Here are some questions you might want to consider for today’s discussion of Beloved:
- Talk about Sethe’s own background before Sweet Home. What do we find out about her mother? Why do you think this information is important in the novel?
- Talk about the metaphor of mother’s milk in the novel.
- What is the importance of the phrase “Nobody saw them falling” when Sethe, Beloved, and Denver go ice skating?
- Discuss the character Denver in the novel. What is she like? What is her background? What motivates her?
- Look specifically at the relationship between Beloved and Paul D. What’s going on here?
- What do you think Morrison means when she says this about Sethe’s attempt to save her children from returning to slavery: “it was the right thing to do, but she had no right to do it.”
Sethe’s attempt at protecting her children from going back into slavery feels like a psychology question like the trolly problem or something. I think when Toni Morrison said “It was the right thing to do, but she had no right to do it.” perfectly sums up the whole situation. That was probably Sethe’s hardest decision of her life. I keep asking myself what I would do in that situation and I can not come up with an answer. Death is so much nicer than what her children had to look forward to if they had survived. I feel like Stamp Paid’s reaction was really interesting. The amount of guilt he felt after he gave Paul D the news article and explained to him what happened felt so realistic. I could actually imagine his thought process almost because this is such an impossible situation. Every time I think about it I just go in circles over how I would react if I heard the same thing. It’s hard for me to not be so understanding with Sethe because like Morrison said it was the right thing to do. I’m not sure if I would shun her the same way the townspeople did or not.
For this blog post I was interested in focusing on the symbol of milk within the novel. The symbol of milk was used as a symbol for motherhood as well as nurturing. Sethe was very focused on feeding/nurturing her baby immediately after having her, and hen again throughout the story . It is said by mothers that instincts like these kick in after labor, and Sethe definitely had these motherly instincts. I think this instinct is so strong for Sethe because she herself did not receive this care from her own mother when she was a baby. Sethe wants to take care of her baby as best as she can, and her first instincts being to feed and nurture her baby showed this. Sethe was denied nourishment and care during her time as a slave, and the milk she gives to her baby represents her trying to pass on some of this warmth to her child.
In Beloved, Denver is Sethe’s youngest daughter. Denver as a character is quite complex. At first, I was not too fond of Denver because her behavior towards Paul D was cold and unreasonable. It seemed selfish of her to be jealous that Paul D was taking her mother and Beloved’s attention away from her. However, after digging deeper into why she needs her mother and Beloved attention, I sympathize with her. It is clear that Denver fears the world outside 124. Leaning on her mother and Beloved is how she copes with this fear, a lot of which stems from the trauma and pain she has experienced at such a young age. Although, at the moment, the feelings of isolation Denver is experiencing due to Paul D’s presence hurts, I think it will better her by pushing her outside the bounds of 124. Hopefully leading Denver to further grow and develop as a young woman.
Denver is a really intriguing character to me. She is Sethe’s youngest and only remaining child, and what’s most interesting about her in comparison to the rest of Sethe’s children is that she’s the only one who was born free, but interestingly enough she did have to go to jail with Sethe as an infant because of the murder that took place. For a good portion of the novel, Denver seems quite immature and I would say selfish in a way, like she only ever wants anything to be about her, and she can’t stand to feel like she isn’t a part of something, especially in regards to Sethe’s stories about Sweet Home, which is ironic because Denver tends to base her entire identity around others and the experiences of others. Denver seems to be lucky, the only one who was born free, and the only one who stayed with Sethe and Baby Suggs. Really though, she is socially, and psychologically stunted from living in isolation at 124 with Sethe, and afraid of the outside world that caused her mother to kill her sister and live to not regret it. I’d say that a lot of the time she’s motivated by familial attention, or a need for nurturing or to nurture and protect, at first with Sethe, and later with Beloved.
Denver is one of the most interesting characters of Beloved, in my opinion. Although young, she has faced a pile of misfortune and trauma, leaving her in a emotionally stunned state of isolation. Her fear of others may stretch to the outside world, but not supernaturally. She is very attached to her mother, because she is all she knows. Sethe, and her sister Beloved, are the only people and/or things that she knows are safe. She is cut-off from the world outside of 124, from her own anxiety, and relies off her mother and Beloved to provide her with the nurturing and love she needs. When the attention towards her shifts towards other matters, she can respond harshly. Her character is quite needy for her mother’s attention, although she has a lot of character development ahead of her.
