For those of you who were PRESENT for the discussion, please respond to one of the questions that we did not address in class. Be sure to use TEXT and DETAILS from the book in your response. Then, be sure to comment on one other person's reponse.
If you were absent, talk to me about a makeup. Also, you missed a quiz, so be sure to stop by the ERC and take your quiz. You cannot use your book to take the quiz. I hope you all did well on your AP exams :)
"How did Morrison deal with the existential/ postmodernist dilemma in Beloved? "
ReplyDeleteEven though the issue of being a "slave to society" coincided with actual slavery in Beloved, I believe that many characters, especially Sethe, experienced (and in Sethe's case, obviously overcame) an existential crisis.
I believe that Morrison wrote the existential crises through the "Master Narrative", or as it apparently is sometimes called, the "Metanarrative." The purpose of the master narrative is to say something about the time period that a book is being written in, and for that reason, can be applied to many books and historical events.
In the case of Beloved, the master narrative had to do with slavery, dehumanization, and identity. It showed how the black community (especially slaves) during that time period were at the complete mercy of "the white man". Not only were these people not in control of their actions and those outcomes, but they were not in control of their own identity.
An example of this is at Sweet Home where all of the "Sweet Home Men"-- which in itself is a method of manipulation-- were all named Paul. This was an attempt by Mr. Garner to strip them of any sense of self or individuality. By naming them all, and using language as a straight jacket of sorts, Mr. Garner provided them with the only "identity" that they would ever become familiar with. They would never be able to break away from this predetermined destiny, and in fact, these slaves unintentionally gravitated toward it. Calling them the "Sweet Home Men" put their lack of identity under a veil of masculinity.
For Sethe, this was slightly different. She always knew that she had no choice in her life. She knew that she had no power over her "superiors". (Another reason why she decided to kill her kids when school teacher came looking for her.) Sethe tried as hard as she could to fill the role of "woman", and the role of "mother", the role of "provider", the role of "producer" that was bestowed on her by the Garners.
A prime example of Sethe going through (and ultimately overcoming) her existential crisis can be found within the context of the scene where the boys "took her milk" in the barn. The first time that it happened to her, the first, real time, she just let it happen. She expected and hoped that Halle would come and save her, but he never came to her aid. It was just her, and she knew that the consequences of fighting back were worse than the violation that she was enduring.
Later, when school teacher came looking for her, she killed her kids. This act was partially done out of love, and partially out of subconscious need for control that all humans possess. Unfortunately, her kids were the only ones that she had control over in her life; they were the only ones under her in the "hierarchy".
However, after spending time with Beloved (the person) throughout the book and engaging in storytelling, Sethe was allowed to relive and reconcile with the unspeakable things that had gone on in her life. When Mr. Bodwin came into her yard at the end of the book, Sethe picked up her ice pick and tried to kill him. This decision that Sethe made would have never been thought about the first time through. However, after accepting her past as being the past, and realizing that she was not a slave to any person or society, she was able to break out of the "master narrative" and therefore, solve her existential crisis.
you make some good points, and most of what you are saying makes sense to me.
DeleteIt seems to me, though, that be attempting to kill Mr. Bodwin (who she thought was schoolteacher), Sethe was only conforming to the "master narrative" as you defined it. Neither "letting it happen" nor killing her children worked in the past, and so she was left with the third and final option of killing her oppressor. That failed also, because "schoolteacher" (aka Mr. Bodwin) was above her hierarchy. The fact that Ella stopped Sethe was only a device that Morrison used, the end result was of course the same.
As a side note, the fact that Mr. Bodwin was not schoolteacher plays with the notion of identity, and the perception of it. Sethe only tried to kill Mr. Bodwin because she thought his identity was that of schoolteacher, or one of oppression and racism. Mr. Bodwin was, in the end, a good man.
