An Adult Baby: Morrison's Duality

From pages 248-252, Toni Morrison provides a snapshot into the brain of Beloved. For the first time in the story, the reader hears the rawest form of Beloved's thoughts, so raw that Morrison deliberately excludes all punctuation and conventional grammar in order to better depict the inner workings of Beloved's mind. The effect of this style is profound; Morrison develops a image that, in layman's terms, can only be described as an adult baby. How could an author grapple with this oxymoron in such an elegant way? Morrison masters this art on pages 248-252.

Morrison depicts an adult baby in this passage most prominently by using elementary style sentences to portray incredibly complex ideas. For example, one of the striking lines in the chapter reads, "in the day diamonds are in the water where she is and turtles" (251). Throughout the story, diamonds are used to represent stories and story telling. So, in a literal (baby) understanding of this phrase, Beloved says that Sethe is in the water with turtles and diamonds. In a figurative (adult) understanding of this phrase, Beloved is identifying Sethe and her stories in the water, which I personally believe is used to represent Sethe's past. The addition of the turtles in the most confusing part of this phrase because up until this point, turtles have not held any greater meaning. Hence, the turtles are an image meant to add detail to the depiction of Sethe in the water. The depiction of Sethe immersed in her past, surrounded by her stories, is a powerful image, one much more complex than a woman standing in water with a turtle.

Another striking example of baby versus adult imagery: "I see her take flowers away from leaves" (248) (this phrase is also repeated later). Removing the flowers from leaves is a simple and literal image, however, Beloved speaks of something greater here. My best interpretation is that the flowers are the best parts of Beloved's existence, possibly even Sethe herself, and the leaves are Beloved's history, the parts she doesn't want to see. The leaves are the fact that she was killed by her own mother.

Therefore, these short phrases depict a greater duality of Morrison's writing where she constantly creates a literal (baby) and figurative (adult) image for the reader to grapple with. What I know for certain is that nothing in Beloved can be interpreted one way. Beloved is both the baby and the adult.

28 Days of Freedom

I always hear people advocate for how important it is to be a part of a community in which everyone looks out for one another. When you have people around you that have your best interest in mind, there are less obstacles you have to face on your own. When Sethe first arrived at 124, she was welcomed by the community. She had 28 days of freedom in which she had friends to support her. No one immediately withdrew from her or decided that Sethe would not be accepted. It was not until Baby Suggs threw a huge party that they became jealous. They felt that Baby Suggs’ feast was a way for her to show everyone that she was above them. Because of their resentment towards the family at the time, they decided not warn Baby Suggs' family of the schoolteacher's arrival. After the four horsemen arrived, Sethe did what she felt was best for children, and for her it meant that she had to kill them. No one in the community looked at Sethe the same after these events. Sethe and Denver had no one to rely on besides themselves. This is an example how important it is that the community in which you belong is secure. When there is tension between the members, problems arise that affect the well being of others. The black community in Cincinnati knew how hard it was for people like them to survive in society. Even though they should have been protecting each other, they left out Baby Suggs and her family causing them to face years of hardship and sadness.

Denver's Growth in Beloved.

Denver's character growth in part 3 of Beloved, by Toni Morrison, was definitely my favorite part of the book so far. Throughout the novel, we see the characters struggle to determine their identity through Sethe and Paul D's conversations about their experiences in slavery. The novel focuses on Sethe's personal exploration and her growth as a character, and Denver remains stagnant, expressing only a childlike adoration for Beloved. As Denver realizes the toxicity of Beloved, she steps up from her role as an isolated dependent of Sethe and takes on the role of an adult as she finds work, provides food, and attempts to keep Beloved from harming Sethe too much.

Just because of her age, Denver was the character I could relate to the most easily. In addition to that, she was the one character in the book who we as readers had no reason to dislike, no morally gray decisions to consider. I was rooting for her since the beginning, and seeing her rise above her mother's inability to care and her sister's dismissal and malicious intent to become a fully realized human being. That was the one part of the book that I could really just enjoy.

