Monday, November 23, 2015
My symbolism enlightenment
For me, Beloved was strenuous to get through. I ended up having to read each paragraph twice just to gain a slight understanding of what was going on in Morrison’s big world. However, once I got through the grueling text and complicated language her chapters were filled with, I started to like it. I still believe ghosts are fictional; Morrison hasn’t quite changed my mind about that. But, she has opened me to a world where I enjoy symbolism and her strange, but effective, writing style. I have always hated symbolism because I never have been able to understand what the author is really trying to say through the “blue curtains” for example. But once I read (and re-read) the passage about the sweet corn juice and Sethe’s wedding I was enlightened. Never before had I truly gotten what the author was trying to say in such depth. Through her creative style the reader (i.e. me), without even knowing it, is drawing parallels throughout the chapters through flashbacks to connect past and present thoughts of the characters. Ultimately leading to the peak of the story: Beloved’s discovery as the slain, “already crawling?” baby, and her downfall.
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I compltely agree Hannah. This book was a tough one to get through and I am also not very good at putting two and two together with simbolism. However, rereading helped me better understand the chapters and really helped open my eyes to deeper meanings in the text.
ReplyDeleteI feel differently about about symbolism now as well. I usually find heavy use of symbolism and magic realism to be unnecessary and distracting, but I think Morrison masterfully integrated the two into the story in a way that enhanced the story's richness. Her nontraditional writing style makes reading difficult but subtly forces the reader to draw connections and conclusions that would not have otherwise been drawn.
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