The Character of Mr. Garner in Beloved In the book Beloved, Toni Morrison uses the character of Mr. Garner to convey the different forms of slave owners. Although some seem more caring than others, they are all still slave owners and they are all cruel. Mr. Garner is a very insecure man with a lot of power. Because of his insecurity, he feels he must demonstrate his intelligence by abusing his superiority. He demonstrates his superiority by making the slaves feel that he is superior to them. Because of Mr. Garner's insecurity, he makes his slaves believe that he is the most powerful man and that they cannot survive without him. Mr. Garner compensates for his insecurities about his manhood by treating his slaves less than men. Garner tries to convince everyone in town, including himself, that he has the most prized slaves because he is the one who raised them. When he was in town, talking to other slave owners he bragged about how, “y'all got boys... Now, in sweet home, my niggers are all men. I bought them like this, I raised them like this. All men" (Morrison p.10). To make up for his insecurities, he has to go around proving to everyone that he is the best at what he does, and that's why his slaves are men. Other slave owners believe that because slaves are black, that is why they are not men. Garner believes since he raised his slaves, and since they only did what he allowed them to do, that they are men. He considers himself the smart man of the group. But by controlling his slaves, he makes them less like men. He thought if you could call your niggers men that way, it would make you more of a man, “But if you yourself be a man, you will want your niggers to be men too” (Morrison p.10). He goes out of his way to prove to himself that he is actually the man in control of the entire situation. He's actually trying to make up for his insecurities by bragging to other slave owners. In Garner's mind, in order for his black men to be considered men, he believes he must orchestrate all of their decisions. It's about what they are allowed to do and what they are not allowed to do in everyday matters.