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.

Moving Forward

The book Beloved itself expresses a lot of emotions. We are exposed to multiple characters that have unique personalities. However, the character Paul D specifically tends to keep things to himself. In comparison to the other characters, he is very different in how he interacts and how he takes in his emotional experiences. In the book he refers to his heart as a tin tobacco box. This shows how his traumatic experiences have affected not only his heart but his perception of self. One of the major things I reflected on in this book is the need for perspective in the world.

     The tin tobacco box is a symbol of history’s negative collective events that have been left unheard and neglected. Paul D feels like he has no other option than to hold everything in because no one wants to hear about these tragic events. It is not something people are comfortable listening to and it doesn't bring happiness. However, it needs to be heard. The tin tobacco boxes shows the effect it has on his heart. It is hurting him because each time he remembers something he adds it there and its tobacco to his heart; it harms him each time. We see this in today’s society as well. Minorities and lower class status are often underrepresented and don’t have a high influence in American politics. This is hurting us too because in order to be a true fair democracy we need multiple perspectives. We as a society have to encourage people to express their voice and not keep everything locked up for whatever reason. I have learned that reflection and expression is key to progress in any sort of way when it comes to class structure.

Self

All the characters in Beloved have been limited in what they can and can’t do. Throughout their experiences they often feel powerless. An incident that happened in Beloved that specifically stood out to me was when the school teacher said “definitions belong to the definers”. I related this back to history and how we are frequently taught in one perspective. When we learn about slavery, we study the main points of it, almost like a timeline. I remember in APUSH we learned about abolitionists and how slavery came to an end and the fight it took but we never really learned about the experience the slaves had with their owners directly. Beloved gave me a closer in depth study of it that is missing in our understanding.

Beloved is almost like a recollection of memories from the past. Even though at present time they are free, they are not mentally free. They can’t seem to overcome their experiences. They don’t know what to do. I have learned that a way social classes oppress another is mentally. Prior to my reading, I always thought oppression related back to the economics of classes but never really gave any value to interactions between them. While this is still true, I have learned that verbal connections and experiences are just as powerful and can incite just as much conflict as physical.

The only way to defeat this is to define oneself. Once you get to know yourself, you become better equipped to handle situations. Beloved’s characters are on a journey to develop themselves. I have learned that our social struggle are directly related to the formation of ones identity.

Critical Lens #1 (Motherhood in Toni Morrison’s Beloved: A Psychological Reading)

In the nineteenth century, African Americans weren’t really consider human beings but as property because if slaves we to escape the owner of the slave can go and claim her back. In this book, its seems that horrifying moment is over  Sethe, a former slave, lives in Cincinnati with her daughter, Denver, Sethe had killed one of her own children. But in this case there was a good reason for it. Sethe was trying to keep her children from being slaves and she was also keep them away from slave catcher. she just didn't want her children to go through what she had been through. In the novel, Sethe had determined to be a good mother and push out passed memories. Paul D and Sethe are a couple but Denver' does not approve of a new man in their life. Later in the book a young women named Beloved,  becomes part of the household 124 and things start to change. Denver will do anything to please her, but at most Denver feels lonely and rejected by Beloved.

The psychoanalytic lens has helped me to realize many hidden desires of the characters, from Sethe's desire, to what Beloved really wanted in 124. Sethe feels as though she must protect both Denver and Beloved since she considers Beloved as her own. On the hand, Denver wants to lose Beloved. But Beloved wants Sethe. She only love Sethe and nobody else. Once Beloved came into Sethe’s life, Sethe and Denver have felt attached. Sethe has considers Beloved as her own daughter and is now protecting her as well. It seems that Beloved wants everything that Sethe has like, for example, when Beloved had slept with Paul D many times and how she wants Denver to be devoted to her. Since Denver just loves Beloved she is like a friend and like a sister. Denver is just always there for  Beloved when she is upset and when Sethe is gone.

Circulatory

Circulatory in Toni Morrison's Beloved" by Philip Page, explains how the trauma of individual characters is connected to, shared with, and responded to by all other characters and relating communities.

When reading Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved, it is easy to see how readers would question the actions of her characters. Some characters display behavior that would seem barbaric and cruel to the average individual. However, when delving deeper, it is easier to see how the severity of the characters’ actions are built on the psychological repression of their pasts. These pasts are filled with the traumas of slavery, and each character has suffered in his, or her, own way.

