In the story of Beloved, Toni Morrison conveys many examples of symbolism to provide more details about the connection between the characters and their state of mind. Objects like milk, colors like red, and even characters like Beloved play a crucial role in establishing a theme of self-forgiveness and rebirth, and provide a more in-depth description of the suffering and torture that various characters have endured throughout the story . novel.One of the major examples of symbolism in the novel Beloved is Morrison's description and presentation of breast milk and the act of breastfeeding. The milk belongs to the mother but, once given to the baby, it creates a mother-child bond that Morrison takes into account when describing breastfeeding scenes between Sethe and her children. The milk in the story can be seen as a mother's love for her child, therefore suggesting that the lack of milk could symbolize abandonment. Milk is what constitutes the cycle of mother-child unity, although, in Beloved, Sethe is unable to separate herself from that unity because she is a slave. Slavery corrupts her ability to own something like a baby, her freedom, and even her milk. Milk represents the ability to provide for one's baby, which helps with the idea that milk is what nourishes the bond between a mother and her child. Milk in Beloved is described as much more than just a resource for the baby, but is a symbol of love and communion. The importance of milk to those who store it is shown when Sethe reflects on the sense of violation and horror she endured when her milk was taken away from her by the teacher's grandchildren (Morrison 83). Milk symbolizes the ability to provide; therefore the grandchildren took away Sethe's motherhood and humanity. The importance of the center......the central part of the card......and its strength. From kissing Sethe's neck, to reminiscing about her newborn baby, Sethe succumbs to her work as a mother and cares for her, unaware that she is losing her health and strength in the process. The beloved is given the best of things by his mother, such as food, and when there is nothing else left to give, "The beloved invented desire" (Kochar). At first Beloved seems like the victim of the novel due to the idea that she is supposedly the reincarnation of Sethe's murdered son, but towards the end of the story Sethe becomes the victim of Beloved and his many desires. Sethe grows thin and weak while Beloved grows pregnant and healthy. Although Beloved can only be described as the antagonist of the novel, she also symbolizes an intervention as she leads the characters to understand their past and ultimately exposes the meaning of community..