Group 3: Beloved

In Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Sethe is a former slave who lives in Cincinnati, Ohio during 1873 with her daughter Denver. Sethe’s home is haunted by the spirit of her deceased first-born child. Originally, Baby Suggs, Sethe’s mother-in-law lived in the house in addition to Sethe’s sons; however, Baby Suggs dies shortly after Sethe moved in. Sethe’s sons leave home because of the eerie encounters that occur within the house. Sethe tends to avoid talking about her past as a result of the emotional trauma she experiences as a slave. Her most traumatic incident occurs as she tries to escape Sweet Home: Sethe has her “milk taken from her”, meaning that she is raped and that her child was taken from her. As a result that broke her husband Halle. The name of the plantation is ironic because of the negativity that Sethe experiences there. Sethe’s traumatic experiences cause her to have an emotional disconnect with people close to her. For example, her mother is hung, and she is separated from her husband after fleeing Sweet Home. Also, Baby Suggs dies, and her two sons leave 124. During the era of slavery, slaves expected to be separated from their families. As a result, many slaves purposely prevented themselves from forming close familial ties with others.

Paul D is a former slave from Sweet Home who becomes Sethe’s new lover. Their ability to bond over their stories of the past enable them to reconnect on a deeper level. Beloved articulates the reality of love in a slave’s life especially through Paul D. Several times throughout the story Paul D is afraid of falling in love because all of the former slaves in the novel have lost the ones they love most. They are afraid of losing additional loved ones,“the best thing, he knew, was to love just a little bit; everything, just a little bit, so when they broke its back, or shoved it in a croaker sack, well, maybe you’d have a little felt over for the next one” (54). The second place where Paul D scared of the thought of love is when his “tobacco tin” is mentioned in the novel. It is where Paul D keeps his memories from slavery which is why he is scared to open it. As a result, detachment is seen as a major theme within the novel. Eventually, a new form of attachment arises when Beloved is introduced.

Beloved is a girl roughly around Denver’s age that stumbles upon 124. Her presence in the house is welcomed in a different manner in comparison to Paul D’s entrance. Initially, Denver is not entirely fond of Paul D. She is not used to sharing the presence of her mother with another person which causes feelings of jealousy; however, Denver reacts differently to Beloved. Beloved’s presence immediately draws everyone in the house into her. Denver shares a sisterly bond with her, and Sethe treats Beloved as a daughter. Suddenly, the atmosphere of detachment within the house is converted into attachment. Sethe’s attachment to Beloved stems from the death of her first born daughter. Sethe killed her first born daughter in an attempt to kill all her children, preventing them from being recaptured into slavery. The tombstone of her deceased child reads “beloved.” This is an example of how Sethe’s traumatic past directly influences her behavior of the present. Sethe’s repressed emotions regarding her dead child cause her to be oblivious to Beloved’s strange behavior. Paul D is the only character to question Beloved, whereas Denver and Sethe are immediately drawn to her without hesitation.

Stylistically, one of Toni Morrison’s goals in this book is to confuse the reader. She confuses her audience by incorporating flashbacks that are told in pieces rather than at once. As a result, the time line of this piece is hard to follow. She also purposely leaves out the chapter numbers to distort the timeline of the story even more.  Slaves were constantly faced with confusion during the slavery era because of the lack of control within their lives. By tweaking the structure of the novel, Morrison tries to portray the constant confusion faced by slaves.