Beloved Chokecherry Tree
by Toni Morrison

Upon Sethe's back is a maze of scars, referred to by Paul D as a "chokecherry tree." It is the remains of an operation schoolteacher performed upon her back in an effort to determine how much she resembled an animal. The tree, which is ever-present but can never be seen, is symbolic of the burden which Sethe carries. It is her past, and it is the prejudice of white men against her. It is a mark made by people who believed her to be an animal.