Directions: Same format as the last blog. Read pages 125-180. Now you should be thinking about how these abstract images, symbols, and metaphors are coming together to present a full picture of what happened on 124 the day Beloved died. Compose a blog response analyzing these ideas and expressing your opinion on the text.
- Breakfast (127)
- Hiiiiiiii (127)
- It rained (129)
- Cherokee (131)
- Tobaco tin (133)
- She moved him (134)
- Turtles (137)
- Touch me ... and call me beloved. (137)
- Denver and Sethe - Where does Sethe think Beloved has been? (140)
- Denver and Beloved (141)
- She points to the sunlight (146)
- Paul D vs. Beloved for Sethe's attention (147-156)
- “It was Stamp Paid who started it. Twenty days after Sethe arrived…” (159)
- “She had decided to do something with the fruit worthy of the man’s labor and his love. That’s how it began.” (160)
- Laughter, goodwill, love…made them angry (161)
- “The sent of their disapproval lay heavy in the air…offended them with excess...high-topped shoes” (162-163)
- She smelled another thing… (163)
- Bodwins (162) The Garners (164-166)
- “These are my hands...” (166)
- Mr. Gardner. Bodwins. Differences? Similarities? (167-173)
- “until she got proud...high-topped shoes she did not like the look of at all.” (173)
- Four horsemen (174)
- The shed. What happened? Make connections to the prior chapter. (174-180)
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ReplyDeleteSethe has faced significant trauma and abuse and has struggled to reconcile from her past. While Sethe’s arrival and journey to 124 has been outlined throughout the novel, we finally get insight to Paul D’s tumultuous past.
ReplyDeleteAfter “Sweet Home,” we learn that Paul D was sold to Brandywine. He unsuccessfully tried to murder Brandywine and gets sent to a horrid prison. It was common for prisoners to be forced to perform sexual act by guards, and “occasionally a kneeling man chose gunshot in his head as the price, maybe, of taking a bit of foreskin with him to Jesus” (127). The “Hi Man” of the line of prisoner, who were shackled together, was the only one to speak because “he alone knew what was enough, what was too much, when things were over, when the time had come” (128). The prisoners were treated like animals and were even left out in the rain to die.
After running away and arriving at 124, he was still affected by the prison and his time as a slave. Like Sethe, he struggles to overcome and face his emotions. Therefore, when Beloved comes into the cold room where he is sleeping, he goes against what he knows to be right. Beloved begs Paul D to say her name and “touch her,” and he reluctantly does and begins the affair. While Paul D thought his emotions were rusted shut inside the metal tobacco tin, Beloved reopened them.
Paul D is frustrated with himself that Beloved is able to control him. This connects back to his time of slavery. He was constantly called and treated like an animal, so “his strength had lain in knowing that [the slave owners were] wrong” (148). However, after his affair with Beloved, “it was more than
appetite that humiliated him and made him wonder if [the slave owners were] right” (148). He is struggling to find an identity as he transitions to freedom.
When Paul D first saw Sethe in the newspaper after the “four horsemen” incident, he didn’t believe it. Sethe was portrayed as insane. The school teacher, as a result, was upset with his nephew, for he tortured her ‘too much.’ Those four horsemen broke Sethe down, for her past was too much to handle. How have Sethe and Paul D managed their pasts differently? How is this ‘love triangle’ between Sethe, Paul D, and Beloved affecting how they can deal with their pasts? Where does Denver fit in?
