Category Archives: Week 10

Pilfer

Pilfer: to steal things that are not very valuable or to steal a small amount of something.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pilfer

Used in “Beloved” on page 191 on the very top of the first paragraph.

Not just a rifle of corn, or two yards eggs the hen herself didn’t even remember, everything. Schoolteacher took away the guns from the Sweet Home men and, deprived of game to round out to their diet of bread , beans, hominy, vegetables and a little extra at slaughter time, they began to pilfer in earnest, and it became not only their right but their obligation.

I think that this meant that they began to steal in small amounts so as not to be noticed.

Pivotal Point of Beloved

The story of the birth of Denver merits significant attention. Two key things are happening to Sethe. She’s trying to leave Sweet Home and slavery on foot, and she’s about to give birth to Denver. Tired, hungry, with blistered feet, Sethe is nearly ready to give up hope about living through this when a girl, Amy Denver, appears before her. Amy is a nurturing and compassionate girl who works as an indentured servant.She helps Sethe when she is ill during her escape from Sweet Home, and when she sees Sethe’s wounds from being whipped, Amy says that they resemble a tree. Amy claims to be on her way to Boston to shop for velvet. Upon running into this poor woman on the verge of dying or giving birth (whichever should come first) Amy decides to help her through the experience. Amy leads her to a place where she can help Sethe be comfortable. I believe that this is the most significant pivotal point of the story because if Amy did not help Sethe when she was delivering her baby this story would of been completely different. Sethe lives for the only fact that she needs to take care of her children. She left Sweet House to start a family and if she had not given birth to Denver she might of stayed in Sweet Home.

The pivotal passage

Toni Morison covers many different scenes in different places. This differentiation makes the novel eclectic and keeps the reader’s mind busy and focusing in multiple scenarios. I believe the pivotal passage that would change the path of the whole novel if it hadn’t happened is when Baby Suggs got her freedom and moved to Cincinnati where she does work repairing shoes and owns her own house. So many events followed Baby Suggs freedom. Such as Garner’ death, and so forth.
Eliminating this passage from happening would raise many questions, would Baby Suggs be free? If yes, would she move to Cincinnati?
We can notice the effect of this scene and its importance in the novel. Many events following Baby Suggs’ freedom are relying on this particular scene.

Beloved Quote Proj. 2

Introduce:

In the story beloved  the Character Paul D seems like a nice guy; and very charismatic.

Quote:

“{Not even trying, he had become the kind of man who could walk into a house and make the women cry. Because with him, in his presence, they could. There was something blessed in his manner}. Women saw him and wanted to weep–to tell him that their chest hurt and their knees did too. Strong women and wise saw him and told him things they only told each other: that way past the Change of Life, desire in them had suddenly become enormous, greedy, more savage than when they were fifteen, and that it embarrassed them and made them sad; that secretly they longed to die–to be quit of it–that sleep was more precious to them than any waking day. Young girls sidled up to him to confess or describe how well-dressed the visitations were that had followed them straight from their dreams. Therefore, although he did not understand why this was so, he was not surprised when Denver dripped tears into the stovefire. Nor, fifteen minutes later, after telling him about her stolen milk, her mother wept as well. Behind her, bending down, his body an arc of kindness, he held her breasts in the palms of his hands. He rubbed his cheek on her back and learned that way her sorrow, the roots of it; its wide trunk and intricate branches. Raising his fingers to the hooks of her dress, he knew without seeing them or hearing any sigh that the tears were coming fast. And when the top of her dress was around her hips and he saw the sculpture her back had become, like the decorative work of an ironsmith too passionate for display, he could think but not say, “Aw, Lord, girl.” And he would tolerate no peace until he had touched every ridge and leaf of it with his mouth, none of which Sethe could feel because her back skin had been dead for years. What she knew was that the responsibility for her breasts, at last, was in somebody else’s hands”.

 

Interpret: Paul D from my understanding seems very courteous, patient, smart, humble or maybe just an handsome because he was really like by the female throughout his community.

Analyze: The author started of the paragraph with:

Not even trying, he had become the kind of man….

Paul D has change for better; at this point he understand his life have a value. He’s kind and sympathetic and for that Paul D is well liked.

Apply: In the Story  Beloved,  Paul D played an very important role for the woman of 124. After his freedom he was happy to find somewhere with someone that he knew; 124 was the place to be. Paul D has change for better; at this point he understand his life have a value. He’s kind and sympathetic and for that Paul D is well liked.