                                                         
Page explains how all of Morrison’s characters struggle with the psychological repression of their pasts. While much of their pain stems from the horrors of slavery, it is also comes from their relationship with Sethe. Throughout the novel, Sethe suffers more psychological damage than any other character, making it logical that others would find themselves entangled in her life. Such tragedies are difficult to heal from and it is easy to see how locking away such memories would seem like the answer.  As readers, we may find it difficult to relate to Sethe’s actions. Killing her daughter was a very drastic measure to take, but because of the psychological traumas of her past, she was unable to see another solution. Parents will do almost anything to protect their children and Sethe is no exception. All of Sethe’s experiences throughout slavery are representations of life for all slaves. Morrison’s depictions of rape and abuse accurately portray the damaging effects that slavery had on those who were forced to carry its burden. While we must consider Sethe’s traumatic past, we must also look at her affects on those around her. Paul D, Denver, and Beloved all suffered because of their relationship with Sethe. Paul D becomes a victim of rape at the hands of Beloved, and his connection to Sethe is what links him to Beloved. Denver has never had the intimate connection that has long been needed in order for her life to have a sense of fulfillment. Sethe’s focus on Beloved, damages her connection with Denver, because Denver does share the same bond that she and Beloved do. Beloved suffered both physically and psychologically at the hands of Sethe, by being killed in order to ensure her protection. In doing so, she prevented Beloved from ever having a true identity. She was never able to have the connection with her mother that is necessary for child development. Beloved comes back into Sethe’s life as a grown woman, but because of her past, she still holds the mentality of a small child. Sethe’s actions create psychological repercussions for everyone who remains a part of her life. Morrison does an excellent job of portraying the horrors of slavery through her characters. It is important that we as readers understand the severity of the damage inflicted upon innocent victims. While Sethe has made those in her life victims of psychological repression, she is also a victim herself. We as readers must look at the importance of these characters’ struggles and recognize them as the collective suffering of all slaves during the most difficult of times.  

 However, the collective suffering can all be traced back to one character’s actions. Morrison’s main character, Sethe, has caused a great deal of pain to herself and to those around her. Her actions have caused others to respond, both physically and psychologically, therefore complicating their lives in accordance with hers. Sethe’s relationship with others has caused a great deal of pain, a pain that all of the novel’s characters must strive to overcome.

Sethe the mother or Sethe the Transformer? (Blog #3)

Throughout the fictional novel of Beloved by Toni Morrison, Sethe's motherly instincts have been brought to question of what has motherhood done to Sethe? And is Sethe overprotective of her children? After reading "Bigotry, Breast Milk, Bric-a-Brac, a Baby, and a Bit in "Beloved""  by the Penn State University Press, the author brought up many great points of how the power white men were given over slaves and African Americans during that time period brought ripples that reach out to future events which is essentially this day in age. Penn State interpreted many things in the text of Beloved that I didn't find myself and provides an interesting point of view of how racism and hegemony were themes that were present in the novel and in real life and Toni Morrison switched back and forth between real life and her novel when showing stereotypes of African Americans as a way of showing how these animal and barbaric actions that happened over 100 years ago still effect life today. The second point that I found that Penn State brought up was that Sethe was constantly being symbolized and compared to a a protective animal. She was "measured" for the schoolteacher's scientific purposes and had his nephews watch her instincts almost like how you would find the typical Australian hunter tracking and studying the habits and instincts of an animal it is planning on dissecting or hunting. These revelations have shed new light on how Sethe is viewed and her overall portrayal in the book. Sethe's natural motherly instincts are ones that raised questions of why is Sethe so set on protecting Denver, when she lost her youngest baby to murder, and her two sons ran away from her. When Sethe tells schoolteacher he can't perform tests and measurements on Denver in her motherly tone, it showed the true power Sethe had that was being oppressed until something very valuable was being presented. This brings me the conclusion that for some reason that is hard to find with any evidence that Sethe only had intentions on looking out for Denver as if Denver is the chosen child or the savior. I say this because why didn't Sethe use her protective net while her other children were struggling to stay with her?  The Penn State article presented claims that were very useful of how hegemony and social group dominance over other groups affected Sethe and African Americans as whole over time.  

To Never Let Go - Personal Reflection

In everyone's life there is a moment that is so dreadful and horrific that it is best to try to push it further and further back into your mind. When traumatized it is very natural to shut off the memory and in order to self-defense suppress the awful emotional experience. Very often is thought that this neglecting and abandoning is the best way to forget. So did Sethe and Paul D. Trying to ignore their past and avoid any confrontations related, they seeked to forget their awful memories. But forgetting is very temporary. It lasts only until the smallest event triggers the memory and then the horrible past is experienced once again sometimes ever so painful as it was.

In Beloved, the past is not only impossible to erase, it cannot be beaten back – both pervasive and intrusive, it lives in the present, and can never be fully banished. When the community as a whole confronts Beloved - the past embodied - they soon forget her "like a bad dream”. Yet, though she is “disremembered and unaccounted for”, she is never dead - “her footprints come and go, come and go” - the marks left by the “unspeakable horror and terror” of slavery can never be truly removed. 

The haunting past is further expressed in the deliberately halting narrative. The narrative is emphasized and echoed by a series of flowing interior monologues, which have often been described as the most poetical passages in the novel. These monologues, each an obvious part of the whole, each accentuating and reflecting the others, are a contrast, in their continuous, effortless, even incessant outpouring, to the fragmented plot. Sethe, Denver and Beloved’s unbroken thoughts and dreams add to the sense of immediacy and poetical lyricism.

