For a wrap to the semester, we’ve been reading Toni Morrison’s Beloved. This story has been a ride of emotions for me, and based on the in class discussions I’ve been present for, most people would agree. This novel has so much little detail, plot twist and turns, various characters that you are really taken for a ride with the narrative. The ending of the book makes me realize what a good way it is to conclude our semester.
When we begin the book, Morrison sets us up for almost all we need to know about Sethe and her family. We know their home, their current situation and perception by the community. Based on what we’ve read here, the story doesn’t seem to have much going on. But as the characters develop and the details come in, we learn a lot about the types of serious experiences these characters have had to overcome. Paul D has experienced many harsh realities of life on Sweet Home, and the same with Sethe. On the other hand, Denver’s apparent emotional dependency is most likely due to the life her mother provided for her. All in all we see the ways that living together in 124 molds these characters together. In addition to that Beloved’s presence in the house makes it clear that they can never really escape the past or each other. They will forever be interlinked.
Now that the book has come to a close one of the most interesting literary decisions that Morrison makes is revealing Sethe’s truth. Because we start the book with such admiring and supportive feelings for Sethe. I see her as a strong mother figure who because of her circumstances is doing what she can to love and protect Denver (and in some ways the spirit of Beloved as well). When we find out that Sethe is responsible for the death of her child it is shocking, and difficult to easily comprehend. As we learn in the text, her decision to do it was out of love. She makes the ultimate sacrifice for her daughter to ensure she won't live a life anything like hers, on a plantation. In some ways this seems like the most selfless thing a mother can do. On the other hand, who gives Sethe the right to make that choice? The townspeople wonder what gives Sethe the boldness to make such a choice and live with it honorably. These questions aren't easy to answer, and I think that is purposeful on Morrison’s part. She very well describes the complexity of the feelings Sethe felt and the way she acted. In many ways it is clear Sethe really isn't over her past. The presence of Beloved’s suffering alone shows that she is still holding on to the pain of her choice. In addition, she almost dies at the amount of pressure put upon her by Beloved. I think this shows how much that effect still holds a handle on her even after her confession. Overall this was a great novel, with many interesting topics open for discussion. I am glad that this incredible work by Morrison was our final text of this class.
You make a good point. On some level, the suffering Beloved causes Sethe represents how hard the decision to kill her daughter was (and is) for her. It is almost as if Sethe doesn't get to grieve over her daughter until she comes back to life 16 years later. At the same time it is hard to call it grief because she puts so much of herself into trying to keep her, or at least the idea of her, alive.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really thought-provoking post, there is so much ambiguity in Sethe's decision and you do a good job explaining many of the different possible points of view. Like you said, it's interesting the way that Morrison uses the entire book to set up our perception of Sethe and only reveals the whole story in the end.
ReplyDeleteThe distinction between Sethe's ending in the novel and Denver's is significant to look at, too. As you say, Morrison depicts Sethe as a loving, caring, independent motherly figure for her children, up until the point when we are revealed the truth about how she killed her children. From this point in the novel, Sethe starts to deteriorate as a character. Denver, on the other hand, begins to flourish at the end of the novel, from the same instance that causes Sethe to collapse--Beloved's disappearance.
ReplyDeleteBeloved is filled with so many different details and themes that can be explicated and connected thoroughly. I absolutely love Morrison's writing and the way that she decided to reveal Sethe's story. The circling that Morrison reflected in the way Sethe herself told the story was so intriguing and creative. She creates so many facets for each character, especially or Sethe, enabling the reader to internally debate their interpretation of her actions.
ReplyDeleteYou did a nice job explicating Morrison's narrative choices. It's definitely interesting that she tells us everything in the beginning of the book and expands on it later. I like how you bring up how the past is linked to the present and can't be escaped because it's a very prevalent theme in the book.
ReplyDeleteNice post! I totally agree that this was a really good book to end the semester with. You did a good job of summarizing Morrison's narrative choices and I think that Morrison's writing style and plot structure brought a whole other element to the novel. It was structured unlike all the other novels we have read and I was always engaged and interested when reading it.
ReplyDeleteYou're right that Sethe's initial "confession" to Paul D--not just confirming *what* she did, which the newspaper reports, but trying to get him to understand *why*--does nothing to assuage her pain. And it's at this point that the dynamic with Beloved turns more and more toxic, wasting Sethe away on a physical level not long after Paul D leaves. We can't know how she might have reacted if Paul had "understood" right away, or found a nicer way to cast his qualms than that line about how many feet she has. But his *failure* to react with sympathy and his immediate departure clearly seems to send her into a deeper spiral of despair, even if initially it manifests as a closing-in of the domestic space, with the three women becoming their own little world. How quickly that moves from a mutually supportive sisterhood to something much more dysfunctional and painful.
ReplyDeleteI too agree that Beloved was a great way to rap up the semester--who doesn't love a good ghost story? But this was not merely a tale of that which cannot be seen, but of breathtaking interactions between people who struggle to overcome the pain of their past. Even outside of the discussions of Beloved in regards to its aspects as literature, I believe that it was the most engaging to read of them all.
ReplyDeleteI agree whole heartedly. I think Sethe's decision is supposed to make the reader ponder on what they would have done. Can we really judge her without living the life of cruelty she lived in slavery. Morrison makes the reader want to question Sethe, but since we have no previous experience in a situation such as this we cannot fully understand what the right thing to do is.
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