Ever since Beloved’s arrival, she’s had an intense need to be close to Sethe. As the book progresses, we see this attachment intensify. While Denver’s interactions with Beloved have been most profound, this section explores Paul D’s opposition with her. Earlier, it was clear Paul D was apprehensive about Beloved living in 124 and we begin to see how this affects him. Suddenly, in chapter 11, Beloved unexpectedly visits Paul D and asks him to sleep with her. He feels as if Beloved has some kind of control over him and he’s not able to resist her. As time passes, he feels the need to tell Sethe about what he did, but knows with this comes “the danger of losing Sethe” (149). Regardless, he knows he needs to tell her and fully intendeds to as he meets her outside the restaurant after her shift. But as he saw “the diminished expectation in her eyes, the melancholy without blame, he could not say it” (151). He instead tells her, “I want you pregnant” (151), surprising both himself and Sethe. While avoiding confronting the issue at hand, he can't help but think that having a child with Sethe would be “a way to hold onto her” (151). At the end of their walk home, Beloved, who has been waiting for Sethe, captures Sethe’s attention, reminding Paul D of what he failed to do that night. Sethe demands Paul D start sleeping in her room again, making Beloved later ask Denver to, “make him go away” (157). It seems as if both Paul D and Beloved are somewhat competing for Sethe’s attention, both fearing losing her and wanting to remain close to her. Paul D struggles to have Beloved around and in return, Beloved feels that Paul D is a threat to her relationship with Sethe. The relationship between these two characters is quite complicated and confusing. Chapter 11’s unexpected twist between the two characters did not seem to change how they feel about one another, both still resenting each other and constantly in a battle for Sethe’s attention. If anything, chapter 11 conveyed the power and manipulation Beloved is capable of. Going more in depth, Beloved was able to win over Sethe, capture all of Denver’s attention, and hold some kind of power over Paul D. She made her way into the family, Sethe seeing her as one of her girls, Denver creating an intense attachment to her, and the interaction with Paul D just confirms this power she holds. Regardless of what happened between Paul D and Beloved in chapter 11, it is clear that they both still dislike one another and feel threatened by each other in regards to Sethe.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read this, I thought there wass a kind of eerie parallel between Beloved's vying for Sethe and Denver's for Beloved. We already know that Beloved adores Sethe, almost to the point of obsession. She follows Sethe around when she is home, even "inching further and further each day to meet Sethe and walk her back to 124" (pg 68). Denver clings to Beloved in a similar way. She "has to keep Beloved by her side from the minute Sethe leaves for work until the hour of her return," (pg. 142) and to achieve this she is willing to do chores that she has previously never liked, and is even willing to make up extra chores for them to do. Yet, a deeper look at the chapter made me realize some of the differences between the two relationships. Denver seems more innocent in her relationship towards Beloved than Beloved does in her relationship with Sethe. Denver is the one who nursed Beloved back to health, protected Beloved when Paul D. told Sethe he had seen her lift a rocker single-handedly, and even when she is closed into the cold house in complete darkness & Beloved does nothing to help her, she is careful not to offend Beloved. By contrast, Beloved is much more selfish in her dependence on Sethe. She gets angry when Sethe even thinks about something that doesn't involve Beloved, wants to get rid of Paul D, even though Sethe would be very sad if Paul D wasn't there anymore, and most importantly, strangled Sethe. This suggests that although Beloved's vying for Sethe and Denver's vying for Beloved are similar on the surface, they're actually two different kinds of relationships.
ReplyDeleteThroughout these chapter, we see a strange relationship form between Paul D. and Beloved. We already discovered that Beloved is not very fond of Paul, as she is jealous of the little attention he received from Sethe. However, they begin to have somewhat romantic relations that feels almost as if Beloved is taking advantage, or forcing Paul to have sex. In one chapter, Paul compares Beloved to a school teacher in which he is abused and manipulated by. Paul wondered if “schoolteacher was right it explained how he had come to be a rag doll” (148). Paul feels abused and mistreated by Beloved, as he is sure he does not want to have sex with her. This is an interesting part of the novel because the readers can clearly see how Beloved has the ability to force others to bend at her will without hesitation. Paul is positive that his relations with Beloved are not right yet he can not control himself when Beloved comes to his room almost every night. The remaining chapter delve into the past, discussing Baby Suggs and the events that led to Sethe cutting her daughter’s throat. The schoolteacher is mentioned again as coming to take away Sethe’s children. The teacher is coming along with the sheriff and a slave catcher. When the teacher saw Sethe, two bloody boys, and her dead child, she knew that “there was nothing there to claim” (175). After seeing the state in which Sethe and her family were in, the schoolteacher and the others just left. Despite these tragic events and the crime that Sethe committed, the author does not seem to view her crime as good or evil. She killed her daughter yet the author is neither condemning nor approving her actions. This can be somewhat confusing for the readers because it is difficult to see what the author is trying to achieve, as she is unclear when depicting these events.