I agree that Sethe was experiencing an existential crisis throughout most of her life. Adding to the factors acting against her was the new community when she left sweet home. They purposely didn't tell Sethe when Schoolteacher was in town and searching for her shortly after they escaped, and the community obviously knew what slave owners do to runaway slaves. This is an instance where Sethe was even being treated poorly by other blacks, not solely whites, which only added to her existential crisis.
ReplyDeleteI think that this contrast between how whites treat blacks and how blacks treat people of their own race is very important. The Sweet Home slaves were used to trusting each other, as well as other slaves. As a community, they shared a fear of white men. The emotions going through Sethe when Schoolteacher came to take her and the children back to Sweet Home definitely added to her lifelong existential crisis. This betrayal by the black community caused her crisis to grow after the fact, because they shunned her after she killed Beloved. Having been abandoned by her husband and sons, Sethe had no one to lean on. Beloved's consumption of Sethe highlighted her existential crisis as well, because Sethe trusted and loved Beloved, who then betrayed her by consuming her strength and life.
Delete"What is Denver's Role in part III?"
ReplyDeleteDenver's role in part 3 is to show contrast. She spent the entire book as a 13-year-old, despite her actual age, because that is all Sethe would let her be. Once Sethe is occupied with Beloved, Denver has the opportunity to grow, and grow she does. She gets a job, begins to interact with the world, etc, etc, which shows in stark contrast to her life in parts 1 and 2. This is a fairly minor contrast with regards to the book as a whole, though, despite the valiant coming-of-age story Denver exhibits in part 3. The more important contrast is the contrast between Sethe before Beloved and Sethe after Beloved, which Morrison uses Denver to show. With Sethe's role as supporter of the family effectively transferred to Denver, Morrison can really show how far Sethe has degraded, and how much Beloved is absorbing her life. With Denver as the old Sethe, and Sethe as the new Sethe, a very effective juxtaposition can be made. Side effect: this juxtaposition makes the end of the book, when the incident with Mr. Garner occurs, that much more dramatic.
On a practical note, Morrison also needed a way to keep the family of 124 alive during Sethe's "illness," so to speak, so that the story could come to a happier ending, and Denver provided a way to do that.
I definitely agree that Denver's role is to show contrast. As a character, Denver matures so significantly in part 3 that it is almost unbelievable. She becomes a completely new character and displays charactertraits that I didn't even know she possessed. Denver's relationship with Beloved also changes a lot in part 3, and instead of being like sisters, Denver is now like a mother figure to Beloved.
DeleteI think also Denver's role (in part three at least) is that she is the first and only true character "to be." She stops relying on her mother and becomes the existential character--the character that takes matters into her own hands. In this way, Morrison plays with the idea of mothers and daughters, and signifies to the reader that such roles can be reversed. Also, by Denver becoming an existential figure, she is the sole reason that brings the community together. Therefore, not only does Morrison play with characterization and stereotypical roles, but she also plays with Existentialism and argues that you must be proactive in order to join with humanity and the world of evils.
DeleteI agree that one of Denver's roles was to show contrast between pre and post Beloved life. I also think that Denver helps show the contrast between future and past, as Denver represents the future while Beloved represents the past. She is the glue that connects Sethe to the community while Beloved weakens the connection (she causes Sethe to lose her job and is one of the reasons Paul D leaves). Denver's maturation is representative of the community's maturation as a whole and shows a promising future.
DeleteWhy is Lady Jones constantly associated with raisins and the color yellow? What is the significance of this?
ReplyDelete"Lady Jones was mixed. Gray eyes and yellow woolly hair, every strand of which she hated- though whether it was the color of the texture even she didn't know. She had married the blackest man she could find, had five rainbow-colored children... Her light skin got her picked for a coloredgirls' normal school in Pennsylvania and she paid it back by teaching the unpicked... She believed in her heart that, except for her husband, the whole world (including her children) despised her and her hair" (Morrison 260).