The tragic stories of the characters in Beloved reveal to me a lesson in defenses. That you can develop as many defenses as possible, to protect you from fear and loss, but no matter what we are not invincible. We are human and we must allow ourselves to feel and understand each emotion that we might experience. 

A Child's Desire - Close Reading

"Denver finished washing the dishes and sat down at the table. Beloved, who had not moved since Sethe and Paul D left the room, sat sucking her forefinger. Denver watched her face awhile and then said, 'She likes him here.' Beloved went on probing her mouth with her finger. 'Make him go away', she said. 'She might be mad at you if he leaves'. Beloved, inserting a thumb in her mouth along with the forefinger pulled out a back tooth. There was hardly any blood, but Denver said 'Oooooh, didn’t that hurt you?' Beloved looked at the tooth and thought, This is it. Next would be her arm, her hand a toe. Pieces of her would drop maybe one at a time, maybe all at once. Or on one of those mornings before Denver woke and after Sethe left she would fly apart. It is difficult keeping her head on her neck, her legs attached to her hips when she is by herself". (157)

Throughout chapter 14, Morrison demonstrates Beloved’s development as a baby and is doing so by using significant metaphors. In the beginning of the passage, Beloved is, although it contradicts the general behavior of her current age, portrayed with a finger in her mouth as a similes and a sign of childhood. As a consequence of Sethe’s and Paul D’s renewed relationship and desire after each other, Beloved no longer is the center of attention and therefore reacts and responds in a childish way by sucking her finger. When Denver, after observing Beloved behavior once Sethe and Paul D departure from the dining room, comments that Sethe enjoys Paul D’s presence at 124, “Beloved went on probing her mouth with her finger” further and later responds with a naive answer by asking Denver to “make him go away”. Through this specific type of childlike diction, Morrison accomplishes to generalize the immature and underdeveloped behavior for young children.

However, when Denver, by saying “She might be mad at you if he leaves”, rejects Beloved’s wish of the withdrawal of Paul D from Sethe, the pressure of Beloveds fingers in her mouth becomes too hard and subsequently she loses one of her back teeth. This action shows Beloved’s development of growing up. As Beloved enter the novel in chapter 5, Beloved represent the life of an infant by demonstrating her non capability to neither walk nor talk. Losing a tooth, in Beloved’s case, is symbolic for the next step of maturing. However, by losing a tooth purposely, Beloved again shows sign of harming herself in order to get attention from Sethe. When Beloved later realizes that Denver, her sister, admirer and support, will not participate in the wish of excluding Paul D, she understands that without Sethe (and Denver to an extent) “It is difficult keeping her head on her neck, her legs attached to her hips when she is by herself”. The progress of learning to accept your mistakes and gaining beneficial knowledge by learning not to repeat them seems to become reasonable to Beloved. In order not to lose Sethe and Denver Beloved understands that she must learn how to respect others individual in her surroundings.

Regardless of how harmful Beloveds actions might seem towards herself as well as the individuals in her surroundings, this only proofs and confirms her constant development and growing as a human, the progress from an infant to a pre teenager, trapped in a adults body. It is a natural tendency for children, just as Beloved does, to use an immature, unsecure and dependent behavior in order to satisfy their need of attention. However, as individuals mature these factors disappears with time, only so because of comprehending the importance of being able to be your own individual and stand on your own feet.

Remembrance, progress and respect

“It was not a story to pass on.

They forgot her like a bad dream. After they made up their tales, shaped and decorated them, those that saw her that day on the porch quickly and deliberately forgot her. It took longer for those who had spoken to her, lived with her, fallen in love with her, to forget, until they realized they couldn’t remember or repeat a single thing she said, and began to believe that, other than what they themselves were thinking, she hadn’t said anything at all. So, in the end, they forgot her too. Remembering seemed unwise…

It was not a story to pass on” (323-324).

Beloved is referred to as a “bad dream”. As a result, people want to forget her and live life as if she never appeared. They have convinced themselves that she is a blank memory and nothing more. After all, all Beloved does is bring back horrid flashbacks to Sethe. In order to be a peace and comfortable with their lives, Beloved has to be forgotten, completely shut out. However, Beloved cannot be. It is a symbol in this book for a greater theme in America’s history and socioeconomic conditions.

Beloved represents hatred, slavery, denial and much more. Yet all this chapter does is express how much it wants to put away this reminder in a sense. At the end of the book, the phrase “It was not a story to pass on” is repeated three times throughout. It emphasizes the want to forget about America’s past and move forward. However, in order to move forward, we have to acknowledge and remember the past, no matter how painful it might be. The past connects to our present. The socioeconomic history and patterns of this country speak for themselves. The relationships and tensions between social classes and racial ethnicities are evident. They relate back to a bigger issue in America. Beloved serves as a reminder that oppression is real and has to be addressed. It may be an uncomfortable topic to discuss but one that needs to nevertheless. The final ending says a lot about today’s struggle while also doing a great job of honoring past struggles.