I have an unimaginable amount of thoughts on this book, but I am really struggling to verbalize them currently because they’re so dense. For that reason I’m just going to keep them to myself for now and share once they’re (hopefully) more solidified, so for my blog post I just wanted to talk about something simple. Basically, I am beyond enraged at Halle. Sorry not sorry, but why is that part of the novel being so criminally overlooked? I get that he had a breakdown upon seeing what happened to Sethe and his mental state took a drastic decline as a result, but it is just so backwards that he would bear witness to such a horrible act committed towards his wife and then to make it about himself. Paul D says, “It broke him Sethe,” but what about her? If viewing the assault was that traumatic, imagine actually experiencing it, and then having to pick yourself right back up and be strong for the sake of your children–one of them UNBORN and literally GROWING INSIDE YOU–never once getting a moment to process the tragic event for yourself because you were abandoned by your partner and therefore forced to put your grief aside for the sake of your also-abandoned children? I feel so deeply for Sethe because she has never caught a break in her life, and then the one person who was supposed to be her support and safety (while she has to be everyone else’s) abandons her at quite literally the most trying moment of her already extremely trying existence. Abandons her, in fact, BECAUSE of said moment. I know it must have been immensely difficult for Halle to witness such a brutal thing, but his actions afterward just made me angry.
In Beloved by Toni Morrison Denver one of the main characters has a very interesting development in this story. She is the youngest of Sethe’s kids. She was born just before her older sister’s death and during her mother’s escape. She has never seen a life without some type of trauma or pain. This in term has definitely stunted her mental growth. She gets very attached to people as well. She has always been by Sethe’s side, and hasn’t really been outside of the few people she knows and her home 124. This tends to make her frightened of strangers and the outside world. This also has to do with her clinginess to certain people like Sethe and Beloved. She hated Paul D, because he was constantly taking up the time and energy of both Sethe and Beloved. Beloved is attached to Sethe and so is Denver. Denver then sees Beloved as her sister and grows very close. Denver fears she has no self apart from Beloved, but since Beloved is focused on other things Denver often feels ignored and lonely. This then leads to her isolation. I believe this will continue to build into something and potentially have a crazy climax.
For this blog post I’m interested in exploring one particular part of Beloved on page 86 in a dynamic representation of Sethe and Paul D. Paul D displays comfort and empathy in his understanding of others and their emotions. Upon Paul D’s first arrival to 124, he is described as “though all you had to do was get his attention and right away he produced the feelings you were feeling” (9). Having deep empathy for the world around you allows for the power to heal others in pain. Paul D can heal pain; in doing so, he has neglected to display his own true internal emotions, on the basis of society and on the basis of his relationships. Morrison writes, “It’s a lid rusted shut. He would not pry it loose now in front of this sweet sturdy woman, for if she got a whiff of the contents it would shame him” (86). The lid to his heart is “rusted” meaning it’s been aged and damaged through time, causing its closure. However, it’s not impossible to pry loose. Paul D’s issue is confrontation of his own trauma alongside the recognition of his emotions from Sethe. He strives to present wise, comforting and empathetic but in doing so he’s neglecting and repressing his own internal issues.
Denver is one of the more interesting characters in the novel to me. She is the youngest of the children Sethe had and also the only girl alive until Beloved comes back. She acts much younger than her actual age because I think she is stunted emotionally from all the trauma she has endured throughout her lifetime, making her scared of the outside world that does not involve 124 and her family. She seems to define her entire identity based upon the world around Sethe, and how she is related to her sister Beloved. This could be why she doesn’t particularly like Paul D because he takes up a lot of Sethe’s time, making her jealous and somewhat angry that the attention is not on her. Additionally, she likes to spend time alone being by herself, leading more into the isolation that she surrounds herself with, stunting her even more.
In Beloved, milk is brought up in multiple occasions. There are multiple symbols that mother’s milk hold in the novel, but the first one that we are introduced to has to do with nurturing and warmth. When Sethe had Denver, one of her first instinctual thoughts was that she had to feed her. Sethe immediatley had the need to feed her child her milk. She wanted to nurture Denver and make sure she was taken care of. Milk is an interesting symbol for Sethe because her relationship with nurturing and motherhood is quite complicated. Sethe was not nurtured by her own mother the way she deserved to be due to the other white babies on the plantation. This troublesome past is the reason why Sethe is so determined to make sure Denver gets fed. Sethe is making up for her hard past by giving her babies the nurturing and love and mother figure that she was stripped of. Mother’s milk is the physical symbol of a mother’s love and care. It is extremely important throughout Beloved because family and motherhood are both important themes that explain a lot of events that take place.
The relationship between Beloved and Paul D. is very shocking and confusing at first. But, it actually makes a lot of sense when it is analyzed. Beloved’s main goal is to have Sethe all to herself, which is being disrupted by the presence of Paul D. If we think back, Beloved actually arrives only a short while after Paul D. arrives and when he, Sethe, and Denver appear to be a complete family unit. The three of them somewhat displace the need for Beloved’s presence at 124 Bluestone. When Beloved shows up she immediately breaks the trio and demands all attention and energy from Sethe. Beloved wants to drive Paul D. out of the house, because he is the only one who poses as a threat to her. Beloved and Paul D.’s relationship was only intended to drive him away. Beloved achieved that by emotionally manipulating Paul D. to a point that he was driven to such anguish that he had to leave the house. Beloved achieved what she set out to do, having Sethe all to herself.