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.