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?

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.

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?

Who is Beloved?

When first reading about Beloved's entrance into the book, a lot of questions popped into my head. At first, I thought she was just a slave that got the chance to run away, but as the text continued I became more and more curious. Eventually, I started to develop theories on who she could be, or what she could be. My first guest was that she was some type of ghost that had to do with the river. I thought this primarily because she came from the river, but I supported this idea after learning about her knowledge of the diamond earrings. I was very confused when Beloved suggested she already knew about the earings. Then I remembered that Sethe gave birth to Denver in a canoe in the river. These events could be linked by suggesting that Sethe had the earrings on her when she gave birth and they fell into the river, which is how Beloved knows about them. Although while reading the scene in which Denver notices a mark on beloved my perspective changed. I began to think that Beloved is Sethe's mother. This would make sense because Sethe remarks that the main way she told her mother apart was by a burn mark she had on her torso. Overall, I cannot confidently say I know who Beloved is, but I am curious to find out if I was right.

Shadows Emanating the Past

Tony Morrison, in Beloved, writes a scene of Sethe, Paul D, and Denver at a carnival. Here, they display the actions of a "normal" family - indulging in sweets and entertaining themselves with thrill upon thrill. During this scene, she indicates that although "they were not holding hands... their shadows were" (56). She concludes the chapter with "the shadows of three people still held hands" (59).

When Beloved enters 124 Bluestone Road, the readers learn that her arrival leads to an insatiable desire of and fascination with Sethe to a point where Beloved stalks her within the house. When waking early to watch Sethe make bread, Morrison writes, "their two shadows clashed and crossed on the ceiling like black swords" (68).

The contrast between these two moments are emblematic of Sethe's past. Though she may not show it all the time, she's grateful for Denver and Paul D and shares pleasant memories with them from her past. Their shadows - or their ghosts - cling to each other in dependence. Beloved, on the other hand, is a reminder to Sethe of her murdered baby, a deed which haunts her within the physical walls of 124 and in her heart and mind. She treats Beloved as if she were her dead daughter, as if she were making up for lost time. But she's only fooling herself.

Our shadows hold our deepest secrets and our greatest despairs.

Beloved and The Genre of Magical Realism

What is Magical Realism?

Magical realism, or marvelous realism, is a genre of narrative fiction. While Magical realism encompasses a range of subtly different concepts, it also expresses a primarily realistic view of the world while also adding or revealing magical elements. Magical realism can be found in most art forms throughout the world, however the literary movement of it was spearheaded by Latin American Authors. Just as the fantastic and magical elements are presented as normal, the standard structure of reality is put into question. Essentially, magical realism is a chance for authors to show an alternative to an accepted reality.

Beloved and Magical Realism

Beloved is written in the tradition of magical realism. The characters in beloved take supernatural happenings as a part of their otherwise normal lives. For example, Sethe does not question the fact that the ghost of her baby lives in her house; it is just there. The element of the ghost of Sethe's baby in the book seems to be unresolved. We are given a rational alternative to Beloved's identity, but we are never told if it's true. In fact, the novel seems to suggest that the ghost explanation is the 'right one.'

It is often said that magical realism is a literary form which gives expression to the to the story of the oppressed - never is this more apparent than in Beloved.

Do Ghosts Exist in Beloved?

The first chapter of Beloved is pretty confusing because of all the flashbacks and unclear dialogue, but the most confusing part of it was the ghost in the hallway downstairs. Sethe and Denver both know and recognize the presence of the ghost of the baby Beloved, to a reader who doesn't believe in ghosts, it is easy to imagine that the ghostly presence is simply a figment of their imagination. Especially when she remembers the sadness of the presence, the reasonable assumption at the beginning was that there was no real ghost but instead Sethe was regularly remembering the sadness associated with losing her baby. 

However, the ghost's existence becomes more realistic when Paul D arrives and also recognizes the sad presence in the hallway. Again, that initial recognition didn't prove the existence of the ghost until the ghost acts up and Paul D has to physically attack the ghost. It was not until the ghost actually seemed to respond to the attack that I really accepted that the ghost was real. 

Another confusion, though, arose when the ghost seemed to disappear after Paul D's attack, which initially seemed like the ghost had just calmed down for a moment. But then both women in the house, Sethe and Denver, make references to the ghost actually being gone. So I finally accepted that the ghost existed in the first place, but now is the ghost gone for sure? Will it come back? 

