Why should you read Toni Morrison’s “Beloved”? - Yen Pham episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 13, 2026 · 7 MIN

Why should you read Toni Morrison’s “Beloved”? - Yen Pham

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Dig into Toni Morrison’s novel, "Beloved," which tells the story of a family of formerly enslaved people whose home is haunted by an abusive spirit. --Two tiny handprints stamped into a cake. A mirror that shatters without warning. A trail of cracker crumbs strewn along the floor. Everyone at 124 Bluestone Road knows their home is haunted— but there’s no mystery about the spirit tormenting them. So begins “Beloved,” Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama. Yen Pham digs into the novel's exploration of the dehumanizing effects of slavery.Lesson by Yen Pham, directed by Héloïse Dorsan Rachet.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-should-you-read-toni-morrison-s-beloved-yen-phamDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-should-you-read-toni-morrison-s-beloved-yen-pham#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.instagram.com/helo.dr/Sound design: https://www.campstudio.co/----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Jose Henrique Leopoldo e Silva, Elnathan Joshua Bangayan, Jayant Sahewal, Mandeep Singh, Abhijit Kiran Valluri, Morgan Williams, Kris Siverhus, Devin Harris, Joy Love Om, Pavel Zalevskiy, Marc Bilodeau, Karen Goepen-Wee, Filip Dabrowski, Barbara Smalley, Megan Douglas, Chris, Tim Leistikow, Renhe Ji, Ka-Hei Law, Leora Allen, Mark Morris, Misaki Sato, EdoKun, Boytsov Ilya, SookKwan Loong, Bev Millar, Lex Azevedo, Noa Shore, Kyle Nguyen, Michael Aquilina, MJ Tan Mingjie, Dawn Jordan, Prasanth Mathialagan, Samuel Doerle, David Rosario, Siamak H, Manav parmar, David Lucsanyi, Anthony Kudolo, Ryohky Araya, Eduardo Briceño, Christophe Dessalles, Heather Slater, Yuh Saito, Fabian Amels, Sandra Tersluisen, Zhexi Shan, Bárbara Nazaré, Josh Engel and Andrea Feliz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Why should you read Toni Morrison’s “Beloved”? - Yen Pham

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