Kindlin –Â dry twigs, pieces of paper, etc., that burn easily and are used to start a fire.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kindling
Used in “Beloved” on page 57, top of the page, first paragraph.
Rainwater held on to pine needles for dear life and Beloved could not take her eyes off Sethe. Stopping to shake the damper, or snapping sticks for kindlin, Sethe was licked, tasted eaten by Beloved’s eyes.
It was meant to describe sticks to make fire, or something that would easily burn.
Noisome –Â a : offensive to the senses and especially to the sense of smell <noisome garbage>
b : highly obnoxious or objectionable <noisome habits
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/noisome
Used in “Beloved” on page 28, 2nd paragraph, at the bottom of the page.
Quiet, primate and completely secret except for the noisome cologne signal that thrilled the rabbits before it confused them.
I think that she was describing the perfume of her playroom and the unpleasant spelled it held but on that she attributed to the room. I found this sentence a bit confusing and how the word was to be applied.
: very weak
: not good enough : not successful or effective
b :Â indicating weakness
As I was looking for an image to depict my passage from Beloved, I was listening to one of my favorite artists, Fiona Apple. Her song “Sullen Girl” came on. The song depicts when the artist was raped and in an interview in Rolling Stone she talks about how it affected her, and how she wrote the song expressing how she felt during that time. I thought that this song in particular would be a good piece to  use to convey how Sethe must have felt when those boys stole her milk and how she carried that pain with her. ”
But he washed me shore
And he took my pearl
And left an empty
Shell of me
And there’s too
Much going on
But it’s calm under the waves
In the blue of my oblivion
Under the waves
In the blue of my oblivion
Under the waves
In the blue of my oblivion
It’s calm under the waves
In the blue of my oblivion
Fiona  lyrics go on to talk about  this man that stole her pearl, just as those men stole Sethe’s milk. When she talks about being calm under the waves in the blue of my oblivion. I though how the lyrics may have depicted how Sethe felt when she discovered that Halle had seen what had happened to her in the barn.
“After I left you, those boys came in there and took my milk. That’s what they came in there for. She had that lump and couldn’t speak but her eyes rolled out tears. But whatever he saw go on in that barn that day broke him like a twig. I don’t want to know or have to remember that. I have other things to do: worry , for example, about tomorrow , about Denver, about Beloved , about age and sickness not to speak of love.”Â
It almost seems that she can’t let that information change what she has to do, or has been doing. That she is lost in the oblivion of her pain ,and that anymore information were deter her from moving forward.
I think that the song really expressed pain of a traumatic experience, and how both the women seemed to cope in a similar ways.
The story of the birth of Denver merits significant attention. Two key things are happening to Sethe. Sheâs trying to leave Sweet Home and slavery on foot, and sheâs 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 Setheâs 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.
We can go into the end of time searching for that one moment that couldâve changed a lifeâs path. In “Beloved” by Toni Morrison one moment that couldâve changed the story was when Sethe met Amy Denver in the woods. If that moment didnât happen, if those two women didnât cross paths than 124 wouldâve been haunted by different ghosts. Amyâs arrival was pivotal to Sethe and her unborn childâs survival. Without her who knows what couldâve happened to Sethe in the dark woods, they couldâve been captured by hunters and eaten by snakes. Itâs not safe to be without protection in the woods. Amy brought Sethe back to life, she helped her in the most crucial time and helped her get stronger when Sethe needed to the most.
Sethe was tired and weak, she was knocking on deaths door. At the verge of having her child, she screamed and fortunately someone heard her. The scream stopped Amy Denver in her tracks, she heard the painful cry coming from a human. Being a white servant she knew the dangers and risks of helping a Negro. But that didnât stop her, she was loving and compassionate, we knew this from the way she spoke with her desired velvet and didnât once intend to report Sethe to the hunters for a reward. Sethe trusted her. (P 91. âSaid this girl talked a storm, but there wasnât no meanness around her mouthâ.) Even though she told her that she goes by the name Lu. Sethe had no idea what Amy spoke of, yet she liked hearing about the velvet it texture and different colors. It allowed Sethe to briefly forget the pain and imagine something else.