ReplyDeleteI just thought of this, but maybe Beloved's ability to bend others to her will, in spite of their own wishes, is a metaphor for how the past is still influencing and distorting the future, both for the characters in this book, and also for every American.
DeleteSince the arrival of Beloved, we as readers are introduced to the dislike from Beloved that she has for Paul D. Because she believes that he takes Sethe’s attention away from her, she gives Paul D the “cold shoulder” Thus, creating tension in the house between herself and Paul. However, Beloved one night, manipulates Paul in having sex with her. This awful act reminds Paul D of the lack of freedom that he had as a slave and now feels. He compares her to a school teacher when he wondered if “schoolteacher was right it explained how he had come to be a rag doll”. Paul D definitely does not want to have sex with Beloved, mainly because of his love for Sethe, but feel forced and abused by Beloved. Beloved’s power of persuasion is evident in this chapter especially through differing acts of manipulation. Paul D knows that his relations with Beloved is not right, but is unable to stop Beloved from coming to his room every night. As time goes on, he feels the increasing need to tell Sethe of what occured, but knows this comes with “the danger of losing Sethe”. Beloved has put him in the unfortunate position of choosing between herself and Sethe, his love. Although sex is an intimate act, Beloved also creates more tension in the house of 124 with herself, Paul D, Sethe, and Denver.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this section, I thought that the memory of the shed was especially powerful; the moment described by Morrison spoke greater depths than what was explicitly put in words. It was unbelievable to read that Sethe had murdered her own child, minutes before she was discovered behind the shed, “ …a nigger woman holding a blood-soaked child to her chest with one hand” (175). To learn that she had treated her own child so wickedly truly put slavery’s harshness into perspective. Here, Morrison demonstrates the rationale behind Sethe, who is a mother bearing the hardships of slavery. This moment illuminates how Sethe would rather her child be dead than have to endure enslavement. I also found it interesting how the schoolteacher thought Sethe “gone wild.” Comparing the perspectives between slave owners and slaves helped me to understand the disparity between them; the fact that the school teacher failed to realize Sethe’s rationale due to how awful slavery was helped me understand the greatness of how little they thought of slaves. Furthermore, after the horsemen (school teacher, slave catcher, nephew) leave this graphic scene, it is also evident that they view slaves as nothing more than a prize; without being useful, they move on to the next best “thing,” or slave, who can offer them labor.
ReplyDeleteI like how you focused on this pivotal moment in the story. You are right in saying that it is hard to notice how significant this moment is because the words that are actually written do not express the extent of importance. However, if you read carefully, you cannot miss how this part of the story reveals the shocking truth. We knew prior to this that Sethe's baby was killed but it did not feel this real until reading this part of the story that described how the baby died.
