Category: Beloved, 68-end

The ending was shocking as who knew Beloved would actually leave the place. Not only that but also how Denver stood up for herself and made a choice where she had to leave her comfort zone and go look for a job to provide food for her mother and herself. If Beloved had not been in the picture none of this would’ve been possible. I feel like Tony Morrison deliberately wanted to show us that the presence of Beloved caused harm but more than that it helped Denver to make herself more independent. The society also came into one, helping Sethe, they were upset about not helping her that time when the schoolteacher had come to take her and her children as a slave. They regretted the idea that they kept quiet at that time, more of they felt in some way it would have never come to a point where Sethe had to kill her child if they had warned her or alerted her in the past.

Return of Beloved bought the community together and giving Denver a strength in becoming independent. It was also not so shocking when Beloved disappeared because it felt right, she was like a person sent by God to help Sethe and the others to come into place. It was like a mission, and once it was over she left. It was forgotten that Beloved returned from the other side but did leave an impact on Sethe. However, it is normal because she was still a mother and that is normal for a mother to feel down when a child is lost.

“Some brought what they could and what they believed would work. Stuffed in apron pockets, strung around their necks, lying in the space between their breasts. Others brought Christian faith—as shield and sword. Most brought a little of both. They had no idea what they would do once they got there. They just started out, walked down Bluestone Road and came together at the agreed-upon time. The heat kept a few
women who promised to go at home. Others who believed the story didn’t want any part of the confrontation and wouldn’t have come no matter what the weather. And there were those like Lady Jones who didn’t believe the story and hated the ignorance of those who did. So thirty women made up that company and walked slowly, slowly toward 124”.

From this, I would assume that a group of people are heading to 124 for either a party or prayer, since the group is 30 people. However, the quotation mentioned some of the group members bring Christian faith as a shield and sword. I realize that they aren’t going to a party or prayer now, since they brought something as a symbol of protection. The group is most likely heading towards something evil or dangerous; a ghost or spirit perhaps. The group is also composed of 3 types of people. The believers, non-believers, and everyone else. This moment is very familiar, similar to that of Shrek, when the group of men approach his home with pitchforks and torches. In this case, a group of men are approaching the house of 124 with items of Christian faith. Both seem to want to ward off what they believe to be “evil”.

“Decided to stop relying on kindness to leave something on the stump. She would hire herself out somewhere, and  she was afraid to leave Sethe and Beloved along all day not knowing what calamity either one of them would create, she came to realize that her presence in that house had no influence on what either woman did. She help them alive and they ignore her.” (296, Morrison)

 

After seeing Beloved “rising back from the dead”, Beloved is continuously, figuratively and literally sucking the life out of Sethe. Sethe was let go from her work because she kept coming in late from playing and entertaining Beloved everyday. Sethe’s remaining youth and beauty, money, and food and water was sucked out and devoured by Beloved. Due to Sethe’s release from work, she was put in a situation where she could no longer support Denver and Beloved. No longer wanting to rely on the charity of other’s for their support and witnessing her mother exhaustion increasing over time from providing Beloved’s needs, Denver ventures out to find some work in exchange for food for her family. Denver was extremely worried about leaving Beloved and Sethe alone together, worried that one may kill the other. After some time, Denver realized that the two women were so caught up with destroying and providing for the other, her presence did not influence the seesaw between them. The two women had eyes on each other for some time, that they completely forgot about Denver’s existence. Denver’s courage to find a job to support her family, especially her mother during an extremely difficult time, is what makes her admirable.

 

 

 

“Sethe no longer combed her hair or splashed her face with water. She sat in the chair licking her lips like a chastised child while Beloved ate up her life, took it, swelled up with it, grew taller on it…. Sethe was trying to make up for the handsaw; Beloved was making her pay for it. Yet she knew Sethe’s greatest fear was the same one Denver had in the beginning- that Beloved might leave”.

In these lines we see how Sethe belittled herself and as the result, her self importance diminished to absolutely nothing. In previous lines, it was said to love yourself, your hands, neck etc… As the novel proceeded and Beloved was introduced, Sethe’s obsession has shifted to the figure that of her dead daughter. As Sethe depreciated, Beloved grew and matured due to Sethe’s non-existence. This painted a portrait in my mind of Beloved tall and youthful, shining brighter than anyone. While, Sethe is old and worn out and is looking up to her daughter Beloved that is reborn into something greater. Beloved was portrayed as sucking the life out of Sethe the longer she was around. Sethe felt the need to explain the reason why she killed her daughter over and over again, not to prove to Beloved but to prove to herself. That is a guilt that she never really overcame as she escaped to her freedom. As we saw, she was angry at Baby Suggs for trying to live her life as she prepared a feast. The theory behind why she was mad was because she never really labeled herself as “freed”. In these chapters, we saw Sethe holding onto Beloved tighter than ever and she has let go of Denver because 3 is an odd number and one would always be left out. Sethe has let go of her self worth, her future; as she was fired from her job. She needed to prove that she was never letting go of Beloved ever again.

“Not at Sweet home, my niggers is men every one of em. Bought em thataway, raised em that way. Men every one”

Paul D remembers when Mr Garner would say this about his slaves. Mr Garner treated the slaves at Sweet Home with respect and trust. He even allowed them to work for extra money and use a gun. Most importantly he taught them how to read all things that a regular or free “man” were given. Other slave owners did not grant their slaves such privileges and so Mr Garner regarded himself as a God sent.  This all went away after Mr Garner dies and so the author reminds us that even though Mr Garner treated his slaves differently they were still slaves, tied to the white man’s good will. Regardless of man or woman they were lacking free will and determination.