Loss

“Singing love songs to Mr.Death, they smashed his head. More than the rest, they killed the flirt whom folks called Life for leading them on. Making them think the next sunrise would be worth it; that another stroke of time would do it at last. Only when she was dead would they be safe. The successful ones-- the ones who had been there enough years to have maimed, mutilated, maybe even buried her-- kept watch over the others who were still in her cock-teasing hug, caring and looking forward, remembering and looking back” (128).

In this passage, Paul D is remembering the horrors of the time where he was sent to prison in Georgia for the attempted murder of Brandywine. This was one of the darkest time periods in his life. In addition, Paul D personifies the idea of life and finds himself fighting it. He sees it as an evil thing that mimics him and everyone around. He goes on to show that the only way out was “when she was dead”. This clearly results in death and is basically what he wanted at that point of his life.

Paul D experiences alone show that it wasn’t just physical abuse that was going on, but mental abuse as well. It was another form of oppression that one could say is even worse and leaves a long term impact on a person. We see Paul D having flashbacks of this and how it still affects him even as a freed man. This begins to uncover the impacts of societal conditions one is placed in. Paul D in a sense starts to rethink his morals and beliefs. This symbolizes a complete defeat in a person. You can beat and verbally abuse someone but if no reaction is made and they stand strong, they have beaten you but the moment you start to rethink who you are and what you stand for, you have been beaten and the battle is lost. This happened to Paul D. They broke him to the point where he changes his whole mindset about life. A desire was ripped out of his life that has affected him severely. Its another type of dominance that is portrayed in Beloved, something much more than socioeconomic. The true power of a class over another remains in one's reactions.

The True Goal ( Slavery and Motherhood in Toni Morrison's Beloved)

       Throughout the story Beloved seems to really want to get attached to Sethe, but what is the reason behind this? Sethe had no idea why did Beloved come to specifically 124, but when she heard her name her body reacted suddenly and abruptly. And she suddenly begin to feel like this person should have been with her for a long time. Beloved had a reason behind this scheme of hers, which was to obtain what she had lost. In the case of the book she says that Sethe is her face and that she lost that face but has now found it and can be reunited with it once more. In the reading Slavery and motherhood in Toni Morrison's Beloved that is about many different things, however the main thing that stood out to me was motherhood and the symbol of it, which explains about this phase that happens in the book which is basically Beloved's fantasy of fusing with her so called "mother". This indeed occurs, but it does so in a strange way where Sethe is being shrunken while Beloved is becoming more of Sethe's mother and Sethe is being taken care of by Beloved. Beloved made this happen by draining Sethe's energy and forced Sethe to become more dependent, while Beloved stealing Sethe's life became more of a wome, and a mom.
     
      Looking at this through the psychoanalytical lens, we can clearly see what were Beloved's through desires and motivations. Which are not really shown, until towards the end when Paul D left. And maybe Beloved had sex with Paul D in order for Paul D to freak out and make him leave the house, that way Sethe was going to be all for Beloved. This lead to her true desires of obtaining what she had lost which was pretty much Sethe. By being alone with Sethe and nobody to grab Sethe's attention, she was able to get her face back and to be able to see and smile the way Beloved wanted to from the begging that she arrived at 124. Looking at this book through the psychoanalytical lens, has allowed for a deeper understanding of what characters were thinking, what were their intentions, what were some of the conflicts that the characters had whether that was internal or external and this helped me to realize the way Beloved was and maybe even what the meaning of Beloved in this book was.

Psychoanalytical Lens (Motherhood in Beloved: A Psychological Reading)

       During the time period this book is being set in we can clearly see that African American people are seen as only property. And this kept on happening even after the slaves were freed, afterwards they were seen as enemies. This book really portrays this, and according to the reading this is a book about a freed slaved that is a mother and has to enjoy her freedom however looses it by living in 124. And it also explains how the psychoanalytical lens plays into the book and how does it affect the characters of the book, such as Sethe. Sethe is the main character of the book and the one that is the most affected throughout the book by arrivals and decisions. The psychoanalytical is a lens that can be very confusing since it is defining and explaining what the characters are really thinking and, and why they think in certain ways. According to the reading the psychoanalytical point of view in the book, shows a lot of motherhood and mother like behaviors that occur throughout the book as well and we cans see them too. For example, when Sethe believes that Beloved is her reincarnated daughter since she hears her singing a song that Beloved use to sing to her kid s to go to sleep. Another great example, is when Beloved starts to act more like the mother of Sethe towards the end of the book since she begins to drain all of Sethe's energy.
       The psychoanalytical lens has also helped me to realize many hidden desires of the characters, from Sethe's sexual desires, to what Beloved really wanted in 124. And I have also learned what is the thoughts of the characters and how do they become part of the puzzle that has been created by the events that have occurred in 124. Many of the events of this book are almost as though they were mere dreams, and we begin to see this towards the end however they are not it is just that the fact that the supernatural has mixed with Sethe's undesirable life has mixed up many of the people that are around Sethe. Monologues start to really show towards the end of the book, and those strongly relate to the psychoanalytical portion of this book since three specific characters are expressing how they feel about each other. Sethe being one of them, feels as though she must protect both Denver and Beloved since she considers both of them her children. On the hand, Denver wants to protect Beloved from Sethe since Denver knows what happened to her sister and does not want to loose Beloved. But Beloved wants to get really close to Sethe, since it would pretty much give Beloved her everything back and would be back to how she apparently was. All of these monologues demonstrate to use the character's true motivations and some desires that may not be the best to some people, however that didn't stop Beloved from doing what she wanted to achieve.

