Monday, November 21, 2016

Defense

The final chapters of Part One, as I would imagine, left many of our mouths dangling open in awe. More specifically, Sethe's desperate rampage. I mean come on. I always took Sethe for a fighter, but slashing her own baby's throat and butchering her sons? Lets just say I didn't quite see that one coming...

Of course I can't completely blame Sethe. She witnessed the injustices of slavery first hand, and to watch her own sons and daughters get pulled right back into it? No way. These children were just too bright to be forced into the darkness. This gives Sethe some sort of rationale for her actions, making it semi- understandable.

At the same time, however, it isn't understandable. Her children's lives, had they not been slaughtered, would certainly be dreadful. They would be trapped inside of the horrors of Sweet Home, their lives tarnished, just as Sethe's had been. But at least they would have lives. At least they would be given the small opportunity to be free again, to be who they so rightfully deserve to be. With Sethe's onslaught, however, they never stood a chance.

The question of whether Sethe's actions were justified or not simply can not be determined. It can not  necessarily be approved nor criticized. In all of its ugliness, Sethe made a decision of what she knew was best for her family.

Either way, I enjoyed the exhilarating end to Part One, and I can't wait to find out what lies ahead.

1 comment:

  1. I completely agree with you. Having to make a decision like this as a mother in a time as horrible as this one is unimaginable. It is terribly sad that the decision ended in death, especially of children, but was it worth making them live a life of torture they may have died in anyway? We will never know.

    ReplyDelete