The Concept of Beloved

After Beloved appears out of the water and is received by Sethe and Denver, the book gives you many context clues as to who she is. They describe her as being in her late teens, or early adulthood, yet her skin is flawless. She doesn't even have any wrinkles on her knuckles. She looks brand new. Additionally, their dog called Here Boy immediately scurries away in fear. This can be explained by the treatment the dog received at the beginning of the book. Sethe recalls when Here Boy is thrown against the wall of their house by Beloved in her ghost form. So it's pretty for the dog to be afraid of Beloved and want to run away. However, there are multiple points about the book and Beloved that honestly confuse me as this book is unraveling.

How does is take Sethe such a long time to realize that this girl is her daughter? And additionally, if she didn't know for that long, why did she take care of a complete stranger like she was her own? Maybe she hoped that this daughter, and unconsciously knew the truth before she actually figured it out. And while there is no way Sethe would be able to recognize the girl, since she lost Beloved at such a young age, there were multiple clues other than the dog and the new skin to realize that this was no average girl.

Is this actually Beloved? Or is this going to be one of those books where you find out at the end that Sethe ending up going insane from her extremely traumatic past, and has been hallucinating her life every since, and that Denver either left her years ago or died, and Beloved is just another hallucination that haunts her from her past? This could be one of those stories where Beloved is basically just a symbol or theme for something bigger then herself, and she was never there in the first place. Just thoughts, you know?

How (or what) is exactly Beloved?

At first read into the novel Beloved, many readers may seem satisfied with the notion that Beloved is merely just Sethe's baby's ghost taking a human form. Even the characters in the book seem to believe that Beloved is just a ghost transformed back into a human. However, at closer examination (and knowing how Toni Morrison seems to always leave a deeper meaning to characters and motifs in her novels), one really questions what Beloved is exactly.

It's clear that some may strongly agree that Beloved is just a physical representation of a ghost because the book explicitly states that. There is even textual evidence that Beloved could potentially be just a "regular" ghost taking shape in a "regular" human. For example, the fact that once Paul D appears into Sethe's life, Beloved's ghost magically disappears, and the house lacks its haunting qualities as a result. Also the fact that once the house seems to be rid of any sort of spiritual forces, Beloved (as a human) arrives onto the steps of 124.

But yet, there is textual evidence that refutes the idea that Beloved is just Sethe's baby's ghost taken human form. Take into consideration the passage when Beloved is recounting her past, and how she originally showed up onto the steps of 124. She mentions "men with no skin", and while yes, they are supposed to represent white men, couldn't these "men without skin", also represent skeletons? After all, skeletons literally don't have any skin. In addition, Beloved mentions dead men on her face. Again, yes, this could be symbolic of the millions of men and women that have died during the Middle Passage, but they also could represent the deceased spirits who have traveled to hell, purgatory, or the underworld. With this under consideration, what if Beloved is more than just a ghost? What if Beloved is something darker and more ghoulish, like a demon of some sort?

Similarly, what if Beloved isn't just a ghost or demon or spiritual force, but an embodiment of Sethe's traumatizing experiences as a slave and guilt for killing her baby girl? Even when taking into consideration the ending of the book when Beloved is getting bigger and bigger while Sethe is getting frailer and frailer. This simple statement could symbolize Sethe's guilt and trauma eating her up, and her inability to cope with them. As they get gain more control of not only her life, but also her thoughts, Sethe is seen getting weaker and unable to fight them any longer.

Essentially, Beloved could potentially be something much greater than just a ghost taking a human form. Beloved could really be anything, given the perspective of the situation and what you believe she is.

Slavery and Seeing Ghosts

When we got Beloved in class, I glanced at the back of the book summary and learned that the novel is set in the 1800's when slavery was still in full swing. What I would soon learn is that this book is about so much more than conquering and living through slavery. There's another huge element of the book that makes it even more intriguing; the fact that Sethe and her family are being hunted by a ghost. And not just any ghost, the ghost of her dead baby that she murdered. To me, this added a whole new layer of interest to Beloved.

My grandparents and most of my cousins live in California so since I've been five, my family has usually flown out during the summer to see them. There's a certain village called Old Town because it's one of the oldest parts of San Diego. They have an old fashioned candy store and then also a lot more modern shops and restaurants on the surrounding streets. Shopping and eating are fun but my favorite part of the day is going to the Whaley House.

