions of others, or his own judgment of their superiority or inferiority. Morrison, as Sitter notes, suggests that Sixo represents an African ideal of masculinity, accentuating his "Africanness." His virility comes not from the approval of others, nor from the disempowerment of others, but from an unfailing respect he demonstrates for everyone, living or dead, and for the natural and supernatural world. When Sixo arranges a meeting with his Thirty Mile Woman at a stone shelter "that the Redmen used long ago when they thought the land was theirs", he asks the spirit of the Redmen for permission to enter. When she loses her way and fails to meet him, he asks the wind for help and gets it. Sixo does not live in counterpoint to anything or anyone, but rather in harmony with the world around him. By Garner's standards of masculinity, according to which the measure of a man depends on the control he exerts over others, Paul D's exodus from 124 Bluestone Road seems right, justified, but held against Sixo's brand of masculinity, "It puts him to shame." Meaning of the name SixoThe most important being is found in the dedication at the front of the novel. It reads: "Sixty million and more." By naming a character Sixo, Morrison pays homage to the number of slaves who were in America, to which the dedication refers. This is especially significant because Sixo encompasses the ideology and possesses the ambiguity that makes him a good representation of those people as a whole. The number six is also representative of the number of slaves present at Sweet Home. He is the sixth and among the men he is the only one without a surname. For example, at the beginning of the book they are introduced as "Paul D Garner, Paul F Garner, Paul A Garner, Halle Suggs and Sixo, the wild man". Both having a number as a first name and not having a last name give the impression of anonymity. This leads to the argument that Sixo is representative of the slave population as a whole. She doesn't take the owner's name like the Pauls do and she doesn't have a family to take her name from like Halle does. This underlines his rootlessness and, in a certain sense, his individuality. Furthermore, calling him “the wild man” brings to mind common perceptions of indigenous peoples that are more applicable to Sixo representing any enslaved person. In several instances Sixo is described in a way that gives his character a sense of ambiguity. For example, twice her skin color is described as "indigo". The color indigo is a deep reddish blue color that is not normally associated with skin color. This image recalls not only the dark color of African Americans but also of Native Americans,.
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