DeletePaul D’s “tobacco tin” heart is one of the most striking metaphors for me so far in the book and it played a heavy role in this section of the reading. For the first time, we were offered a look into Paul D’s stay in the Georgia prison, previously often alluded to but never revealed. Needless to say, I found the contents of that chapter appalling. Morrison has shown repeatedly that she isn’t going to censor anything or hold back graphic details and this was another genuinely disturbing section. It helped shed light onto what exactly locked Paul D’s heart away, to why he has been so unable to dwell upon or even confront his past. It’s impossible not to see what a broken man Paul D had become as it’s described how he convulsed in the mud of his cell or how when those around him were being sexually abused by the guards “convinced he was next, Paul D retched - vomiting up nothing at all. An observing guard smashed his shoulder with a rifle” (127). It’s remarkable Paul D even made it out of that nightmare alive never mind with any shred of sanity or function. Another quote that stuck with me is when “Paul D thought he was screaming; his mouth was open and there was this loud throat-splitting sound - but it may have been somebody else” (129). This quick detail seemed to me as very representative of the whole feeling of the chapter. The prisoners were in such a state of hell and suffering that it was impossible to tell if oneself was screaming or not. I think it’s clear that this complete lack of autonomy is what rusted shut the “tobacco tin” in Paul D’s chest. His past is too difficult to confront so he must just move on. This could be why the surprise encounter with Beloved seemed to re-open this tobacco tin. Paul feels as if he has once again fallen victim to powers outside of his control, once again stripped of his self-control which reopens old wounds from before. A final note, I definitely wouldn’t say Paul D is the only one who has such a “tobacco tin.” All of the ex-slaves have stories from their past they will be forever unable to move past, permanent emotional baggage. Sethe seems to have a “tobacco tin” just as much as Paul D does.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Paul D encourages Sethe to address her feelings about her past in order to improve her present life, he does not do the same with himself. Up until this part of the book, we don’t know details about Paul D’s past. He keeps many memories locked up inside a “tobacco tin lodged in his chest” (133) and avoids ever revisiting them, helping him stay in control of his current life and emotions. Once arriving at 124, Paul D losses control of his lock, reopening parts of him he hadn’t seen in many years. His escape to the “[w]elcoming, benevolent North” (132) was an item kept in his tobacco tin. The escape involved following tree flowers for months on end until he arrived at the weaver lady’s house in Delaware. When reading about his journey with trees and blossoms, it reminded me of when he first arrived at 124 and reacted adversely to the chokecherry tree on Sethe’s back. Her tree probably reminded him of the hardships he faced on his own journey to freedom, hardships he’d rather not think about. When he saw Sethe’s tree, the lust he once felt for her began to fade for she no longer represented just beauty and hope but also pain. Since arriving at 124, Beloved has caused Paul to lose some of the power he once held in his life. Chapter 11 opens with the line “[s]he moved him” (134), referring to Beloved’s strength against Paul D. She “moves” him out of Sethe’s bed and out of 124 as a whole, making Paul D feel confused and powerless against her. Paul D begins finding himself doing things against his own will and/or thoughts because of Beloved, making him question his manliness. As we learn more about the items in Paul D’s tin, we begin to understand why he thinks and reacts the way he does to situations. I’m curious to see if he will be able to close the lid once again, or if he will have to deal with all the remnants inside, just as Sethe is trying to do.
ReplyDeletePaul D has pretty much foolishly played into the power of the past, right into the hands of Beloved. However, these occurrences did not arise suddenly. We learn that Paul D has tumbled through a series of hits to his ego and shots at his manliness through torture. Paul D was a murderer, who’s killing of Brandywine the man who he was sold to, landed him a prison in Alfred, Georgia, where he was subject to dehumanizing and sexual abuse. Beloved, who seems to be running 124 on her neediness, “She moved [Paul]” (134) forcing him to sleep outside in the cold. Now, vulnerable, his sexual acts with Beloved allowed him to sink into the attention of the past “when the lid gave in he didn't know” (138). The sealed tin bin once showed Paul D as a cold individual, incapable of truly loving another, but the collapse of his tin heart shows that the past can ignite passion within ourselves and begin to rule over lives. Paul D chants “Red heart” (138) as if he is posses, first,“Softly and then so loud it woke...Paul D himself” (138). I’m still shocked and confused how this even happened.However, there is a shift, when Paul D tries to addresses the lacking of his “manhood” with Sethe, it is actually a stimulus to construct future, which is Paul D’s purpose in the novel. He suggests that Sethe “[needs] some babies, someone to play with in the snow (153). I wanted to believe that this was a genuine gesture, but my mind kept drifting to the idea that this was a definite solution to break him away from the spell of Beloved, to regain his manliness, not to make Sethe a happy mother, or to create a loving family. But the fact is, Sethe herself is not yet prepared to move on from the past herself, as a mother. If she never gets over or faces her “murder” of beloved she will never move on to the future.
