Monday, November 16, 2015

Beloved: Really Magical Realism?

In Beloved, we presume that Beloved (the character) is the ghost of Sethe's daughter.

I would argue that this is untrue.

The point of view I believe to be Sethe, in her head, but stuck in the third person because she has gone a little bit crazy. Why has she gone crazy? Because she killed her daughter. Just or not, Sethe's mind is making itself crazy as the consequence of what she did.

Is Beloved really the ghost of her daughter? Or is that just what Sethe thinks?

Plain and simple.

5 comments:

  1. I definitely see where you are coming from, but I think who the ghost actually is is irrelevant to the themes and meanings of the novel. Whoever the ghost actually is, it still symbolizes the haunting effect the past can have on our lives.

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  2. While I also question who the ghost is, I think Antoine is right. This character definitely is an explicit representation of how one is always reminded of their past, most often their largest regrets.

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  3. I don't believe Beloved is the ghost of Sethe's daughter either.
    I agree with Antoine and Sofie that Beloved represents Sethe's regrets and her past.

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  4. I don't believe Beloved is the ghost of Sethe's daughter either.
    I agree with Antoine and Sofie that Beloved represents Sethe's regrets and her past.

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  5. I hadn't thought about the possibility that the ghost doesn't actually exist, but I just don't think it is possible that it is just Sethe in her own head. We have narration by Denver, Paul D, and Stamp Paid that says the see the ghost and interact with it, so I don't think it could just be Sethe going crazy.

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