Lady Jones is a very interesting and unique person who has a big impact even though she is not a major character. She chooses to teach the most unfortunate children in Cincinnati and she gives back to her community in so many ways, yet she claims that she thinks everybody (except her husband) hates her and that she dislikes everybody a little bit. The main reason why she is constantly associated with the color yellow is because of her light-colored hair that sets her apart from most of the people around her. Although her physical features are what allowed her to get an education, she is extremely resentful towards her appearance. Being associated with raisins is an interesting concept that Morrison plays with. Possibly, the raisins represent a rare commodity of the time just like Lady Jones is.
Many aspects of her life are contradictions: the fact that she has very light features and she chose to marry the "blackest man she could find", her resentment towards her physical features even though they are what allowed her to be educated, her supposed hatred for people even though she chooses to spend her time teaching unfortunate children and organizes food to be left on the stump outside 124, and her desire to be a part of her church community even though she complains about having to bake with the raisins. Overall, Lady Jane is a deeply contrasting character that stands out as being very different compared to the rest.
Lady Jones caught me off guard as well. She had the back story of the other characters, yet she didn't form any bonds with anyone. She was compassionate to Denver, but from a distance. She lived alone, she didn't want to do much for the community, but she was always willing. Perhaps the raisins could symbolize what she sees other people as. They may be a rare commodity, but clearly are also very desirable. She desires to be exactly unlike the way she is now, and does everything in her power to make her as such. I feel as though the wrinkles and general "withered" look of the raisins can also mean that the community also views themselves as raisins. Withered and dried without the presence of Baby Suggs.
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DeleteI feel that the yellow hair also signifies a goodness that seems to constantly be lacking from 124 and the people living within its confines. Those residing in 124 wanted so much more out of life, but because of their past and Beloved, there was a lot left to be desired. Light is often referred to as good while dark is cited as bad. Lady Jones brought much needed supplies to 124, showing this goodness that always seemed to be lacking. Not only did her hair set her apart, but her actions did as well. No members of the community helped out Denver until Lady Jones took the initiative to supply food to her. Lady Jones was able to identify that she could be a catalyst in helping Denver in a time of need.
DeleteI agree with you points. I also think that Lady Jones is very interesting. Originally, when i associated Lady Jones and raisins, I thought about golden raisins because of the color of her hair... Except, because I don't know very much about raisins I couldn't draw any other conclusions from that. However, looking back a little bit, if you just associated her with the idea of a raisin-- a dried out grape... then I think that you get to know more about Lady Jones and who she is as a person.
DeleteI think that because she is so "oddly colored" she views herself as a raisin (dried out, with no additional uses) while all of the other people in her community are grapes (plump, versatile). I think that it is also very interesting to take a look at the taste of these two foods... raisins, although they don't have much of a use except for an additive to food, are much sweeter compared to grapes, which can be very tart/ sour. Lady Jones is just that. She is a sweet addition to the story. She seems to have compassion for children where many people in the community did not.
What role does giving and receiving food play in the book?
ReplyDeleteFood seems to be a symbol of love in the book, an innate, essential love that is needed to survive. Denver and Sethe could not have survived without the love of the community, and the first sign that the community could accept them was the gesture of leaving food for Denver on front of the tree stump in front of 124. As Denver is nourished with this food, she makes more and more connections with the community members.
Beloved's growth and Sethe's deterioration are also representative of love- Beloved's love is possessive and consuming, and she the reason why Sethe is fired from her job (leaving them with the problem of lack of food). In both cases, the psychological states of the characters manifest themselves physically.
Beloved, like the legacy of slavery, denies her victims of both food and of love. Slaves are conditioned to not love anything too much because it is too dangerous, which is why they resent Baby Suggs for preparing a feast which is representative of her love. The legacy of slavery also limits the amount of physical food former slaves can have as they are economically disadvantaged.
I really like the like last paragraph of your response because I believe that it is because Beloved represents slavery that the book is able to make a full circle ending. The fact that the community members were able to get together at the end to go against one unified cause (slavery/Beloved) shows that they have all grown as people since Baby Suggs had her feast of love. This showing of 30 or some women proves that they have been able to let some love into their lives, meaning they have all truly become free (in sense) people.
