Conclusion (Blog #7)

As I finished the book and wondered how anyone could possibly fathom a book like this because it is so crazy, that it actually makes sense. This defies the laws of common sense of if things seem crazy, they are. This book is crazy because people try to forget this part of America's history. People think of America's past and think of Heroic people like the founding fathers and incredible speakers like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. and they seem to forget how America has produced more genocide/questionable acts than the Nazis did. Between the extremely poor treatment of the Native Americans and the centuries of slavery, Americans don't have the best track record with people not of white skin. This book points that out plus more. Many people read over the scene where the Cherokees or "Buffalo Men" helped Paul D when escaping from jail as just another scene but that scene was powerful because these were two hurt and destroyed races both damaged by the same group of oppressors who came together and helped each other because that was the right thing to do. Relating it back to Beloved, Denver is being a typical teenager, and only caring about the present and not the past when Sethe is attempting to answer Denver's questions I also found the motif that Denver is the emotional child that Sethe always wanted. Although many people saw Beloved as a burden, I think Sethe implicitly wanted and needed Beloved because she needed to feel that motherly feeling of being emotionally attached to another child. Sethe was very attached to Denver but as we later know, she also tried to kill Denver and I think it is because Denver is almost like a mother figure for Beloved even if Beloved has Sethe. Paul D even tries to help Sethe focus on the future by asking her to have a baby with him. The craziest part of the book besides the very descriptive murder scene was the symbolism behind each action in the book. When Sethe was breastfeeding Denver after she killed baby Beloved and Denver drinks some of Beloved's blood mixed with the breast milk.  The overall creepiness of that scene still makes me tremble thinking about how Sethe had that feeling come over her that killing her children would essentially save them from harm. Or in other words, in order for her kids to not have to deal with the past that Sethe had, she is making sure they never get to have a future. It is weird though, because throughout the book, many assumed that Sethe was a good person and that Sethe had almost a devil in the form of Beloved watching over her. But the truth is that Sethe's decision to cut her children's lives short was wrong and although she thought she was doing right by her children, she wasn't.

Beloved beweird (Blog #6)

Reading up to page 130 through my Marxist lens made me realize that Beloved is a book all about getting back what was already yours and that nothing ever goes away. Throughout the book, I saw the common theme that power is constantly being transferred from person to person through every interaction between black and even between whites. The one question that is still yet to be answered is who killed Beloved because that will answer a lot of questions of why things are this way and why certain characters are lying. It's very confusing why adult version of beloved is there at 124 because it seems like she has no purpose besides possibly make Sethe weaker. Beloved makes Sethe draw more attention to her and therefore she can't watch out for herself. Beloved is an interesting character because it is confusing how she is a fully grown about 20 year old and yet, she is obsessed with Sethe like an infant would be and she needs extra attention to her. I also wonder about the extent of Sethe and Denver's relationship with each other. Sethe has almost a motherly claw on Denver and protects her even though her intentions are questionable. While reading the text through my lens, I noticed that the ghosts of Sethe's past seem to haunt her more and more. Between Adult Beloved, and Baby Beloved, Sethe can't seem to escape her past. When she tries to escape the memories of Sweet Home, Paul D arrives. When she tries to move on from her the death of her fourth child, she comes back in a creepy form. When she needs the aid of her late mother-in-law, she shows Sethe a place that will help her (The Clearing). Sethe is constantly trying to escape her past whether it is for good or bad reasons, but I believe it is for bad reasons. 

Tolerance

To Be Loved: Amy Denver and Human Need: Bridges to Understanding in Toni Morrison's"Beloved" by Nicole M. Coonradt talks about the healing process of oneself. Sethe seems to be broken by her experiences and may be at that point where she looses hope but then comes something that helps her up. Coonradt specifically pointed out the character Amy in Beloved who helps Sethe in her journey to 124. Amy then becomes a symbol for peace and interactions between the white race and African Americans. Coonradt says Amy is in a sense a “bridge” to Morison. It is represented as a way to show that people can be loved and healed even in the most tragic circumstances and relationships.