In the story beloved  the Character Paul D seems like a nice guy; and very charismatic.  After his freedom he was happy to find somewhere with someone that he knew; 124 was the place to be. Paul D has change for better; at this point he understand his life have a value. He’s kind and sympathetic and for that Paul D is well liked.

The plague has began; sorry Sethe

The introduction of Beloved was the most pivotal point of this story. Beloved character set the stage for the development of the story in a more in-depth and vivid way:

“A FULLY DRESSED woman walked out of the water. She barely gained the dry bank of the stream before she sat down and leaned against a mulberry tree. All day and all night she sat there, her head resting on the trunk in a position abandoned enough to crack the brim in her straw hat. Everything hurt but her lungs most of all. Sopping wet and breathing shallow she spent those hours trying to negotiate the weight of her eyelids. The day breeze blew her dress dry; the night wind wrinkled it. Nobody saw her emerge or came accidentally by. If they had, chances are they would have hesitated before approaching her. Not because she was wet, or dozing or had what sounded like asthma, but because amid all that she was smiling. It took her the whole of the next morning to lift herself from the ground and make her way through the woods past a giant temple of boxwood to the field and then the yard of the slate-gray house. Exhausted again, she sat down on the first handy place–a stump not far from the steps of 124. By then keeping her eyes open was less of an effort. She could manage it for a full two minutes or more. Her neck, its circumference no wider than a parlor-service saucer, kept bending and her chin brushed the bit of lace edging her dress”.

Beloved existence created new reality for Sethe old forsaken way; but however, Beloved goal was to drain Sethe to her death bed. Sethe should learns to understand to live for now and quit dwelling on the past. Beloved made it obvious that she was total destruction; especially when she complicate the situation more by forcing herself onto Paul D. Paul D became confuse and run away from 124. Furthermore, Denver observed how Beloved change and take over Sethe life,  causing her to loose her wage and becoming whom Beloved look when she first arrived at 124.

The Arrival of Beloved

Beloved as we know is a very mysterious character in this novel. She leaves us with many questions but one main thought to think about is her contribution in the growth of each character. In other words, the arrival of Beloved is probably the most pivotal moment of this story. This is due to the fact that this mysterious character known as Beloved is the center of this story and pretty much is the heart of what goes on in this story.
124 Bluestone Road. A house located in Cincinnati and a main setting of this story.  This one address is where it all begins. It went through many phases of being loud and quiet however it’s a peaceful house that turned into a haunted house. Why has it become haunted? Reason is the arrival of our mysterious character by the name of Beloved. Beloved is what stirs the household with our characters around.
Moving through our characters, let’s start with our center. Sethe, a former slave who was sold at the age of 14 to the Garners of Sweet Home was a character who went through several children as a result from interactions with Halle. Later on in her life, she moves into 124 and meets Paul D which eventually leads to a sexual relationship. Soon, Beloved enters and without question, Sethe takes her in. An argument soon erupts regarding the truth behind Sethe leading Paul D to move. Beloved becomes someone Sethe cares for. She becomes the reason for Sethe’s existence. She spends almost all her time with and thinking about Beloved. That was until Beloved disappears for good. Without Beloved, Sethe has no where to go that is until Paul D finally returns. So pretty much without Beloved’s arrival, this whole argument and fracas would have never happened and life would’ve been much different and 124 would remain peaceful. Sethe wouldn’t have had any worries or regrets in her life.
Paul D was a major character in this story and had several interactions with Beloved. When Beloved showed up, Paul D showed some confusion. Paul D was known as the frail man with the “Tin Box Heart.” This was due to the many experiences he had as slave and as an escapee from Brandywine. He had no one to be with due to his brothers being dead. That was until he moved to 124 with Sethe. At this point, Paul D still had his “Tin Box Heart”. Beloved was the one who changed that into somewhat of a renewed Steel Beam Heart. After having sexual intercourse with Beloved, Paul D changed and evolved. Later on the story after Paul D moves out, Paul D returns after hearing what happened to Sethe as a result from Beloved’s disappearance. The Tin Can Heart is what Paul D was known for and it was an important symbol in the story. If Beloved didn’t arrive, he would’ve still remained frail and he wouldn’t have had to move out which would really change the story significantly.
To conclude this post, there’s more things to talk about when it comes to the reasons why Beloved’s arrival was very pivotal however the changes in Sethe and Paul D I believe sums this up. Our mysterious character that we call Beloved was the key to each character involved with 124 and without her, this story wouldn’t even be Beloved. It would probably be just a story about a family living in a utopia after slavery.