Amy Kept Sethe breathing and speaking as they continued to walk as far away from danger as they could. Sethe couldnât go much further (P93. âthe fire in her feet and fire on her back made her sweatâ) Amy wasnât going to let her die on her watch so she rubbed Setheâs swollen feet and aided her wounded back. Amy described the scar as a tree (P 93 âa chokecherry treeâ), Amy did the best she could to help soothe Setheâs pain.
Sethe knew it was time she couldnât go any further, she knew she was lucky that she had even made it as far as she already did. Sethe pushed out her baby, Amy grabbed the child wrapped her up in her skirt and the three had to move on to a somewhat safe place. Amy eventually departed she had to continue on her originally journey to Boston for her velvet. But before she left she told Sethe to remember her and tell her child the story of Amy Denver. Sethe was so grateful for Miss Amy Denver (P 100 âthatâs pretty. Denver. Real pretty.â) The name was so beautiful to Sethe that she named her daughter Denver after her. Sethe will never forget Amyâs sacrifice. She owes Amy her life.
Sethe finally made it safely to her destination with baby Denver. She was so filthy almost unrecognizable. Some time has passed since she last saw her family her 2 boys were growing and her baby girl was already crawling. She was happy and appreciative she was finally complete and a free slave. That young velvet loving white girl risked her own life to keep Sethe and her child alive even if it wouldâve been for one more day.
In conclusion without Amy Denver Setheâs survival wasnât guaranteed. Amy put her own life in danger helping a runaway slave. They couldâve been hunted and killed, Amyâs compassion kept them going. If Amy wouldâve ignored Setheâs cries or reported her for a reward, the ghost of 124 wouldâve been another. Some characters wouldâve died and others wouldâve survived with Miss Amy Denver. Thatâs just one moment we could continue looking for other moments that wouldâve or couldâve changed the story of “Beloved” by Toni Morrison. The moment of Amy Denver created a balance and kept a mother and child alive.
Introduce: Whats in a name? A name is something that identifies you. It represents who you are.
Quote: A moment that represents name is when Baby Suggs asks Mr. Garner “Why upu call me Jenny” P167.
Apply: He explains it was on her bill of sale. Thats the name he thought was hers. Yet everyone that knows her knows her as Baby and if her husband tried to look for her she had to go by Suggs. Baby Suggs is the name that identifies her but according to Mr. Garner thats no name for a free slave. A name isnt something that anyone can just say is yours, a name is either sometihing you were born with or adapted to you throuhg your life. if Baby wouldve changed her name her family wouldve never made it to 124 thry dont know any Jenny’s. So what’s in a name, its something that separates you from any other being.
INTRODUCE: Denver worries about her mother Sethe. She thinks that beloved would do harm to Sethe. However, Sethe and beloved had a healthy relationship. Sethe sees Beloved as her beloved little baby and Denver sees her as a ghost whose attention is to harm Sethe and her surroundings.
QUOTE: âWhatever her power and however she used it, Beloved was hers. Denver was alarmed by the harm she thought Beloved planned for Sethe, but felt helpless to thwart it, so unrestricted was her need to love another. The display she witnessed at the Clearing shamed her because the choice between Sethe and Beloved was without conflict.â
INTERPRET: It didnât matter for Sethe whether Beloved is a ghost or her baby. In both cases there is no mention of clear conflict between them.
ANALYZE: Denverâs point of view was different and she thought beloved would harm her mother and felt the responsibility of protecting her mother. I believe that Denver was never convinced that beloved is Setheâs baby. Overall, Beloved was a mysterious character in the novel.
Apply: This quotation takes a big chuck of understanding the relationship beloved had with Sethe and the rest of the characters. It is important to see the different point of views from different angles for a better understanding of the novel and its different scenes.
Toni Morison covers many different scenes in different places. This differentiation makes the novel eclectic and keeps the readerâs mind busy and focusing in multiple scenarios. I believe the pivotal passage that would change the path of the whole novel if it hadnât 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 Garnerâ 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 Suggsâ freedom are relying on this particular scene.
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