DeleteDid Beloved's spirit take over Sethe when she attempted to kill Mr.
ReplyDeleteI do not think so at all. I believe thoroughly that this scene is a darker, perverted parallel of Sethe killing the crawling already baby because her love was so strong. The entire book builds up to this point. It began with one unspeakable thing unspoken, and it ends with an unspeakable thing unspoken. Sethe, blinded by new Beloved and her tireless love, refuses to care for herself. Beloved sucks all of Sethe's self away, and uses it to fuel herself. Yet, Sethe continues to love. From the first act of Sethe's love to her very last, she has only one intention in mind: being a protector for her babies. This may spawn from Halle's lack of protection when the boys took her milk, and Sethe's response to how that information has hardened her. As her body withers away, Sethe grabs on to the one thing she has always craved: protection. In her one last act of insane love and desire to be the protector she never had, Sethe tries to kill Mr. Bodwin.
Instead of Beloved taking control over Sethe, I believe that Sethe herself is performing one last act of motherly love. She will never despise Beloved, and will always do something to help her. I believe Beloved looks on to this occurrence between Sethe and Mr. Bodwin with screwed up (is this an appropriate word?) pride. She knows she has guilted Sethe to this point, and almost observes with the perspective of a Coach to an athlete. She has trained Sethe to believe karma is ever present, and that no matter what Sethe does for her it will never be enough. Sethe sees this, recognizes it, but still believes that if she sacrifices enough, she will be redeemed.
The last section of the book sums up the parallel situations very nicely. "This is not a story to pass on" shows that the stories of each individual character and their connection to the Beloveds is in itself an unspeakable thing unspoken. "They forgot her like a bad dream. After they made up their tales, shaped and decorated them, those that saw her that day on the porch quickly and deliberately forgot about her".
1) On Page 261, there is a sequence in which Sethe seemingly tries to stab Mr. Bodwin. However, the language in this changes dramatically and gives many Biblical illusions as to what is happening. Is this scene supposed to represent Beloved as taking her last stance to try and control Sethe and directs her to kill Mr. Bodwin? Does Mr. Bodwin represent God in this scene? If so, does this scene try to show the fight between God--good--and the Devil--evil--and who can prosper in this world? What does this say about the mindset of slavery and racism? (Caroline’s question)
ReplyDeleteIf Mr. Bodwin were to represent God in this scene, it would juxtapose how Morrison made the actual schoolteacher part of the four horsemen earlier in the book. While the actual schoolteacher had brought death and evil, Mr. Bodwin brings life and generosity because he is the one paying Denver for her work, and she is the only breadwinner in 124 now. In fact, if not for Denver, no one would have been outside of 124 at this moment trying to help get rid Beloved.
I like to think of Denver as not only a new connection between 124 and the community, but also as the representation of Sethe’s future. Denver directly contrasts with Beloved, an obvious reminder of Sethe’s past. While Sethe had always had one foot left in the past (partly because Denver made her share a lot of stories), it wasn’t really that bad until Beloved showed up. Her appearance set a spiral of more memories and stories resurfacing, all of which slowly started to mentally eat Sethe alive. This deterioration was mirrored by Beloved’s physical actions of depriving Sethe of food and attempting to hurt her.
This role reversal between Sethe and Beloved not only has to contrast their past relationship, it also contrasts the new role reversal between Sethe and Denver as well. Now that Beloved is the waning to Sethe’s waxing, Denver is the strong motherly figure Sethe has always aimed for. Beloved is more so a bystander in this equation because she is just patiently waiting and reaping the benefits from both women. While this would lead one to believe Beloved is completely controlling of Sethe, there are moments when Sethe is able to think and do something for herself.
I don’t believe Beloved really has anything to do with Sethe attacking Mr. Bodwin, I think she was attacking him out of her own free will because to her it was like a second chance at what she should have done earlier. I think this part actually speaks volumes to Sethe’s character: it shows that even in her weakest moments, she has the courage to find strength and use it to the best of her ability.