Sister Love( Responding and Reflecting #2)

Something that I have learned from Beloved so far as reading it through psychoanalytic lens would connect in some ways because when reading the relationship that Beloved and Denver had connected to me.  Denver was like a mother figure to Beloved. She would be there for when Beloved was upset and she missed Sethe. The relationship that those two have is pretty strong. This relates to my lens because there are questions like “Who has a difficult mother?”.  A difficult mother, which are a group of teenage girls,  presents challenges and are capable of engaging with a child more than an adult. This is partly true with me because I feel like I do have a role as a mom to my siblings, but my mom is involved in being their for us but not not really engaged to really be comfortable in truly knowing us. Since we spend a lot of time together I probably know her more than my mom because I take the time to figure out how she feel in school and I do everything that I can in order to  defend my sister. This is because when my mom would be out working late, I would be the one in charge. I remember always being there for my sister, for when she needed help with math. She has always struggled with math, but I would do everything that I could in order to help my sister. I feel as if I was a mother figure to her because when she get hurt I am there for her to feel better and there are time things that they say about her just because she a little different breaks my heart. That is why I love how this book shows me how sister love is the best type of relationship that a girl can have because you’d be confident to know what's wrong and what she needs help in anything. Having a good relationship with your sibling is as strong as a mother and daughter relationship.

Sorrow - A Personal Reflection

Growing up, my mom has always told me that "everybody has a sad story to tell". AS a young girl, I never fully appreciated or understood this thought. It took me a long time to see past my own tragedies, disappointment, fears, and anxieties. However, I have been more able to extend my own sad feelings to others and have found comfort and strength in realizing that all individuals are joint by same emotions and natural fears and tendencies.

I find that Denver perfectly sums up the feeling of loneliness the most people experience at some point, usually many times. Denver grows up in almost impossible circumstances and survives. She goes through an ocean of emotional distress but ultimately fights through her problems and becomes a stronger person. Denver transforms drastically with the departure and the loss of her brothers and Baby Suggs, which causes her to become isolated and self centered. Denver feels like she is detached from the world after her tragic losses. She even tells Sethe that she "can't live here. Nobody speaks to us. Nobody comes by. Boys don't like me. Girls don't either". 

I have not experienced a serious loss in my family like Denver, however I have experienced loss in other ways. In my freshman year of high school my parents had separated and my mom was forced out of our home. I resented my parents for almost two straight years, confused by the changes and my own emotions. I have witnessed my mom make herself ill from guilt and loneliness. And just this year I watched my dad be hospitalized and bed-sick for eight full months. My parents have not yet departed, but many times have I felt as if they were already gone. 

These experiences, make me and Denver alike, in times when"solitude had made [me] secretive - self manipulated". "Years of haunting" has "dulled" me in many ways and has made me numb to many ill experiences. (117) I believe that the harsh and seemingly impossible tragedies that I feel mirrored in Denver, curate a superego that judges my own self and others deeply and harshly. I believe also that since everyone has a sad story to tell that each person in this world can and does make judgments particularly based on the tragedy they have endured. 

Reading Beloved and connected deeply to Denver, I believe that it is possible to find relief in sharing with others during times of extreme sadness. And that it is possible to choose your own attitude or judgment in any given circumstance, when you harness enough strength and will power. 

Love for your child

In Beloved, something that I have learned as a result of reading it through Psychoanalytic Lens was the fact that I got to learn how a mothers love towards her child is unconditional and how a mother would love her child so much that they would do anything in order to protect them and keeping them getting hurt. This book has completely made me open my eyes and see the perspective of a mother and how she shows to much love and that makes me see my life personally because I used to only saw the bad side of my mother because my mom would everything she can from going far away for college and go out with my friends. My decisions are mostly being made by my mom. She decides whether I can go out-of-state for college, whether I can go to anywhere with my friends. I would honestly just would see how I have no freedom and all my choices are being made instead of me actually making those decision. Reading this book help me see the reason why a mother does what she does. My mom you can say does everything she can to always be by her side, and always keep me at home so she see everything that I am doing. Relating this back to my close reading blogs I would take Paul D’s side because in this situation a mothers love is dangerous because once we leave our mothers side they are heartbroken and mother just think about you and worry about you once you're in college. That is why Paul D says that you should only “love just a little bit... [so you have] a little love left over for the next one”. By a mother loving her children a little bit would help prevent her from getting hurt because she would be able to love her other children and also be their to support them for when they need her.