The “bridge” Amy symbolizes in the book relates to a bigger theme of race in our culture. Sethe is faced with the chance to interact reasonably with someone of a race she wouldn't normally feel as comfortable to prior. It is a chance to reconnect and discover new relationships. “Bridges to understanding” are directly related. I agree with this perception of Amy in the book Beloved because it is the only chance Sethe gets to connect with the white race that is considered progressive. This leaves her with a chance for self renewance. Amy is a crucial turning character and without her there would be no point of uniting and the search for love between the two races. I agree with this because there will always be people who break stereotypes and seek to break those curses of racism that is entrenched in American culture. We need those humans to attract love and understanding. The ability to be like Amy in different conditions in respect to people around us is vital to the success of us progressing as a country.

Singing in the Rain (Blog #5)

"It rained...It rained...It rained...Then he thought he was crying. Something was running down his cheeks. He lifted his hands to wipe away the tears and saw dark brown slime. Above him rivulets of mud slid through the boards of the roof. When it came down, he thought, gonna crush me like a tick bug. It happened so quickly he had no time to ponder...The water was above his ankles, flowing over the wooden plank he slept on. And then it wasn't water anymore. The ditch was caving in and mud oozed under and through the bars." (129-130)

In this passage, this is the scene where Paul D is really in a sticky situation. He is in jail in Georgia where jail featured more torture, and stricter rules than most jails have today and Paul D was put in jail for killing his teacher who was attempting to sell him into slavery. They placed him and forty-six other prisoners into these boxes that had metal bars in them and placed them in large ditches in the ground. This form of prison was very intense and if you broke a rule, or simply misspoke, you got shot in the head at point blank. This is part of the foundation of why Paul D learned not to love things that much in this world now because of things like this that are happening to Paul D and his cell mates. Paul D is essentially powerless in this situation until, it starts to rain. Not just rain, it starts to pour and pour all on the prisoners and presents the new issue that the prisoners face. Do they sit in the wet mud as it rises and slowly begins to drown them or, do they scream and yell to get someone's attention to move them. They choose to take it. But the problem isn't them drowning, it is the significance of the rain. Imagine forty-six large hungry, and beaten, and worn out African Americans all chained up together and at their wits end. Now, try to imagine them all covered in mud and dirt and filth from head to toe and now this downpour of rain is cleaning them of this filth. It draws comparisons to Noah's Arc and how God flooded the earth because there was too much sinning and bad things going on. The mud and dirt on the prisoners represented the dirt and overall filth they had to sit in for most of a day. Once the rain washed away all of the bad things the prisoners have done, Paul D was able to escape and make a zombie-like exit. Ultimately, Paul D got help from another white-man-oppressed race which were the Cherokees or Buffalo Men. This is the classic case of one victim helping another victim. In this situation, Paul D and some of the prisoners run into the trail of tears and a pack of Buffalo Men and it is interesting to see how this destroyed Native American culture and people can help out another destroyed group of people oppressed by the same group of people. This event that happened to Paul D and the 45 other prisoners reminds me of a quote I remembered that says "my enemy's enemy is my friend," in other words, the white man's enemy (Cherokees) are African-American people's friends. This passage shows me that no matter how hard people try to put a race down or show dominance, there will always be help somewhere out there in the world that will help.

Bigotry, Breast Milk, Bric-a-Brac, a Baby, and a Bit in "Beloved" Toni Morrison's Portrayal of Racism and Hegemony by Heather Duerre Humann is a literary analysis that focuses on viewing Beloved through a Marxist lens. It analyzes the concept of racism both in the book and in present American culture. The opinion of Heather Duerre Humann is quite clear. She believes Beloved portrays the way racism plays out and its effect on the perpetrators and victims. Racial stereotypes and white supremacy are both being discussed as one of the main focuses in Beloved, according to this analysis.

Many of the events these characters go through place them in the same oppressive situation in regards to race. Whether this is on purpose or inevitable, it adds to the problem. For example, Heather mentions the specific incident with Sethe and the schoolteacher. The schoolteacher uses scientific racism to treat Sethe like an animal basically. This creates a hostile environment and encourages racism for the other kids as well. We see all these events in Beloved that portray the horrible thing called racism. Humann is showing how it is still seen in todays culture in a different way. It reflects even up to this day because people feel a certain way towards each other. ‘Time’ did an interview with Toni Morrison in where she stated that “declarations that racism is irrelevant, over or confined to the past are premature fantasies”. I agree with this one hundred percent. Even though racism might not be as direct and apparent as it was in early America, doesn't mean its done with. Racism is still growing and alive in today’s culture. It is up to our society to change these standards.

