Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Sethe
In Toni Morrison's Beloved, Morrison centers the novel's narrative around Sethe. At the beginning of the book Sethe is portrayed as this courageous and loving mother. That is why the end of Chapter 18 was such a shock to me. Sethe murdered her own daughter, Beloved, hoping to keep her safe from slave catchers. At first I thought Sethe was crazy, but then I started to think of all the horrible things Sethe has experienced while being a slave. Slavery is the indirect cause of why Sethe killed her own child. I do not think anyone will ever truly understand what she went through, so for me it is hard to judge what Sethe did. This all makes me wonder what the story would have been like if the characters were not African American. If they were white, this story might not have even existed.
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I agree Caitlin, I don´t think it´s fair for any of us to judge what Sethe did no matter how irrational we view it. If the characters were white I don´t believe the story would have existed because Sethe would not have gone through all the terrible things she went through at Sweet Home.
ReplyDeleteI also agree. I think you can look at what other characters have to say on the matter and then, you can choose to look at it in away that another character see it or at least, acknowledge it. Slavery and the surrounding culture judge on since we have no experience in system like it.
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ReplyDeleteI don't think that Sethe was justified when she killed Beloved. Although she did not Beloved to have the same experience that she had she did not have the right to make that final decision. I agree with Paul D, her love was too deep.
ReplyDeleteWe definitely cannot judge Sethe's actions because we really do not understand the despair at that time and the harsh decisions slaves had to make. I think it is interesting though about you point if the character was white instead of black. I mean we know the story would be different but I mean we can't make the assumption that she would not kill her child. I think overall super interesting topic.
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