Baby Suggs or Baby Jesus? (Blog Entry #2)

" 'Here,' she said, 'in this here place, we flesh; flesh that weeps, laughs; flesh that dances on bare feet in grass. Love it. Love it hard. Yonder they do not love your flesh. They despise it. They don't love your eyes; they'd just as soon pick em out. No more do they love the skin on your back. Yonder they flay it. And O my people they do not love your hands. Those they only use, tie, bind, chop off and leave empty. Love your hands! Love them. Raise them up and kiss them. Touch others with them, pat them together, stroke them on your face 'cause they don't love that either. You got to love it, you! And no, they ain't in love with your mouth. Yonder, out there, they will see it broken and break it again. What you say out of it they will not heed. What you scream for it they do not hear. What you put into it to nourish your body they will snatch away and give you leavins instead. No, they don't love your mouth. You got to love it. This is the flesh I'm talking about here. Flesh that needs to be loved. Feet that need to rest and dance; backs that need support; shoulders that need arms, strong arms I'm telling you. And O my people, out yonder, hear me they do not love your neck unnoosed and straight. So love your neck;" (104)

In physics, we are all taught that nothing is ever destroyed, it is just recycled and reused in another form or state. Love is a concept that you can't see what it is, and most people have to search for it, but we know it is out there. Love is a source of power, that is fundamental for survival in any situation. Whether it is the Holocaust, a genocide, or slavery, love is what gives people and especially slaves in this instance, the ability to strive and move on. Unfortunately for the slaves, their love and source of power has been drained to an unfathomably low amount. Through constant slavery, rape, inequality, and abuse and oppression from white people, African-Americans have been given the perception that they have little to live for during this time period. Luckily for African Americans in The Clearing where Baby Suggs was preaching and teaching her ways, there is hope for slaves to be able to gain back their power and desire to live a normal life and gain a sense of self-identity. Similar to what the Nazis did with the Jews where they stripped them of their clothes and shaved their heads to make all of the Jews indistinguishable, whites did the same things to slaves where they stripped them of their sense of identity by breaking down their souls and determination and stripping them of their power. In this passage, Baby Suggs is doing a very important job and a job that no one would have predicted she would have, she is preaching to slaves about how to gain back their sense of identity. Baby Suggs is a very influential character throughout the book but in this flashback, Baby Suggs screams and yells to "love your hands! Love them. Raise them up and kiss them," (104) because since slavery has ended on paper and the aftermaths are still taking place, slaves need to re-learn how to achieve their own identity again which is their source of power. Baby Suggs makes it very clear while teaching this bible-like-lesson to the slaves similar to how Moses lead the Jews from slave-ridden Egypt. I also saw a Jesus-like character in Baby Suggs and this presents the reoccurring theme in Beloved that Sethe believes in that nothing is ever destroyed, it just comes back in a different form. In this case, the power and identity that slaves had was physically and psychologically broken down and Baby Suggs is doing her best to build up and reconstruct the crushed and damaged souls that white men have fractured and cement the principal idea that you need to love yourself because no one else is going to love you unless you love yourself first. Through a Marxist lens, the reader can see that the language and tone of Baby Suggs in the Clearing is messiah-like and draws comparisons to leaders like Jesus and Moses.

Dangerous Love

“Risky, thought Paul D, very risky. For a used-to-be-slave woman to love anything that much was dangerous, especially if it was her children she had settled on to love. The best thing, he knew, was to love just a little bit; everything, just a little bit, so when they broke its back, or shove it in a croaker sack, well, maybe you’d have a little love left over for the next one.”

The significance of this quote is that loving someone so much is dangerous for a mother because once that child of yours has left or has been taken away the mother's heart would be heartbroken and she’d feel torn to know that she might not see him/her ever again. Here Paul D feels that to love like Sethe is in fact dangerous because she is giving all of her love to Denver. Paul D feels that one should only love a child just a “little” so that way if Denver were to leave and be independent, Sethe would have room “leftover” to love Paul D.

What is love truly? Is love just one thing or is it seen in multiple ways? This quote reveals how Sethe’s love is unconditional towards Denver and how she is the “best thing’ that has ever happened to her. In this quote the are different points of views because Paul D notices that Sethe’s love is so “much [that it’s] dangerous”. But he doesn’t approve of her love because he feels as if one should just love a “little bit [because]...maybe [there would be] a little leftover”. This give one an misinterpretation that Paul D might be jealous because Sethe give more attention to Denver than to him. This could be that he want Sethe to show him some love and not so much to Denver.

