In the novel “beloved” by Toni Morrison, the characters face many hardships and go through many tough times. There is one moment though, that I feel had a major impact on all the following events and without said scene, the story would be very different. The scene I’m referring to is when Schoolteachers nephews take Sethe’s milk.
The scene is described near the beginning of the story. Sethe mentions the tree on her back, and when pressed to explain herself, the following conversation ensues.
“…The milk would be there and I would be there with it.” “Men don’t know nothing much,” said Paul D, tucking his pouch back into his vest pocket, “but they do know a suckling can’t be away from its mother for long.” “Then they know what it’s like to send your children off when your breasts are full.” “We was talking ’bout a tree, Sethe.” “After I left you, those boys came in there and took my milk. That’s what they came in there for. Held me down and took it. I told Mrs. Garner on em. She had that lump and couldn’t speak but her eyes rolled out tears. Them boys found out I told on em. Schoolteacher made one open up my back, and when it closed it made a tree. It grows there still.” “They used cowhide on you?” “And they took my milk.” “They beat you and you was pregnant?” “And they took my milk!”
When asked about the tree she mentioned, Sethe starts talking about her milk and how important it was to get it to her daughter. Paul D seems confused at first about the change in topic, “We was talking ’bout a tree, Sethe.” She then explains how they held her and took her children’s milk, and when they found out she had told Mrs. Garner what happened, Schoolteacher had her whipped, even though she was very pregnant by then. Paul D is shocked to find out she was whipped while she was pregnant, but what bothered Sethe more was that her milk was taken. Her milk that she had for her little girl.
Soon afterwards she escapes, but without Halle. She has no idea why he hasn’t come as planned, until Paul D explains later in the story.
“He saw.” “He told you?” “You told me.” “What?” “The day I came in here. You said they stole your milk. I never knew what it was that messed him up. That was it, I guess. All I knew was that something broke him. Not a one of them years of Saturdays, Sundays and nighttime extra never touched him. But whatever he saw go on in that barn that day broke him like a twig.” “He saw?” Sethe was gripping her elbows as though to keep them from flying away. “He saw. Must have.” “He saw them boys do that to me and let them keep on breathing air? He saw? He saw? He saw?” … “It broke him, Sethe.” Paul D looked up at her and sighed. “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.”
Halle was in the rafters of the barn when the nephews came in and took Sethe’s milk. He was there witnessing the entire thing and was completely powerless to stop it. This drove him crazy, and kept him back when his wife escaped.
Sethe runs away tired, pregnant, barefoot, and alone. Without Halle to help her she nearly dies in the woods, luckily Amy Denver finds her, and nurses her back to health and helps deliver her baby. But the tree on her back, and her husband not being there, make the escape all the more traumatic.
She finally makes it to Baby Suggs, and starts getting better. She spends twenty-eight days with her family, new friends, and freedom. The rape of her milk, the beating, delivering in the forest, Halle still gone. These things don’t leave her mind, and when the Schoolteacher shows up at 124, she loses it. She knows what he is capable of, and she goes ahead and tries to “save” them from what she clearly believes is a fate worse than death.
If her milk hadn’t been taken, Halle would have been fine, and escaped with her. Delivering in the woods would still have been an ordeal, but with Halle there and no tree on her back, it wouldn’t have taken such a toll on her. Without that she would never have been able to kill her child.
Eli, as I read your essay, I can tell you tried to integrate the five step method that was being taught in class. You do use quotes and interpret what the quotes mean, however, I am still wondering why Sethe’s milk was a pivotal scene? I don’t get a thesis statement giving me a roadmap to why Sethe’s milk was such a pivotal scene. What are you arguing about? Next, you keep mentioning the tree that was on the back of Sethe. What does it mean to you? Is there any significance concerning “the tree” that was on Sethe’s back? Furthermore, I think you just added or dropped the quotes into your essay. These quotes are great as evidence to back up your argument but you need to put them in your essay in a way that it will come together. Lastly, the things that you were stating in your conclusion should have been analyzed throughly throughout the body of your essay.
One more thing don’t forget to follow the MLA format and make a works cited page.
For Part 1 of your project, I see that your pivotal scene is the milk robbing scene. As Stephanie said, what’s really missing is a thesis statement which can clarify why this scene is pivotal. Without one, some readers can get carried off while reading this so be sure to include a thesis statement. For the supporting passages/quotes, those are pretty good examples but you don’t really mention why these passages support what your trying to claim. So in my opinion, I feel that you should end each supporting paragraph with some reasoning. To add to that, you should cite where you got your quotes from so readers who try to follow along won’t get confused. Finally, your conclusion seems to be a bit rushed so you should touch up on that.
To sum things up, the essay is decent but it’s a first draft so no worries. Try to touch up on this essay to make it even better. Add a thesis, include reasoning to back up your thesis, touch up on conclusion, and if you can, try to make it a bit reader friendly (others not in this class can read it).