As you finish reading Beloved for Wednesday’s class, share your questions, concerns, and ideas here: I had asked everyone to follow certain recurring ideas in the novel–motifs–so that we could talk about how they shape the story and our understanding of it. Add a comment here about one or more of those motifs, looking at different examples from the novel. For example, in our first discussion on Beloved, we looked at two passages that dealt with memory, and then added another in our last class when we thought about Paul D’s rusted tobacco tin in his heart. Is there a consistent point your motif raises, or does it leave more questions or concerns?
The first motif that I need clarity on is on page 137. It mentions Paul D’s tobacco tin but then it quickly shifts to Beloved asking Paul D to “touch her on the inside part.” Does this relate to Paul D’s heart or Beloved’s heart? What did it mean when Paul D “reached the inside part? (Page 138)” Why did he keep repeating “Red Heart?” Why does Beloved keep saying that Sethe “is mine?” If Sethe killed Beloved to save them from the harsh realities of slavery, why did Beloved come back? I unsure about this because we clearly see in page 113-115 that Denver accuses Beloved for choking the neck of Sethe. So, is Beloved out for revenge or has another agenda. Second, when Beloved talks about how she got to 124, she alway keep mentioning a bride that she was standing on? Is the bridge a symbol? Where did Beloved come from? Did she rise from the dead? These questions still have not be answered from the last discussion we had online or in class. Third, why did Beloved have an ice pick in her hand on page 309? Sethe and Denver did run away but they were not harm. As for Beloved, after that scene Beloved is not mentioned anymore. What happened to her? Fourth, the text mentions “The Clearing” on several occasions but I am unsure what it mean. Was the Clearing in Sweet Home or was it somewhere around 124? Lastly, Beloved was gaining a lot of weight as the story was ending. I am unsure if this is a motif, but what does Beloved’s weight gain signify?
Hi Stephanie, this is my understanding of some of the issues or questions you raised. Beloved does not understand or want to understand Sethe’s reasons for killing her. Because Beloved was not asking Sethe any question about the incident and was showing her love, Sethe thought Beloved understood she killed her to save her, like you said from the harsh realities of slavery. In Sethe’s mind she thought Beloved understood, it was because she had loved her so much why she went to such extremes. Beloved however was out for revenge. She had a plan and Denver knew it. At one point Denver said she was more fearful of Beloved leaving than what she had planned for Sethe.
Beloved is the reincarnation of the dead baby at the age the child would have been if she had not died. When the women approached the house to get rid of the evil spirit, Beloved. It was Sethe that had the ice pick. As the narrator stated ” When the women assembled at 124, Sethe was breaking a lump of ice into chunks. She dropped the ice pick into her apron pocket to scoop the pieces into a basin of water.”
Denver waited for Edward Bodwin to pick her up so she could start her new job. Bodwin approached soon after the women began their singing. Sethe in the delicate state that she was in saw him on his horse and immediately thought back to the time when School Teacher came to take he and her children back to slavery. In her mind it was happening all over again. Psychologically this was too much for her and she went crazy and attacked him. One of the women in the crowd Ella knocked her out before she seriously harmed Mr. Bodwin. Beloved the ghostly spirit standing there with what appears to be a pregnant stomach felt abandoned all over again. She didn’t understand Sethe was trying to protect her and Denver. She thought both Sethe and Denver were running away from her and in front of the crowd of women denouncing her with their spiritual worship she disappeared.
The clearing is near 124. It is where Baby Suggs had what you may call praise and worship services in the good old days.
One recurring idea throughout the novel is milk. The first passage which introduced this was on page 19, in the conversation between Paul D and Sethe. Sethe mentions, “”I was pregnant with Denver but I had milk for my baby girl. I hadn’t stopped nursing her when I sent her on ahead with Howard and Buglar.” Also, she mentions how the boys stole her milk from her, which was meant to be for her youngest child. This idea of her milk being taken from her has helped with understanding other scenes throughout the book. Sethe’s reaction to what happened to her has shown that she cared for her child and wanted to nurse her. I feel that Sethe looks at this as the milk being stolen from her child rather than herself. Also, Paul D realizes that Halle has seen what happened to Sethe, and that must’ve broken him. Paul D mentions, “You may as well know it all. Last time I saw him he was sitting by the chum. He had butter all over his face.” This was the reason why Halle never met up with Sethe when she was ready to leave Sweet Home.