Colorism and Beloved

When Denver goes to ask Lady Jones for help. Toni Morrison reveals that Lady Jones dislikes her light complexion and blond hair. Her features, at the time, could only be accomplished by rape.  Her features are a constant reminder of what everyone in her community ran away from. In that way, she feels alienated from her community

Today, the black women that society deems "most beautiful"  have the same features that Lady Jones has. This is because are visually closer to what society deems as true beauty, whiteness. While light skin women during Lady Jones' and now feel isolated from the black community, they benefit from their features in both black and non-black spaces. Within the black community, colorism (prejudice against those of a darker skin tone, typically among people of the same race) runs rapidly. Light skin black women are viewed as more docile and feminine. Conversely, dark skin black women are seen as rough and masculine. Because of this, light skin black women are more acceptable and "wife-able" in a society where marriage is the only goal women should. 

I understand that Toni Morrison was trying to get at a particular point by talking about Lady Morrison's light complexion. I which that she would have also included the struggle that dark skin black women in the novel because it is a very important part of our history.

Margaret Garner and Sethe

Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved, was inspired by the life of Margaret Garner, a slave. Many aspects of Garner’s life are reflected in the life of Sethe, the main character. Both women were victims of sexual abuse at the hands of their masters. Both women married fellow slaves while experiencing the abuse. Both women ran away. Both women chose to kill their children rather than allow them to become enslaved. One of the most important differences in the life of Margaret Garner is the presence of her husband. He escaped with Garner, fought slave catchers when she took the life of her daughter, and was by her side throughout the aftermath of her actions. Sethe is not so lucky. Her husband was not able to escape with her. Sethe had no male support system after she returned from jail. This distinction is important because the lack of a constant male presence allows for a deeper exploration of the female experience. Morrison was able to discuss the impact of slavery on women and a mother’s love in ways she would not have been able to if she had allowed Sethe’s husband to have a larger role in the novel.

How Slavery Can Destroy All Self-Love

In Toni Morrison's novel Beloved, identity is often discussed, as the former slave characters try to live their lives freely. One of the dangerous effects of being enslaved is an emptiness where your sense of self should be and a loss of self-love. Baby Suggs preaches about how they should love their hands and appreciate their bodies because they belong to them. She reminds the former slaves about how they should love themselves, not because they are especially unique, but because they need to reintroduce love and attention on themselves.

It's interesting how the schoolteacher is described as teaching them about their "animal like characteristics." It reminds the reader how Sethe, Paul D, and Baby Suggs were taught their whole lives about how little they are worth, and how they have a value of an animal.

I think that this can cause major damage to the slave's minds, even if they are freed, because they are constantly put down. Even if they have the strength to try and maintain some sort of optimism or happiness, they aren't able to because they are always told about how little they matter. This completely changes the way they think about themselves.

Sethe, for example, thinks that she is not worth saving, but that her non-enslaved children are pure and need to always be protected. She has no sense of self-worth and self-love because she was told her whole life that she is not worth anything. Furthermore, Paul D is constantly trying to block out the pain from slavery and put it in his tobacco tin in his heart. But, he doesn't have any sense of self or self love because he was never able to deal with the heavy emotional pain of being enslaved.

I think that Toni Morrison does an amazing job of getting inside the mind of an enslaved person who has been so completely destroyed physically and emotionally. It's difficult to think about how a person would be able to move on from the emotional pain of their past. But, it's important to try to think about these things when we are attempting to understand the history of slavery and its impact on the humans who suffered through it.

Importance of Talking

Every person has some type of emotional baggage they have to carry around with them. Sethe, and Paul D's traumas are especially heavy. They have both attempted processing their hurt in different ways. Sethe isn't as strict about letting her old life seep into her new one. Paul D's method is to pack it away and never take it out again. Although during a few select conversations with Sethe, we see him opening up that pain a little bit. Opening up becomes easier for him because he is with someone who was there, or was related to some of the harder moments of his life. Sethe and Paul D. were both slaves in their past. Even though they were split up for a while, they can still relate to each other. Therefore, Paul D and Sethe use each other to acknowledge their pasts. Obviously, this is not a pleasurable experience but it is crucial that they have taken the time to confront what they've been hiding from. Beloved also helps Sethe remember her past. At some points, this is beneficial for Sethe, but it is scary to know what she is capable of when her past gets too close. Overall, because of the degree of their horribles traumas from the past, it's not always beneficial to constantly have those experiences on their mind and talk about them. On the other hand, talking/storytelling is an extremely important act for these characters.

