In reflecting on my research and writing for class, I have found my topic to be incredibly interesting. I feel as though I will be able to say quite a lot about my topic as I have researched. While it isn’t included in my discussion leader sources, I found many more sources related to the history of zonbis in Haitian Vodou which illuminated the connection between the conceptualization of zonbis and the transatlantic slave trade. I learned that zombification was used as a threat against enslaved Haitians by other Haitians employed by their enslavers. Being enslaved in the land of the living only to be enslaved again after death, either spiritually or through a physical raising of the dead was the ultimate form of psychological torture used to maintain control over enslaved Haitians. This, along with the practice continuing into contemporary Haitian society, will be an interesting source of analysis for Beloved, especially since it is Haitians reenacting the practice of slavery against other Haitians.
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