ReplyDeletePaul D waits for Sethe after work outside the back door. She really likes the attention she is getting from him and says to him “‘Man, you make me feel like a girl, coming by to pick me up after work. Nobody ever did that before. You better watch out, I might start looking forward to it”(pg. 150). Sethe used to never feel attention before Paul D arrived and she used to just walk to work and then walk home. Paul D wants to make his place permanent at 124 and ever since Beloved arrived he almost felt like an outcast. If him and Sethe were to have a child together it would be a determining factor that he would stay in the house. It then started to snow and Paul D lifts Sethe up to run her back to the house and once they arrive Beloved runs out to give her shawl to Beloved. There are many occasions when Beloved makes it obvious that she doesn’t want Paul D to be there and when Sethe and Paul D would get together. “Beloved, who had not moved since Sethe and Paul D left the room, sat sucking her finger.”(pg 157) When it mentions her sucking her thumb it brings back the early idea of Beloved being born and how she was when she first arrived at 124.
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting how you highlight how badly Paul D wants to make 124 home, yet he is hiding so much from Sethe. From "Sweet Home" to prison to 124, Paul D hasn't had had a permanent home and he has emerged as a trustworthy figure in the household. However, he is hiding his relations with Beloved and how he truly feels to Sethe. Will Sethe ever figure it? How will she react? Will Paul D be kicked out of 124?
DeleteI liked the way you were able to connect Beloved's almost childish thinking to her childish mannerisms like sucking her thumb. Beloved has this force about her that reminds everyone of the past and prevents change from occurring in 124 that she doesn't approve of. Although like you said Paul D "wants to make his place permanent at 124," I question if this will ever really happen. In their world, is there any permanence?
DeleteI’m really glad we’ve gotten to see a new side of Baby Suggs. I feel like her mentions throughout the novel have given her this novelty of importance to the family, but hearing about how she came to be important to Sethe and Denver was enlightening. Especially in contrast with the story of Paul D’s liberation, Baby Suggs added this light-hearted kindness to the narrative where Paul D is literally drowning in his own enslavement. Baby Suggs, even the name, has been mentioned with this elderly nature to it, but when we hear about her come and leaving Sweet Home we get this sense of retirement and calm acceptance. She’s part of a generation breed into slavery and who are just now seeing the end of it. We see her cross the river and realize her own humanity for the first time, she understands that her body is a body and not a tool to be owned. Her life is her own saying, “These are my hands.” (166). We get this sense of wholesomeness, like finally outrunning a demon that’s been following you, being, literally, unchained from any weight she might have known. Moving into the idea of Paul D, crawling out of his cell to a false sense of freedom, wandering to a liberty he doesn’t know. There’s also the idea of the unknown in Baby’s generosity and kindness. When she talks about the smell of disapproval, “[offending] them with excess,”(163) we get this uneasiness. Even in the liberation, there must be hesitant least one becomes too happy, too human, too civilized and appear to be a threat to whiteness or an outlier to blackness. I’m not entirely sure if I get it or if I'm supposed to get it, why the unease lays there after their great celebration, but somehow it makes sense. It’s all these different experiences that are brought together in the reading that lead to Beloved’s death. While tragic, her death makes sense. Sethe doesn’t want what she got or what Baby got or what Paul D or Halle got to be the life Beloved gets. She wants the “crawling-already” baby to stay crawling and not kneeling at the feet of something she can’t escape.
ReplyDeleteWe got to see a lot of in depth characterization in these chapters. It's like the book is becoming more personal. Denver's plan to keep Beloved interested in her shows a new level to Denver we have not really explored before. "Denver is a strategist now and has to keep Beloved by her side from the minute Sethe leaves for work until the hour of her return" (142). Paul D's past is also revealed. His time working on what I assume is a railroad while chained to other black men. We see the memories he has stored in his tobacco tin in his chest. We also see a new side to Baby Suggs. We see her first taste of freedom. She interprets it by looking at her hands. "Suddenly she saw her hands and thought with a clarity as simple as it was dazzling. 'These hands belong to me. These MY hands.'" (166). Later on, when Sethe kills Beloved and tries to kill her other children, we see that Baby Suggs is a lot like how Sethe was described at the beginning of the book. When Sethe see's Here Boy after he was thrown against the wall, she just fixed it. She was always described as steady. Now it was Baby Suggs who was steady. When she sees that Sethe has attempted to murder all of her children she washes the two boys, and goes to Sethe saying "it's time to nurse your youngest" (179). But we also see Baby's mistrust of Sethe after that. She wants to run after the carriage holding Sethe screaming "don't let her take the last one too" (179). We learn a lot about characters this chapter, although we still haven't learned why Sethe decided to kill her children, we can only guess at that.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you noticed the parallel between Baby Suggs and Sethe. It was something I hadn't noticed, but reading your comment, I realize that parallel, and it adds a completely new dimension to the book. I wonder if Morrison is trying to make a point with this parallel. It almost seems as if she is showing us the power of black women. Both Baby Suggs and Sethe have lived through horrible experiences, yet (or maybe because of it) they have somehow managed to retain that ability to remain steady and manage horrific events.