Adjectives Defining Identity

In Beloved, Tony Morrison masterfully tells the story of life after slavery in a haunting manner. In addition to her literary techniques, Morrison's language surrounding race and identity caught my eye.

Throughout the novel, the color of one's skin is always tied into the person it describes. For example, Amy is a "whitegirl" and the house on Bluestone Road is in a "colouredpeople" neighborhood.

Although Morrison's deliberate combination of the two words makes perfect sense seeing as how race defines your position in society, I've never seen an author do this before. Subtle yet striking, this combination contributes to the author's depiction of identity where slaves are animals and stripped of agency. Denver isn't just a girl, she's a colouredgirl. Amy isn't just a girl, she's a whitegirl.

With this technique, there's no way to truly escape how society defines you. Whether you're free and just beginning to exert your power in the world, like Sethe attempting to murder all or her children, or if you're attempting to find some humanity in your enslavement, like Paul D and the bit, you're stuck in your own skin, haunted by the past, and powerless.

What Role Does Paul D End Up Playing?

In the last section of the novel, Part III, the reader gets another glimpse into Paul D's point of view. It's really interesting because following the vague, poetic sections of Part II in Sethe, Denver, and Beloved's points of view, Paul D's point of view comes as a bit of a reality check. It is through his eyes that the reader learns what actually occurred on the day when the mob of women confronted 124 and Sethe attacked Mr. Bodwin. Through his interactions with Ella and Stamp Paid, the reader can piece together the events.

And yet, after a brief run-in with Denver, he starts to realize that he still feels some emotion or obligation to Sethe and Denver after Beloved apparently disappeared. After a few brief flashbacks to his own life of constant running, he revisits 124 to see Sethe. But why in the world would he want to see Sethe? He doesn't seem to have feelings for her since he learned she killed Beloved and tried to kill her other babies, and he seemed to agree with other people who insisted Sethe had gone crazy after trying to kill Mr. Bodwin. He didn't show any trace of his previous emotions, but through his last act of kindness in the book, returning to 124 to take care of Sethe, the reader realizes that throughout the entire novel, Paul D has been somewhat of a beacon of straightforward kindness and purity in comparison to the convoluted thoughts of the three women in 124.

Although he had some questionable things on his own record during his time there, namely sleeping with Beloved, nearly every action he took since arriving, even banishing Beloved's ghost in the beginning, was done genuinely and out of his compassion for other people and Sethe. The reader doesn't get much of a sense of heartbreak from him upon his first leaving, mostly because despite being a general good person, he insists that his heart doesn't feel because it's tin. But in his return to 124 following still more drama surrounding Sethe, the reader understands that, despite the semi-craziness happening around him as all three women seem to border the living and the dead, Paul D has been a steady, well-meaning hand trying, with little success, to guide them toward some unknown goal simply out of the goodness of his tin heart.

Who Can Really See Ghosts?

Who can see ghosts? Are they even real? Toni Morrison, the author of Beloved seems to think that ghosts are real. She uses the main characters haunted house to drive the plot. Even part way through the book we are introduced to one of her characters who seems to even act like a ghost. Thinking of this character and this haunted house has led me to wonder if I can see ghosts or even who can see ghosts.

I have always wondered if my dog could see ghosts. The way that the hair on her back lifts as she stares at the door even when nothing is there always makes me wonder if there is a ghost there. My dog seems to stare at something even when it is clearly not there.

I think the prevalence of ghosts in this book and in the world is extremely interesting. I think it gets people wondering on if they are real or not and even what their actions or consequences can be. I really wonder if my dog can see ghosts sometimes but in the end who really knows?