Traumatizing Memories (Figuration of Rape and the Supernatural in Beloved)

In the novel Beloved it is haunted by awful memories and their history. Yet specifically Sethe is haunted by the memory of rape. Memories of this horrible moment is harsh to even forget. In order for Sethe to prevent this to happen to her children Sethe had killed her oldest daughter and then tried to kill Denver when she was just a baby. But thanks to Stamp Paid. he had taken Denver from Sethe. No Sethe wasn’t crazy she was doing it to protect them. She didn’t want her children to got through what she had gone through. She want her daughters to get raped and have that as a terrible memory.

This is not only a terrible memory that Sethe has but with all black women slaves. If they were to have a child of a white man they would throw them. The only reason the women do this is because they don't’ want to breastfeed or take care of a child that is a memory of traumatizing moment. But going more into Sethes situation, while she was being raped by white men, her husband was just watching. She is more disturbed that her husband saw what they were doing to her, yet he did nothing about, but to abandon Sethe.

The psychoanalytic lens has also supported the idea of haunting of awful memories. This is because memories can not be forgotten. She is living a life where she can’t forget her past. Especially because Sethe is emotionally traumatized by the raping incidents. How can you forget something like that? One can’t just get raped and forget about it the instant that it is over. That says in your head forever and one can’t do anything about it. Memories are forever. Once one is to return to the place that it happened, it just all comes back to you.  

Amy [Angel] Denver: The White Knight (Blog #4)

The text I chose to read and interpret was the analyzation of Amy Denver by College Literature. This text highlighted the similarities and differences between Amy Denver and Sethe and it is now very apparent how Amy Denver is so different and it makes Amy Denver stand out in a better way compared to Sethe. When we look at the scene when Amy Denver meets Sethe in the forest and Sethe is at her weakest point, we can see the contrast that the reading highlighted after reading the text from College Literature. The contrast they pointed out was how Sethe was dirty and tired and in the middle of labor and Amy Denver showed up and majestically and in an angel-like manor, she aided Sethe and "brought her back to life" after nearly being on the cusp of passing out and possibly dying. The imagery that Toni Morrison has in Beloved during that scene is so powerful and really does paint a picture in your mind that Amy is this indentured servant who turns out to be this almost angel healer that ends up helping Sethe and Sethe repays her by naming her daughter Denver. In this instance, we see how power can be used for good, or for evil with Amy. She is a white woman who found a pregnant black woman in the middle of a forest and during these times, many readers would assume that Amy might turn Sethe in and Amy might use her power as a white person during this time period to exercise her hegemony over Sethe and place Sethe and eventually Denver back into slavery again possibly at Sweet Home. But no, she doesn't do this. Although Amy uses some derogatory words to talk to Sethe, the text by College Literature points out that Amy attempts to re-fix the broken bridge that Sethe has between her and white people in this book. After pointing out the differences in purposes between Amy and Sethe, the text moves on to how the word "Beloved" rings throughout the book. The text by College Literature discovered that "beloved" is constantly used as a noun and verb many times, and that Toni Morrison uses it in a negative and positive way. The negative way she uses it is with baby beloved, which is a baby and later an adult that haunts house 124. This proper noun use of beloved is used to show how the number "3" is missing from 124 because Sethe is missing her third child. College Literature began to explain how beloved as a noun is negative, but as a verb, it is a positive thing that wants to make a change in that world that Sethe lives in. College Literature interpreted Morrison's use of "Beloved" as a verb as the author wanting to amend the damaged relationship between whites and black. College Literature saw the word beloved and took it as be loved, and made the claim that the fact that everyone needs and searches for love and to be loved, that will bring races together. What I took from that scene of Amy and Sethe in the forest was pretty similar to what College Literature found but I noticed one thing, that it seems like throughout Sethe's hardest times, there is always an angel there to help her get through it. For example, with Amy and Sethe, Amy helped Sethe get back to being mobile and helped her deliver her baby. Shortly after, when Sethe needed to cross the river to get to Ohio, there was Stamp Paid and Ella who helped Denver as a newborn and fever ridden Sethe cross a river. After that there was Baby Suggs who was the elderly voice of wisdom that Sethe needed in her life.