Beloved Lesson Plan

What has contributed to Paul D.'s idea of what it means to be a man?

At Sweet Home, under Mr. Garner, Paul D. felt like he and the other slave men were truly men; their opinions were respected, and they didn't have to ask for permission to do what they wanted. But then schoolteacher made them feel like animals, "trespassers among the human race." Paul D.'s "strength had lain in knowing that schoolteacher was wrong," and now, after what happened to him in Georgia and beyond, he's not so sure he can claim himself as a man. He is ashamed of himself for not being able to stand up to Beloved. He thinks that Beloved may not be a little girl after all; at least that would help...