Thursday, November 12, 2015
Amy & Sethe
While reading Beloved, I found the interactions between Amy and Sethe quite strange. While of course it was great that Amy decided to help Sethe and help her deliver Denver, she would not fully treat her with respect and still had a patronizing tone while talking to her. Obviously, Beloved is a racially charged book, but I was really surprised when Amy used the n-word to describe a woman who had once come by her house (94). I'd figured that as long as she was helping Sethe, she would be an overall good and non-racist person. But racism was (and still is) such a systemized and normal thing back then, that she surely thought that the n-word was simply the word to describe a black individual. I was also surprised by the way she talked down to Sethe. "She don't know nothing, just like you. You don't know a thing. End up dead, that's what. Not me. I'm a get to Boston and get myself some velvet." (94) I don't think Amy was the brightest person, either, which could be the reason that she kept repeating how she was going to Boston. Either that or she needed to keep rubbing it in Sethe's face, which in of itself is bogus. There's no doubt that Amy is a compassionate person; she massaged Sethe's feet, did her best to keep her comfortable, and draped spider webs over her wounds. In Sethe's situation, Amy was certainly better than no one. Still, it seemed weird and patronizing (which could just be the times talking) how Amy talked to her.
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I agree that there was no full mutual recognition between Amy and Sethe. I think Amy is a poor white girl who is not very educated, so maybe that's why she keeps repeating herself. There were moments where I thought Amy was the best thing for Sethe in her situation, and there were other times that I noticed the still present binary.
ReplyDeleteGlad you posted this, because I noticed the same thing. But you made good a point at the end: "it could just be the times talking". The nomenclature was different.
ReplyDeleteI definitely noticed this too! It's like, even though Amy helps Sethe so much and makes her feel better about the birth of Denver, there is still that strong feeling of racism between them. I really loved reading the interactions between Amy and Sethe and I think it was interesting to see how they treat each other.
ReplyDeleteWhile at times it does seem that Amy is being racist, I think it is mostly the times causing her to act this way. Like Tosin says, there is clearly a binary present. But I think it's more because that was the way society worked at that time than Amy being a truly racist person
ReplyDeleteWhile at times it does seem that Amy is being racist, I think it is mostly the times causing her to act this way. Like Tosin says, there is clearly a binary present. But I think it's more because that was the way society worked at that time than Amy being a truly racist person
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tosin and Duncan. There definitely is a binary present and this binary is just ever present during that time period. One thing this interaction reminded me of was how maybe Amy almost sought to distinguish this binary further through helping Sethe showing herself that she was dominant to Sethe like Heart of Darkness, but I don't think this was a conscious choice and that she was also driven by compassion.
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