One motif I’d like to bring out (if this is even one) is one that we talked about during our in class discussion. That is feminine attributes. To be more specific, the reoccurring idea of breasts and milk. As we know, Sethe is the main character and is a mother whom killed her baby due to the cruelty of slavery. The image of breasts came through during the sexual scenes especially those with Paul D. One example being in Chapter 1 where he was fondling them to get intimate. When it comes to milk however, this idea was seen many times in the story. The concept of milk defines Sethe’s motherhood. Like any typical mother, Sethe loved her children. She wanted to give whatever she had to her baby however, we saw that during slavery, her milk was taken from her like some sort of cow. This however didn’t stop her from at least trying to nourish her kids with her milk. “All I knew was I had to get milk to my baby girl.” (Pg 19 Red Book). As a result, she grew a desperation and an obsession to provide for her children. So pretty much the breasts and milk symbolizes her image as a woman and a mother.
one idea that seems to be agreed upon is that there is alot of talk about milk. the story uses the idea of milk to link it to sethe feminine aspects. some examples of this happening is when we first learn that sethe milk gets stolen from her which we can assume that she was sexual harassed that could have led to penetration. another time it was mention was when paul d was getting intimate with sethe in the kitchen which led to them going into the bed room to finish. another idea that gets mentioned alot is beloveds obsession with sethe. beloveds obsession is really bipolar. at one point it can be seen as a curiosity to learn more about sethe and then in another incident it can be a evil intention towards sethe.
I feel there are many mutual questions that we all have that are not answered. After I finished reading the book, I realized the only child Sethe had left was Denver. What happen to Beloved towards the end of the story? Where did she disappear to? Was she ever there for the beginning or was it just an image that was playing around in the community head or even one of the characters dreams? What happen to Howard and Buglar? Are they still alive? There was a part toward the ending of Chapter 27 when Denver was talking to Janey as if Beloved was her cousin she said “Guess they had a rough time in that house. Tell me, this here woman in your house. The cousin. She got any lines in her hands?”
What does she mean by lines? Is it a symbol of something bad? or a sign?
I feel that the reason Sethe became the person who she became by being there for Beloved by her hands and feet because she felt guilty for leaving and killing her daughter. And she felt that nothing she would have done would take away what she has done to her physically. I feel Beloved wanted her to pay back for the decision she had made because she had owed it to her. And when Sethe started to do whatever Beloved want her to do, Beloved became a spoiled brat. If Sethe did not pleased the way Beloved wanted to feel, Sethe would do everything in her power to make the situation was right. Sethe and Beloved became so obsess with each other, Sethe became lost to the world which her lose her job and not be able to take care of herself. Everything just went towards Beloved and to whatever she wanted. After contemplating, was this just in Sethe’s head for feeling remorseful for killing her daughter and maybe she started to go crazy?
No lines in her hand apparently was an indication to the old lady that Beloved was not real.
I think the heart is used as a motif in this story. It used many times throughout the story, and has a symbolic meaning. It is used to represent life, and human emotion.
First we see Paul D’s heart locked away in the tobacco tin. What he went through caused him to lock away parts of his past. That part of his life was so painful that he kept it locked away for so long. After his life as a slave, Paul D moves from place to place, and doesn’t start his life until the box is forced open.
When Baby Suggs first experiences freedom, she notices that her heart is beating. This is a new sensation to her. She is not only given her freedom, she is given a life of her own. Later when she “has nothing left to make a living with but her heart,” she uses it to touch many other lives. She tells her congregation,
“More than lungs that have yet to draw free air. More than your life holding womb and your life-giving private parts, hear me now, love your heart. For this is the prize.””
All those things many give life, but your heart, that is life itself.
I think that there are a lot of symbols that are used in this book, such as milk and water. The one ongoing theme seems to be fear. How scared everyone is to be happy. This goes for Paul D fears of Sethe’s love for Denver and how he feels that its not safe for her to love anything that much for fear that it might get taken away. How he fears opening his heart because of all that he has gone through. Sethe fears her past and her memories. Denver fears Beloved and what her plans may be… It seems that Beloved fears nothing when she comes back in human form which I find the most confusing part of the book. How is it that she just comes back from water. I find that passage to be the most symbolic. Water is meant for rebirth and purity. How did Beloved take human form? How was she reborn? Did she rise from the dead?
It seems that she doesn’t fear much, but seeks love from Sethe, and is completely infatuated with the mother that was robbed from her.
While reading Beloved I found my self asking questions regarding Beloved’s true intentions. Based on the initial portion of the story where beloved appeared, instantly she seems to want Paul D out of the picture. I found this strange because Paul D was the one that took up the responsibility to protect the family, especially Sethe. I expected Beloved to view Paul D over time as a valuable asset in the protection of the one she loved so much. It became a little more clear once I saw the obsession Beloved had for Sethe but it still didn’t explain why she had so much animosity towards Paul D. After reading the comments previous to this one, which were all well explained, I concluded that Beloved was in fact the resurrected child of Sethe. This now explained why she had so much hate towards Paul D, which was due to the fact that he was protecting Sethe while Beloved had secret hostility against her. The hostility she felt stemmed from Beloved death as an infant which was forced by forces out of Sethe’s control which later created obvious misunderstandings and ignorance of not knowing Sethe’s true intentions which were actually more pure than how they seemed.