The Depth of Sethe's Love

As shown through many forms of media, a mother is supposed to give their child unconditional love. However, there may be a limit to how far this love should be expressed. In the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison, Sethe, one of the main characters, expresses her love to her children by killing or attempting to kill them in order to protect them from being brought back to the horrors of slavery.

Sethe clearly wanted her children's lives to be better than hers, especially considering that she had to endure being a slave. When Sethe saw her former master, the schoolteacher, approaching her with a slave catcher, she ultimately decided to kill her children as means of protection. She "couldn't let all that go back to where it was, and [she] couldn't let her nor any of them live under schoolteacher" (192).

While Sethe's believed that it was better for her children to be dead instead of slaves, her actions negatively affected other characters that she was close to. Her daughter Denver, who Sethe had attempted to kill, was harassed at school by her peers due to her mother being a "murderer". Additionally, her former lover Paul D was shocked when he discovered that Sethe had murdered her children. When one of the townspeople Stamp Paid shows Paul D the newspaper article about what Sethe had did, Paul D initially refuses to believe that Sethe would ever do that. Ultimately, Sethe's actions cause Paul D to leave 124, as he refused to live with Sethe after learning about her past.

Love, in Sethe's mind, is not restricted to morals. While I disagree with her definition of love and do not think that her actions were justified, I can understand that she wanted to protect her children. Sethe's "love" is not love, however; her actions were driven by past trauma that she wanted no one else to experience.

Sethe and Denver

In “Beloved,” Sethe and Denver's relationship is somewhat confusing. In the beginning of the book, Sethe seems to not think much of Denver, despite the fact that she is at home all day with her mother as she does not go to school. She pays more attention to the ghost than to Denver.

Denver’s life on the other hand sometimes revolves around her mother’s, desperate for her attention, and sometimes is secluded, such as when she hides in the boxwood bushes. 

Additionally, when Paul D arrives, Denver feels especially ignored. She breaks down when she recognizes that Paul D could take away any attention she gets at home, which is the only attention she gets given the rest of the town avoids the residents of the haunted house. This is furthered by Beloved’s appearance. However, in Beloved’s case, Denver couldn't care less about Sethe's attention. Denver worships Beloved instead of being jealous of the love she receives from Sethe. 

What's strange is as soon and Beloved arrives it is made clear that Sethe would protect her daughters at all costs (even Paul D) when Sethe and Paul get into a small argument. He believes she is overprotective and should let her children live a little by themselves. 

Overall, the changing dynamics between Sethe and Denver are notable as the novel progresses. 

Paranormal Activity in Beloved

The book Beloved, by Toni Morrison, forces the readers to ask themselves a question regarding paranormal activity. The story's structure begs a personal question you might ask yourself, “are ghosts real?”. Author Toni Morrison thinks so. The main characters live in a house with some sever haunted qualities. For starters, the two sons in the household decide to get the heck out of the house due to its creepy qualities. Towards the beginning of the book, we are introduced to a character with the same name as the baby who died in the house and allegedly haunts the house now. Although it is not yet specified if the baby really is a ghost, it is up to the reader to decide based on context clues. Morrison uses the use of diction and imagery to showcase the characters desire for answers.

The way the author of the book Beloved presents the aspect of ghosts in the story is very different than other authors. There is a mysterious presence amongst the description and stories in and of the book. In most stories involving ghosts, the ghosts are seen as scary or mischievous. Rather, the ghost in Beloved is described as “sad” and “heartbroken”. I am excited to continue reading and hopefully discover if my conclusions are true.

