‘Project 2 Curating Beloved
I believe that what Paul D. told Seethe about Halle and how he ended up seeing him, was a big part of the story. When Seethe told Paul what had happened in the barn, how she was violated, held down and was taken of her milk, I believe that is when Paul put things together. He had already known that Halle was hiding in the loft as what was explained in his remembrance of all of them trying to leave Sweet Home. And he was able to understand after he was caught why Halle had lost his senility. My belief is that if Halle was not hiding in the loft, that this story would have been a whole different tale. I am not saying that Beloved would not been present but I will show a story that effected not only Baby Suggs, Seethe, and her two Boys. But will still show Paul D.’s presence 18 years later. And I will also stay with Beloved being killed, and coming back in the story.
When Denver was 10, Baby Suggs had passed, with no hope of ever seeing her youngest child, Halle. She was tired and broken in spirit, when Seethe showed up with the last of her grandkids, who were already there. I feel if Halle had made it, she would have not given up on her spirited preaching in the clearing. When he and Seethe arrived at 124, she might have already told him what happened in the barn, he might have felt shame. He would have not known that the schoolteacher would be looking for them, and that would probably be the first place to look. Let us assume that they would have not left before schoolteacher’s arrival. I feel that Halle would have done whatever he could to not allow the schoolteacher to take his wife and children back. He probably would have been beaten or killed protecting them, and Seethe would have ran to the shed to kill the children anyway. My point is that Baby Suggs would have been decimated to see her last child put down, and probably would not have been in mental shape to save the two boys from the wounds that their mother had inflicted upon them. Beloved would still be dead. My point here is to say that these were other ways that the story could have gone. Halle could be killed; Baby Suggs would be happy or crushed. Nobody would have died or the three children could be dead. And who knows how the town would have reacted in Beloved’s death or Halle’s death.
Again let us go back to Paul D.’s remembrance of their futile escape. With Sixo shot and burned and Halle’s disappearance. If Halle had waited with Seethe, they could have gotten away like the children and the nephews would not have violated her. So even if they were caught, I doubt that the barn scene would not have happened as the men were trying to get their slaves back. Sweet home would have not been as painful for Seethe, and she might have remained there to be a breeder for more slaves. So let us discuss how this could have played out. They might have gotten away as the children did. They might have been caught as the story goes, and Halle and Paul D could have been sold away. Seethe would have her baby, and more opportunity to have more. Because I understood the story as the schoolteacher kinda done with the Sweet Home thing, that was his plan at that point; sell the men and breed the woman. Seethe would have not carried the anger of her husband not being there. And I don’t know if the schoolteacher would have gone after the children that got away, and Beloved would be alive; probably with a different name.
So now I would like to point out a good way in which the story goes. Halle and Seethe get away. They realize that they are being hunted, so they grab the kids and leave 124 which is not safe. Halle gets a job and goes to work every day. Somehow they get caught by the schoolteacher or bounty hunters, and it gets worse. Halle is at his job, and Seethe is confronted, so she either kills the children or they get sold. Halle is taken back to Sweet Home with Seethe, and the children are either dead or gone. As Beloved and her brother get older they go back to Sweet Home and burn it down and kill the schoolteacher and the nephews. They save Halle and Seethe and Paul D. and become fugitives for the rest of their life.
But let us go back to the story where Paul D. shows up 18 years later. He would have found out then that Halle was killed trying to protect his family. Baby Suggs is gone, Denver is eighteen, and the house is occupied by Beloved’s ghost. He would have felt stronger in his conviction to take care of his friend’s family. He might even felt responsible for getting caught and not being able to help out Halle and his family. So he takes it upon himself to better their lives at 124, scares the spirit in the home away and moves them to a better place. Beloved still shows up and he his conviction is stronger than the spirit’s influence. Maybe he gets the church women together and drives Beloved away.
I was not able to use quotes in the story because I found it very hard to find them because the story keeps jumping back and forth and I found myself reading the story over and over. My interpretation of those quotes is what is important here. Halle was a very good man and would have done anything for his mother, family, and his brothers, and most of all for his children. If I were to write a story about the hardships of slavery and discrimination I certainly would not talk about a selfish ghost that has no importance in the story. I would write about the camaraderie of the persecuted people, such as Stamp Paid. I would write about the hardships the tolls it took and the reason it needed to change. I would write about the families divided yet held together by the bond of blood. What was touched upon in this story was even after the Civil War there were many unnecessary brutalities and murders just because of color. And I feel that this needs to be touched on. Even today there are many hate crimes and the stories of slavery and discrimination will show people that enough harm has been committed and whatever reason for them is very sad.
The whole point that I am trying to make is that Halle would have tried to stop his wife’s violation or died trying. That’s how it really was back then. If they had to escape he would have made sure that his wife and children would have had a chance to get away. A man who had gotten away with them, would have protected them with his dying breath. Because Seethe was a woman that had undergone horrible acts probably would have taken her children’s life so that they would not experience the horrors that she was put through. Baby Suggs would have probably not let them stay there because she knew the convictions of the white man, and would have probably used her connections to get them safely away. I really felt that Paul D. was the rock of this story as he and Halle had been put through so much, and was able to hold his head high. In fact as the story went he was going to be there for Seethe, which further illustrates that Halle would have been twice the man. And reading a story about how the persecuted persevered would be more uplifting. Take movies like “Radio”, “Red Tails”, “Men of Honor”, and “Glory” about black American struggles in the U.S. Not a selfish ghost story that was horrible reading. I’m just saying. Keith Smith