“”I made that song up,” said Sethe. “I made it up and sang it to my children. Nobody knows that song but me and my children.” Beloved turned at Sethe. “I know it,” she said” (207, Morrison)

Beloved humming Sethe’s song is a confirmation that Beloved is in fact Sethe’s baby girl that she killed many years ago. At Beloved’s funeral, Sethe only caught two words that the pastor spoke “Dearly Beloved”, which coincidentally is the name of Beloved now. It is still a bit of a mystery how Beloved could have survived Sethe’s heinous murder but the fact that Beloved knew the song that Sethe sang only between herself and her children, shows the readers that Beloved is one of Sethe’s baby beyond the grave and act. Perhaps when Beloved was over at the other side of the “bridge”, she watched Sethe’s way of living, coping and her children. This could be seen as a form of protection but also a form of admiration. Sethe believes that the reason why she killed Beloved was to save her the life of being enslaved from the salve-catchers and so on. In a way Beloved admires and understands her mother’s wrong doings but still is emotionally and physical hurt by her actions. Beloved again and again recalls memories and items of Sethe’s past, for example the earrings and now the song. Beloved does massive efforts to make it know to Sethe and Denver, as well, that she is their family, and they are hers.

“Beloved is my sister. I swallowed her blood right along with my mother’s milk. The first thing I heard after not hearing anything was the sound of her crawling up the stairs”.

I take this as Denver’s feeling very close to Beloved as she drank her blood along with her milk. This is such a religious action of Christianity. Jesus says that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood, otherwise we have no life in us. I think Toni Morrison deliberately added this into her writing to show a sign of unity between Beloved and Denver. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” I think Beloved was symbolized as something very much superior that of God himself. However, I feel as if Denver and Beloved would always be connected to each in a way more than Sethe and Beloved would ever be. It was almost an act of  salvation between Denver as she was trying to have a connection with her dead sister Beloved. This act was an significance of the sisterly relationship between Denver and Beloved. In theory, as her mother Sethe robbed her of the relation she could’ve had with Beloved.

This is a quote by Beloved “Three times I lost her: once with the flowers because of the noisy clouds of smoke; once when she went into the sea instead of smiling at me; once under the bridge when I went in to join her and she came toward me but did not smile. She whispered to me, chewed me, and swam away. Now I have found her in this house. She smiles at me and it is my own face smiling. I will not lose her again. She is mine.” This basically is saying that how she has lost her mother 3 times and as we have seen she only gets lost one by Sethe. Now if we think of Beloved being reincarnated and that she took birth again then it may have been that she had death before. It can also possibly mean that she had a life before which she lost and it was counted to be 3 times including when she was lost by Sethe.

She clearly says in the quote that once with the flowers which I could not make sense to and once under the bridge and once into the sea, which I am sure this is what is described in the book when Sethe had decided to send her children away and join them later at sea.

Also the author might just try to hint on history repeats itself and so Beloved had many same experiences that were constantly repeated. This can go both ways as it also can just be understood that there was past life too.

“Paul D convinced me there was a world out there and that I could live in it. Should have known better. Did you better. Whatever is going on outside my door ain’t for me. The world is in this room. This here’s all there is and all there needs to be.”(page 215)

We see throughout this telling of history how Slaves are trying to free themselves from the prison of the white people. The white people put them in shackles or close them into cold sheds to stay. Making them stay there until they see fit to bring them out into the light. This light on to be used for them to see all the work the white people want them to do.  They rip everything away from them. Yet Paul D finds his way back to Sethe, trying to make a free life. But when his eyes are opened to a worse horror than slavery has been to him, he runs scared. Perhaps he is haunted by the fear that Sethe would do the same to him or worse to a child they may have together. This quote shows how Sethe is a prisoner to her own mind, casting away any hope Paul D tried to give her and Denver. Like with the slavery there were things she knew better than to do. As in this part of her story she feels she should have known better than to hope for the future. Believing there is no future outside the locked house she is in with Denver and Beloved. Sethe would rather be trapped in 124 and in her mind than go out into the world and be imprisoned by someone else’s slavery. If anyone is going to enslave her, it will be herself.

 

“Beloved, she my daughter. She mine. See. She come back to me of her own free will and i don’t have to explain a thing. i didn’t have time to explain before because it had to be done quick.” page 236

Sethe is remorseful yet happy that Beloved came back into her life to fill the gap that once was lost. She thinks its best to talk with Beloved about why she killed her and what would have happened if she didn’t.

I would refer this part of the passage with the abject of “primal repression” that Julia Kristeva uses as an example in one of her writings “Power”.

Sethe, for years had to live with the trauma of losing her daughter  by killing her or saving her from slavery. One which, Sethe thought Beloved would not survive if she was captured by school teacher and his team. During such act Sethe had to decide the best way to save her kids from enduring what she went through. Now Beloved is back, Sethe feels obligated to express the reasons why she had to killed her children. This is a form of suppression and repression. Whereby she had been dragging for years that without realizing she was suppressed of her doings. Sethe has been carrying a empy feeling for years of that of the death of her children. She wants to show express the love that she has for Beloved before she killed and now that Beloved is back.

For years, Sethe wanted to give up knowing that she killed three of her Kids, but she knew she had to persevere dispite her circumstances.