In this quote, love can be interpreted in many different ways. Based on this quote, it contains a mania, which is an obsessive and jealous love, and agape, which is an altruistic love because Sethe cares deeply for Denver that she is not willing for her to be unprotected and Paul D has jealousy because he sees how Sethe is giving Denver all of the attention, and he fears she might not have love leftover for him.  

A Fabricated Reality: Sethe's Motherhood

"Motherhood in Toni Morrison's Beloved: A Psychological Reading" by Sandra Mayfield offers a complex illustration of Sethe's "risky" motherhood and explains the parts of Sethes's early life that "led her to view her position as a mother as a meaningful vocation". Mayfield describes several issues of injustice in society such as sexism, racism, and objectification that would lead any woman towards feelings of loneliness and "Desire" for "connection". By acknowledging and rationalizing the historical context it enlightens readers about the larger issues that contribute to the making of Sethe's motherhood, her greatest struggle and triumph.

Mayfield describes that Sethe's powerful calling to be a mother, a good mother, was initially sparked during the traumatic experience of "witnessing her mother's death". The severe isolation she experienced at an age before twelve, is compared to and further explained by the "external break" philosophy originated by Jacques Lacan. Lacan believed that children develop several images and narratives based on their human interactions in the part of the mind that her termed the "imaginary". The imaginary is the space that the child a sense of self and the basis of narratives that can only be understood by the child themselves. The "imaginary" is very similar in theory to Sigmund Freud, the godfather of psychology, and his belief that the unconscious and personal desires are influenced by childhood events.

It is also pointed out that Sethe's experience as a young slave woman, particularly the sexual assaults, had grounded her passion for motherhood in a commitment to "give her [children] a better life than she had experienced". This too, adds to the her personal devotion to achieve a passionate motherhood. In fact, it can even be argued that, in terms of Lacanian analysis, Sethe wanted to be the object of desire of her own children, just as they were hers.

Mayfield's early reflections on maternal memory-never good enough to remember the good (especially the mentioning of when Baby Suggs agonizes about all the details about her eight children she cannot remember) and never bad enough to forget the pain-are replaced later on with maternal rememory which is like weather . It is always there, "not the breath of the disremembered to be accounted for, but wind in the eaves, or spring ice thawing too quickly. Just weather." Maternal rememory, once Sethe fully experiences it in the novel, may indeed be capable of performing a task deemed impossible in the beginning of the novel-to remember the beautiful trees of Sweet Home and the bodies hanging from them. As the story of the past embodied in Beloved emerges, such distinctions and separations vanish and no one position remains comfortably distinguishable, categorizable in schoolteacher-style into separate characteristics . A series of counter narratives, of counter families, offers a metonymic escape route out of the master narrative
of family and Motherhood.

Character's Impulsiveness and Decisions

       Denver is really attached to this new, yet mysterious, person. However does not feel the same way about the arrival of Paul D. Denver had really been alone for a long time since nobody came by the house since it is considered haunted by a baby ghost. "Shortly after Sethe and Denver tried to call up and reason with the baby ghost, but got nowhere. It took one a man Paul D, to shout it off, beat it off and take its place for himself. And carnival or no carnival, Denver preferred the venomous bay to him any day. During the first days after Paul D moved in, Denver stayed in her emerald closet as long as she could, lonely like as a mountain and almost as big, thinking everybody had somebody but her; thinking even the ghost's company was denied her. So when she saw the black dress with two unlaced shoes beneath it she trembled with secrete thanks. Whatever her power was and however she used it, Beloved was hers," (123). This quote gives us much detail on Denver's impulses and some of the decisions she has made given the circumstances that Denver was put in or put herself in. Such as screaming at Beloved for supposedly choking Sethe, however not even knowing who actually did it just being impulsive and reckless about the situation. And he impulsiveness and her actions, make her have to deal with the blame and the guilt that she didn't even know if Beloved was choking Sethe or if it was as Beloved said that it was the circle of iron. However, maybe Denver's decisions and impulsiveness had something to do with the arrival of Beloved, maybe Beloved arrived at 124 knowing that some people like Denver needed that light to give them hope.
     
       The arrival of Paul D to 124, affected Denver in a very negative way since it wasn't the arrival Denver wanted. Compared to the arrival of Beloved, the arrival of Paul D was most likely one of the toughest things to handle due to the fact that Paul D had Sethe's support. So, Denver had to deal with the fact that she now has to live with Paul D in the same house and pretty much her step-dad. The way Denver handled it by asking him when he was going to leave and acting up really lead to the decision of pretty much hiding in her closet to space out and not get involved with Paul D.