The Fourth Person

Beloved exists in a world of ghosts. Each character is haunted, some by the ghost of Sethe's daughter Beloved, but perhaps more significantly by the past that continues to be present. Sethe is lives in a world of 'rememories' of the brutality of slavery and her husband Halle, unable to escape. The other escaped slave characters, especially Baby Suggs and Paul D, seem similarly unable to be truly freed from their past experiences. Even Denver, Sethe's daughter who has never been a slave, remains in the shadow of slavery that marked her parents and grandparents lives with the stories and customs in her life.
Author Toni Morrison explores the depths of the past with writing that layers the present with memories. As scenes progress, characters often stop to remember some instance or scene from their past which frequently segues deeper into the past. By creating scenes that progress without barely an acknowledgement of the typical confines of time, Morrison is able to create a unique perspective: the fourth person.
Aside from the usual three perspectives, the fourth is able to lend a depth to the meaning of Beloved. Stories told through the eyes of someone remembering past instances allow readers to understand the contextual nuances of the present. Additionally, the fourth person allows the past and present to be interwoven in such a way that itself demonstrates the way in which the past is a living ghost for Morrison's characters.

Ten Minutes for Seven Letters

Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved portrays the sexual abuse and exploitation experienced by slaves and former slaves extensively. Though it is hard to read, the situations described by Morrison are stories that need to be told. In the many years I have taken U.S. history, slave narratives, but specifically female narratives discussing sexual abuse, have been left out of the curriculum and ignored. If one such experience was mentioned in passing, there has been very little time spent talking about the implications of the stories and how deep the impact was. The topic has been a part of a few novels I have read for English classes, such as Beloved, however because there has been little prior experience with the subject, many of my classmates and I have a hard time going about discussing it. This cannot be solely pinned on the lack of discourse on sexual abuse, because people feel uncomfortable and find it hard to stomach, however we should not shy away from ugly truths for the sake of our blissful ignorance. The people who experienced the horrors similar to those described in Beloved deserve to have their voices and stories heard.

Historical Accuracy of Beloved

Beloved by Toni Morrison discusses the history and experiences of slaves in America, and how these experiences haunt those who have escaped from or been freed from slavery. Morrison mentions specific years and ages of her characters in the novel and alludes to connections between the events in the book and historical events in the American South. However, when matching up these dates to the history of slavery in America, they don't fit together quite right.

The book is set in 1873, 8 years after the Civil War. In 1855, Sethe gives birth to Denver. According to Denver's telling of the story, Sethe is 19 when she gives birth to Denver, meaning she would have been born in 1836.

Stick with me, this is where it gets tricky. According to Nan, both she and Sethe's mother were "taken up by" crewmen on the boat they took to an unspecified island. Sethe's mother gets pregnant by someone on the boat's crew and gets rid of the child on the island. This means that at least a year was spent traveling to and staying on the island. If we set the minimum age for surviving a pregnancy at 13, this means that Sethe's mother was at least 14 by the time she reached the states, if not older.

International slave trade was outlawed in America (though people could still trade slaves within America) in 1808, and a very small number of slaves were illegally smuggled into the country after 1808 due to high penalties for not only smuggling but buying smuggled slaves. Assuming Sethe's mother entered the country right at the end of America's international slave trade, she would have been 14 in 1808 making her born in 1797. And if Sethe's mother was born in 1794, that would make her at least 42 if not older at the time of Sethe's birth.

While having a baby at 42 might not seem unreasonable by today's standards, it would have been pretty much impossible for an enslaved woman. For starters, nowadays it is difficult for women at that age to conceive children and deliver them healthily through a traditional birth. On top of that, enslaved women were often forced to work through their pregnancies at the same rate as healthy men, were not provided with extra food, and had no access to prenatal care. Finally, slaves had an average life expectancy of 21-22 in the antebellum South, nowhere near the minimum age of 42 that Sethe's mother would be at the time of Sethe's birth.

In order for the story to match the timeline of American history, Sethe's mother would have to be 42 years old if not older at the time of her daughter's birth, and getting up and continuing to work on the plantation 2-3 weeks later. So what explanantion is there for this impossible feat? Am I missing another piece of evidence in the story that explains this timeline error? And if it truly is an oversight on behalf of the author, why did she include specific ages and years in the story if they don't work? What purpose does that serve? And am I digging too deep into this plot hole?

(Sidenote: I understand that the historical accuracy of the timeline does not have an impact on the message and information conveyed in the book, it just bothers me.)