The Whaley House is ranked as one of the most famous haunted houses in America and I can personally vouch that that title is well deserved. The house was designed by Thomas Whaley and then built in 1855 when he moved his wife, Anna, and their six children there to live. A few months after moving, their youngest child, still an infant, Thomas Jr., died of Scarlet Fever. And that was just the beginning of bad omens for the Whaley's. People have claimed to hear a baby wailing or have said they see the baby's old cradle moving on tours.

As it happens, the house was cursed from the beginning. Built on the site where a man named Yankee Jim Robinson, a man infamous in San Diego for lying and stealing, was hung, his ghost is said to haunt the house since the Whaley's moved in. Violet Whaley, one of the oldest daughters, committed suicide in their outhouse by shooting herself with her father's gun. By the time her father ran out and brought her inside, she had already died. Some say they see a young women dressed in older fashioned clothes disappear in mid air or get hit by a wave of absolute despair when near the outhouse. It is assumed that she suffered from severe clinical depression and spiraled when her fiance left her, turning out to be a con man just wanting her money. I've caught multiple orbs (circular balls of energy that in the right context, can represent a ghost)  by the outhouse when it's too dark to be dust or anything my phone created.

Since I was 9 or 10, I've always had a connection with the house. From seeing apparitions appear in front of me to feeling the Whaley's dog brush against my leg, I've always experienced something that my brother and mother never have. I've even caught orbs on camera in places where I felt an energy draw to me. Clearly I believe in ghosts and while it may sound crazy, I have always felt a connection to the "other side."

When we dove into the possible theory that Beloved could be Sethe's baby reincarnated and learned about the whole plot of the ghost that haunts her house, it immediately caught my attention. I really like how Morrison added this to the plot because it adds another layer to the novel that you don't usually read about in books set during slavery or about slavery. Whether you're a skeptic or a fully fledged believer, I think this element to the story line makes the book even more unique and intriguing than it already is.

Orb in the lower right corner

Orb by the outhouse in middle left corner

The white area that looks like Thomas Whaley

Ghost to Me

Before my ballet performance this past Saturday, I plugged my phone into the speakers in the dressing room and put on a playlist to calm me and my friends down. As my friend braided my hair before I put on my flower wreath and tutu, I passively leafed through the pages of Beloved, contemplating whether or not I should try to focus on homework. It was then that I noticed the song "Ghost to Me" by Youth Lagoon was playing. It felt like a great coincidence, and I eagerly told the people around me how the song links with Morrison's writing. 

Toni Morrison's signature mix of shifting points of view, figurative language, and supernatural elements works to establish Beloved as an entity with both human emotion and otherworldly attributes. At first, Beloved is an immature, angry spirit, and as time passes, she appears as a curious human girl. Throughout the novel, her presence receives mixed responses--Denver has a deep need to keep her around, Paul D feels pushed away--but Sethe's acceptance of the ghost baby is fairly consistent. 

This acceptance reminds me of the lyrics in "Ghost to Me." The former half of the song references more personal events and latter half of the song is solely instrumental, but the middle stanza of the song stands out to me. It goes, "Home is where I call the ghost my own / that haunts the basement where I sleep alone / It's seen the burns on my skin showing bones / and asks me why I still sleep with my phone." Sethe has lived her entire free life in 124, tolerating the malevolence of her baby's spirit that drives everyone else away. "Home" is 124, since it is where she can call "the ghost" (Beloved) "my own" (since it is her daughter, and she can take ownership of her life at 124 rather than live by the Garners' commands at Sweet Home). Beloved haunts the entire house, where Sethe sleeps alone before and after Paul D. Finally, the "burns on my skin showing bones" can parallel the chokecherry tree scar on Sethe's back - Beloved has seen and felt the brutality and consequences of slavery. And though the book was written before the cell phone was invented, the concept of asking someone why they sleep with their phone can relate to the way that Beloved cares for Sethe, and the phone could symbolize a desire to find a long-lost connection (like Sethe feels about her other children and Halle).

I'm not sure if anyone else here on Word Choices has heard this song or thinks it relates to the book, but it's very beautiful and soothing to me! Here is the link if anyone is interested. The whole album is great too.