Inner thoughts and desires

       In the book I have found that there are many cases in which the characters take very abrupt actions, no matter what they're thinking in the inside. Whether is a good decision, a bad decision or something that is going to change the way they live or the way the progress throughout their lives. A very big event that changes a lot of how the characters, such as Sethe, Denver and Paul D, have to live is the arrival of Paul D. Since, right off the start Denver does not want Paul D to keep living with Sethe and herself. This puts Denver in a corner since her monther wants Paul D to stay, however there is a conflict between Paul D and Sethe and that also leads to Sethe thinking in many different ways. The arrival of Paul D gives Sethe many desires that have not been felt in many years, but it also begins a whole new argument within Sethe of does she want Paul D to live or not. Sethe really thinks about how she would become a brand new persons if she had sort-off a husband in the house, however probably deep inside she was thinking about how will Paul D joining Sethe and Denver's freedom affect the way Sethe will grow and wheter it would be a good thing or a bad thing. Judging by what has been going on with the trio, Sethe believes that she has made the right decision by allowing Paul D to stay with them. 

       However an even more important arrival to Sethe's home has to be the arrival of Beloved, who doesn't only come out of nowhere but goes straight towards Sehte's house and decides to stay. This mysterious character seems to be really attached to Sethe by reasons that nobody knows except for Beloved herself. This could mean that Beloved sees Sethe as almost a mother like figure that she wants to be with, and she also seems to treat Denver very well almost as though they were sisters. Maybe, Beloved's true desire is to join somebody's family and try to fit in to be safe from what she was escaping or she believes that she belonged to that family for a while. However her thoughts change about Paul D, maybe because he pushes her buttons at dinner. But, towards the begging there was this mood of envy or jealousy from Paul D towards this mysterious person, so much that he wanted to get rid of her. While Paul D believes that she is dangerous to Sethe and Denver because Beloved is a strange, maybe his true intention is to get rid of her because he fears as though the attention he was receiving from Sethe and Denver is being taken away. 

Id, Ego, and the Superego

       Reading the book in my lens which is psychoanalytical I have learned that there are many characters that many hidden thoughts, desires, and points of view. The fact that this book is very sexual related has allowed me to find much information about many of the characters such as Sethe, Paul D, and Halle. One of the main examples is when Sethe and Paul D sleep together one night, both of them were lead by their id which impulsed them to take action and react to what was going on. The ego which is a restrain to the id, reacted late or did not react at all and that is the reason why Sethe and Paul D slept together on that one night. The ego is the reason why many of our decision are not made, since the ego makes your brain think about what your id is trying to make you do and your ego makes sure you think things through and you make the right decision.  In this book there are many occasions where the id and the ego, this is a great example of how the ego did not successfully counter the ego.
       Another great way to demonstrate where the ego and the id both took action is when Sethe is getting her mil stolen and Halle is watching on top of the barn scared because he doesn't know how to help. This also demonstrates and opens up to conflicts, between Hallen and himself as well as Sethe and Hallen. The id and the ego really come in to play when Halle is watching because this time the ego was stronger than the id, and therefore decided that him not doing much about the problem was the best option for him. However this created a great conflict with himself that lead to him becoming crazy and loosing control of himself. Sethe developed a small conflict with him since she didn't see him anymore, later on when Paul D tells her it creates a even bigger conflict that took away all the lies from Sethe and how she felt about Halle.

Nothing Can be Forgotten(Close Reading #1)

“It’s so hard for me to believe in it. Some things go. Pass on. Some things just stay. I used to think it was my rememory. You know. Some things you forget. Other things you never do. But it’s not. Places, places are still there . If a house burns down, it’s gone, but the place--the picture of it--stays, and not just in my rememory, but out their, in the world. What I remember is a picture floating around out there outside my head. I mean,  even if I don’t think it, even if I die, the picture of what I did, or knew, or saw is still out there. Right in the place where it happened,”

Significance:

I think the significance of quotes is that no matter what happens or how many years pass, or whether something is burned down it will always remain inside your head. It will always be a memory. I brings back flashbacks of the past and how you could also have someone else's memories making place you have never been in familiar making a person look familiar like if you knew that person.

This quote reveals that she has so many things in mind. So many memories and flashbacks that just can’t be “burns down,”. Memories will always remain alive. Sethe has so many memories that she just can’t forget. Her past will always be there and when someone comes across 124 they will relive that event. What happened in 124 will always be there it will always be talked about. It would be forgotten.People can often remember an event by placing themselves in the same context they were in when the event happened.  Another things that is brought up is the fact that Sethe had lost her daughter and her 2 sons, she is living a life where she can’t forget her past.

Sethe is emotionally traumatized by both her loss of her children. The loss of children always hurt a mother and it shows how they can’t get over it and wish that their child was their. That is why in the book Sethe keep Denver close and tries to love her as much as she can. She would do anything to defended her. We probably wouldn't be able to understand how a mother feels in the inside, until one day it happens to us. In addition, Slavery can also not be forgotten because we still talk about it today. Slavery was a big issue because African Americans weren't seen a people they were seen as property. In this book slavery was already abolished but ex-slaves still didn't feel free because they weren't treated kindly, they weren't treated equally.