Storytelling In Beloved

Story telling is what most of the book consists of. I think that the characters use storytelling as a way to self-soothe themselves and give closure at the same time. But while storytelling might be a way to keep memories alive, I believe the book also shows how storytelling can lead to sadness and being left hurt. 

Storytelling gives Denver joy especially when the story is about herself. For her it is a way to connect to her past and it reveals her ancestry and heritage. As for Sethe, Paul D, and Baby Suggs story telling is a way to talk through their life. I think they use it as a way to appreciate and also remember that life is good and bad. In order to not forget their past and remember where they came from storytelling is the best way to keep that alive.

While storytelling can have its perks the book also calls that memories are not always good. Memories are painful as well. As for painful memories so far we see that these painful memories mostly strike Sethe and Paul D. We can see that some of their storytelling brings painful memories, preventing them from moving one. One instant where this happens to them both is when they wake the next morning after spending the night together. 

Ghosts. Are. Not. Real

Personally I do not believe ghosts are real. Everything and anything has an explanation. The belief that some superhuman, superficial beings exist, is delusional. First off, the notion that a dead human or animal rests in the place it died, or a location that they particularly love is insane. A dead human or animal is dead, nothing more and nothing less. They do not come to haunt us so we remember them, or grieve us to make us suffer for the trauma they experienced, or to right a wrong that they were the victim of. Almost every ghost story I have personally been told or heard, has a reasonable explanation, or the story is fake. A door slamming, a "dark presence", a chill in a certain part of the room, a figure or shadow of some sort. Any number of factors could influence these specific occurrences. A gust of wind, a particular depression, a broken air vent or air conditioner, drug or lack of sleep induced hallucinations. Every single ghost occurrence has an explanation or the story is most likely unreliable. The fact that there is extremely little to no physical evidence to prove ghosts exist is a telltale sign that ghosts are a figment of the human imagination. For example many people swear by Ouija boards but they are one of the easiest games to influence. Any person involved in the process could impact it, even unconsciously. This would be called the ideomotor effect. The movement is caused by an anticipation and expectation for a result. In Beloved, we do not fully know yet what happened to Sethe's baby and why she died, but apparently there are many different times that "the ghost" appears. Again, not unlike every other ghost story ever, there are an infinite amount of possibilities to why these things are happening, or why the people in 124 think they are happening. Although I believe some people can convince themselves, and possibly others, with a good story, unless there is hard physical proof, these stories will never materialize into a legitimate entity. Ghosts are nothing but a good story.

Are Ghosts Real?

Are ghosts real? Toni Morrison seems to believe so. In her award winning book Beloved, Morrison focuses on the main character's haunted house to drive the plot. About one third through the book we are introduced a new character with ghost like qualities. Her name is the same as the dead baby haunting the house, she is said to have clear "new, baby skin", and seems to have baby behavior as she is picking up her life as where she left off when she died when she was younger. However, the readers at this point still do not know if this mysterious character is indeed an actual ghost. Morrison uses the readers impatience to see if this character is indeed a real ghost to drive the plot and keep the readers on the edge of their seat.

This leads me to ask the question if ghosts are truly real. It is the number one most common "myth" people believe in. Some people claim to have ghost encounters where they actual see a ghost. Some people claim to hear ghosts. And some claim to feel their presence. However, there is yet to be substantial evidence that proves this paranormal activity is real.

Will this ghost debate ever come to an end?

Women in Beloved

The women in Beloved by Toni Morrison are described to go through quite traumatic events of sexual assault and female specific issues that are still present in society today.

Sethe's sexuality is something she uses to get letters on the grave for her child. It was implied in the story that this is was her only option rather than a choice she made.This is not something that men typically have to endure because the oversexualization of women is specific to their gender. Women are still very oversexualized in our modern society and women still use their bodies in exchange for favors because there aren't other available options to them.

Sethe is also has her milk taken from her by the schoolteacher in a non consensual manner. Halle sees this and is unable to do anything. Sethe's trauma from this is still very common and many women now are still sexually assaulted or harassed.