One motif that recurs in the story is the repeated mention of “color.” On page 23 of my reading the narrator stated, “Sethe looked at her bottle green sleeves and thought how little color there was in the house and how strange that she had not missed it the way Baby did.”
After Sethe took her crawling already baby’s life neither herself or Baby Suggs had any interest in color. While she was in prison Baby Suggs did not have colors in the house at 124. After Sethe returned from prison this still was not changed.
Sethe thoughts indicated the reason why color was purposely not used in that house. The narrator stated, “it was as though one day she saw red baby blood and another day pink gravestone chips and that was the last of it.” Apparently colors reminded Sethe and Bay Suggs of that unfortunate day when the baby died. When Baby Suggs became sick it was as if a realization hit her that colors were missing from her life. She had two orange squares sewn into her quilt that made up her bed. As life as Baby Suggs knew drifted further away she anticipated the end and wanted colors in her life, all colors except red. the color red was too much of a powerful reminder of the death the baby. The amount of blood that day was too much, even Denver ended up drinking it along with her mothers breast milk. This is eveident in chater 20 of my reading when in reference to Baby Suggs, Sethe stated, “took her a long time to finish with blue, then yellow, then green. She was well into pink when she died. I don’t believe she wanted to get to red and I understand why because me and Beloved outdid ourselves with it,”
After Beloved returned and Sethe confirmed that it was indeed her crawling already baby she was happy and allowed herself to enjoy colors and the scenery around her. In chapter 26 (pg 135) of my reading Denver gave an account of Sethe’s behavior after she lost her job. “The thirty eight dollars of life savings went to feed themselves with fancy food and decorate themselves with ribbon and dress goods. By the end of March the three of them looked like carnival women with nothing to do.” The fact that Beloved had returned gave Sethe the courage to forgive herself and enjoy life with her last two children despite the situation.
One consistent motif that is consistently brought up in the story is the theme of belonging. In this beginning of the story, Sethe gave ten minutes in exchange for 7 words, the words of beloved. The word beloved to me has is a sort of possession. Sethe’s daughter will forever be Sethe’s beloved.
As the story progresses, we see that Paul D wishes to find a place inside of Sethe’s home after wandering for most of his life after his days in the Sweet Home. On page 154 it says that Paul D has only been grateful to a woman once before, when she fed him and put a roof over his head. Sethe is the next, and he is forever grateful.
Beloved also tries to find a place in Sethe’s heart. Whether she really is Sethe’s daughter, we don’t know. But we do know that she truly wants to be with Sethe and to hear her stories. On page 137, Beloved says that “Sethe does not love her like I love her. I don’t love nobody but her”.
Ultimately this theme is seen when Sethe tries to kill all her children. Sethe wants her children to belong to her and only her. She does not want anybody else, including the schoolteacher and his nephews to taint her children. Instead of giving them up, she chooses to kill them and forever keep them for herself.
Because she has failed in this deed, she’s lost everyone she tried to hold on to, except for Denver.
This only makes her want to hold onto Beloved more by staying in the haunted house.
Honesty the scene where Stamp Paid was talking to Paul D about Sethe was really terrifying. Page 234 (few pages before the Part 3). Stamp Paid wanted to explain to Paul D that Sethe killed her kids for a reason and to out-hurt the hurter. Sethe a mom living is misery without thinking act bizarre just to get her own way. Every time the mention of the kids I get a chill as I read. Its disturbing thinking about her act but her action is a small scale issue versus what was going during the time of the story. Sethe was brave and honestly one must be seeing mad blood to commit to such a demeaning act.
The motif that recur in the story is Sethe for what she did to her kids. The fact that she felt her kids were better off dead than to be with sweet home spoke means a lot. She thought they were better of dead in heaven than be alive. People didn’t agree with her and they let it be know. This affected her whole life. When Paul D found out it chased him away. Every scene is link to her for what she did to beloved. Even with the boys that ran off.
Paul D describes his heart as a “tin tobacco box.” After his traumatizing experiences at Sweet Home and, especially, at the prison camp in Alfred, Georgia, he locks away his feelings and memories in this “box,” which has, by the time Paul D arrives at 124, “rusted” over completely. By repressing himself from his emotions, Paul D hopes to contain himself from further psychological damage.
Something has attracted me and was repeatedly mentioned in the novel about Sethe obligations. According to the author Sethe was mostly doing what she had to do. None of her actions were done out of her desire. I quoted some passages from the novel to give a better understanding of what i’m trying to pass as a message.
“And Sethe would oblige her with anything from fabric to her own tongue.” CH.1 P.3
“He felt obliged to try again, slower this time, but the appetite was gone” CH.2 P.13
“she felt obliged to wear her one good dress, heavy as it was, and a hat”CH.4 P17