I agree with what you said, however, I would like to add a bit to it. I definitely thinks Morrison juxtaposes the good and evil of the situations between the School Teacher and Mr. Bodwin. She even gives clues to this through the usage of their names: School Teacher represents the teachings of the written word, which I believe refers to the slave laws. Since Slaves cannot read, the power of literacy he holds over them is significant and fuels the desire of the slaves to learn and weild this power, aka, by contributing to slavery. Hence, the School Teacher is the Devil. Even the response he calls out for in Sethe is sinful: his presence orders her to kill her own child, the ultimate penance of motherhood.
DeleteIn contrast, Bodwin stems from the name Bowdoin, which means shelter. God gives a home to everyone, or rather, He is everyone's Home. In Beloved, Bodwin gives Baby Suggs 124 Bluestone house, a "home" in the sense that she wasn't under the constant threat of slavery and a "home" where she could preach her love. Later, when Mr. Bodwin appears before Sethe, there is the joined music of the community and his presence is marred only by the bright light of sun in the light sky, every illusion imaginable to describe a God-like figure. When he arrived, Beloved disappears, another Devil-like figure gone in the Face of Good.
6.) When Paul D. Comes to visit Sethe, she seems to be talking nonsense. What is the meaning behind her words?
ReplyDeleteTo answer this question, I'd like to pinpoint three quotes that Sethe says from this exchange with Paul D...
~"'And count my feet?' she asks him.
"He steps closer. 'Rub your feet."'
In this quotation, Morrison refers to an earlier conversation with Sethe, only instead of talking to Paul D. She was talking to Amy Denver. Amy, too, when Sethe was about to drop dead from the onerous journey to Ohio, tried to coax Sethe from her suicidal state by rubbing the soles of her foot. Morrison suggests that Amy was soothing the "soul" of Sethe, to get her to relax and to not give up. At the end of the book, Paul D. Does just this.
Also, it is ironic that they mention feet because Baby Suggs was a shoe maker and Sethe, at that instance in the book, completely mirrors her mother-in-law: she, like Baby, has given up hope and lies in the same place Baby died, surrounded by the last fling of hope she wishes to procure from life--the two orange patches on an otherwise plain quilt.
~"'Oh, I don't have no plans. No plans at all.'"
At this point, Sethe has completely given up. She mirrors Baby Suggs in this matter (see above) because she lost a great love, which could've been spurned (depending on how one interprets the situation) by the community. In this sense, Sethe is just waiting for death to come to her--the perfect and perhaps only display of Existential failure. Rather than proactively taking her life, she waits for the Fates to work their magic. This is extremely heart-breaking because not only does she not have the strength nor will to keep living but also lacks the ability to end it.
~"'I made the ink, Paul D. He couldn't have done it if I hadn't made the ink."
I believe this is the most important quotation to analyze out of all three because it includes so much and gives the answer as to why Sethe acted the way she did. For one thing, Morrison again plays with the way words sound in language--by cleverly using the ink, which sounds very close to the word, link. In this sense, Sethe proclaims to have found the answer as to why she couldn't beat the School Teacher before; that she could've stopped the death of her daughter from happening. And of course the link is "ink", aka the written word. What Morrison explains to us is the fundamentals of slavery and its success in capturing the hold of the nation. Slavery worked because of the lack of literacy amongst its inhabitants. Slaves couldn't read; they couldn't rationalize the situation and become aware of its ignorance and unfairness. It is only when Sethe becomes aware of the slave laws--in the sense that it gives the white man power to take her and her children away into slavery--and the unfairness of their ways, does she attack the "School Teacher." She becomes aware of her proactive choice, in the community, etc to the point that she realizes she is not helpless; she can protect her children by rebelling, not repenting. So, in a way, through this understanding, Sethe breaks the written word--completely tosses it aside and rewrites her own story of saving her children and of taking a stand in the face of slavery: she makes the ink.