In “Beloved,” by Toni Morrison, one significant event that occurred was Sethe killing her baby daughter. This is a central event within the story because its action is what held the story together. Many of the following events were a result of that action. Sethe killing her two year old daughter was an important scene in the book because it displayed her love for her children, its action lead to 124 being haunted by the child ghost, and it helped with the development of Beloved’s character along with others.

Shortly after escaping Sweet Home, the four horsemen, schoolteacher, one of his nephews, a slave catcher, and a sheriff, came to claim Sethe along with her children. Sethe quickly ran to the shed where she planned to kill her children to protect them, but only succeeded in killing one. Once the horsemen witnessed what she has done they thought, “Right off it was clear, to schoolteacher especially, that there was nothing there to claim. The three (now four—because she’d had the one coming when she cut) pickaninnies they had hoped were alive and well enough to take back to Kentucky, take back and raise properly to do the work Sweet Home desperately needed, were not (Morrison 175).” The horsemen, especially schoolteacher, came to realize that their trip had been in vein. They thought they would’ve claimed more slaves, but from what they’ve seen, Sethe was not well enough to take back to Sweet Home. This quote signifies that the schoolteacher desperately needed slaves for Sweet Home who were alive and well, but after Sethe’s actions he felt that there was nothing for him to claim there. Sethe killing her child showed her love for her, and for the rest of her children. If she had never done what she did, schoolteacher would’ve taken them all back to Sweet Home. Sethe so desperately wanted to protect her children from the life that she grew up in, which is why she killed her daughter. It was the only way she could’ve protected her.

Resulting in the death of Sethe’s child, 124 was haunted by the ghost of it. It often shook the house and threw things around. When Paul D arrived and acknowledged the ghost, he chases it off. ”
‘Leave the place alone! Get the hell out!’ A table rushed toward him and he grabbed its leg. Somehow he managed to stand at an angle and, holding the table by two legs, he bashed it about, wrecking everything, screaming back at the screaming house. ‘You want to fight, come on! God damn it! She got enough without you. She got enough!’ The quaking slowed to an occasional lurch, but Paul D did not stop whipping the table around until everything was rock quiet (Morrison 22).” Paul D shouts at the ghost after it started to shake the house. He demands it to leave the house and Sethe alone because she’s got enough problems without it. As he swings the table, the shaking of the house slows down, and eventually stops. This quote shows the ghost of Sethe’s child who shakes the house, maybe because of its anger towards Sethe or Paul D. The ghost that haunts 124 is an effect of Sethe killing her child. If Sethe hadn’t killed her, the house wouldn’t have been haunted.

Denver was a lonely child who had no company, except the ghost inside 124. She thinks, “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. She was my secret company until Paul D came. He threw her out. Ever since I was little she was my company and she helped me wait for my daddy (Morrison 243).” Denver knew that Beloved was her sister. She knew that her sister was the ghost that haunted 124, and kept her company secretly over the years. Denver believed that her father was coming to get her, and her sister waited with her. This secret relationship that Denver had with her sister was due to the fact that her sister was the ghost that haunted the house.

From the time that Beloved spent with Sethe and Denver, Sethe comes to realize that she is her daughter and wants to explain why she killed her. Sethe thinks, “How if I hadn’t killed her she would have died and that is something I could not bear to happen to her… I’ll tend her as no mother ever tended a child, a daughter. Nobody will ever get my milk no more except my own children (Morrison 236).” In other words, if Sethe had not killed her child she would’ve died a slave, and Sethe couldn’t bear to see that. Now that her daughter is back she gets another chance to redeem herself by tending her daughter like no mother ever tended a child. Also, she declares that nobody, but her children will ever get her milk. This quotation shows that Sethe killing her child protected her from being captured by schoolteacher and taken to Sweet Home. Sethe’s love for her child is displayed in this quote. Killing her child allowed her this opportunity.

After Sethe lost her job, and she couldn’t feed her children or herself anymore, Denver decided to leave the house to work. Once Ella heard about Sethe being whipped being whipped by Beloved and Denver sought help she thought, “The daughter, however, appeared to have some sense after all. At least [Denver] had stepped out the door, asked for the help she needed and wanted work (Morrison 302).” As Denver realized she needed to get out of 124, to get help to save her family, she stepped out the door seeking it. Her character has developed significantly since the arrival of Beloved. She was once intimidated to leave her house, but is now willing to do so. The cause of Denver’s ability to step out the door of 124 was because of how Beloved has changed since her first arrival. The death of Sethe’s child, allowed Beloved to come into the story, and allowed Denver mature.

The death of Sethe’s child is a central scene in the story. If it had never happened, the story would’ve been different. This also contributed to many other events throughout the book.

Works Cited

Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York: Vintage, 1987. Print.

0

0