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ReplyDeleteReading this section, I was immediately drawn to the metaphor of Paul D's tobacco tin. The book delves into many of the characters' pasts, and we finally look more into what is in Paul D's secret box. His past in the prison in Georgia was very disturbing. Toni Morrison went into extreme detail to emphasize how extreme the events in the prison were for Paul D. What I found interesting is how Paul D does not confront his past at all; he avoids it. Paul D locks what happened in the prison and Sweet Home into his box. Most people have strong connections to their pasts and learn and grow from them. Paul D is the opposite, as he runs away from it. I think Paul D believed he could lock all these bad memories into his tobacco tin and move on, never to have to deal with them ever again. However, Beloved changes that. After all these years, it is Beloved, who says "Touch me ... and call me beloved" (137). This connection is what finally causes Paul D to open up his tobacco tin, and his past. The next image that I find interesting was during the affair, Paul D repeated, "Red heart. Red heart. Red heart (138)." I think this is igniting life back into Paul D. His heart his now red and alive, and his memories are fueling it. This new connection with Beloved is what helps Paul D reopen his tobacco tin, which reopens his own connection with his past self.
ReplyDeleteI particularly liked this reading because we learned so much about vague characters like Paul D and Baby Suggs. Both are extremely important to the story at hand, yet we know so little about them. Based on these chapters, after Sweet Home, Paul D was sent to chain labor camp with forty-five black men. After trying to murder his new slave owner, Paul D is condemned to the sledgehammer. During a series of rainy days, the landscape turns to mush and mud and every man, who were still chained, escaped under their cages and through the slime. As they flee, “They were hoping for a shack, solitary...where a slave might be making rope or heating potatoes at the grate”(131), but what they found was a group of Cherokees “[awaiting] the end of the world”(131). They take refuge with the sick Cherokee Indians, who eventually free them from their chains. I was glad that Morrison included the Cherokee in her book. If Beloved is going to talk about the history and consequences of slavery, then you have to include Native Americans. Native Americans were used as labor throughout the colonial era and into the 1800s. Morrison eloquently paints a picture of the extents which Native Americans defended their culture and land; from diplomatic meetings with kings, to warfare against other Native Americans and the US alike, yet all “to no avail” (131). Now living as fugitives, the Cherokee seem to share similarities with the plight of black slaves. Morrison effectively demonstrates how involved racial injustice is within America.
ReplyDeleteIn this section of reading, we began to understand the complexity of the characters in this novel. Most prominently, we learn more about Paul D’s background and how he was sent to prison for attempting murder. The prison is horrible and prisoners were forced to perform sexual acts by the staff, and “occasionally a kneeling man chose gunshot in his head as the price, maybe, of taking a bit of foreskin with him to Jesus” (127). The treatment towards the prisoners was inhumane and “by the time they unhitched him from the wagon and he saw nothing but dogs and two shacks in the world of sizzling grass, the roiling blood was shaking him to and fro” (126). Hearing this we now have a better understanding as to why Paul D has kept his past private. All of the prisoners are connected to one another both literally and metaphorically. They all have a shared connection through the torment they have received and the guards attach them to one another to prevent them from escaping. I found it interesting how Paul D is reluctant to share his past but doesn’t seem to understand why Sethe wants to as well. The past is something all of the characters seem to want to cover up.
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