Monday, November 21, 2016

Baby Denver

Reading the most recently assigned chapters I stumbled upon a comment made by Sethe that mentions Denver's age as around 18 years old. This completely shocked me as I have pictured Denver in my mind as a young girl, certainly not a young adult. As I wondered why I had never thought to create Denver as an older character in my mind, it occurred to me that her behaviors and mannerisms in the story lead us to believe Denver is much younger than she is. The horrors of 124 and Sethe's past have made Denver far more dependent on the place and her mother than most 18 year olds. But I do not think that is of any fault of Denver. Sethe's need to overprotect her children because of her past and not being able to be a mother when she was a slave has made her baby Denver. She protects Denver in a way that has not allowed her to be an independent adult. Sethe fears the outside world and what it might do to her daughter, so she keeps her close and safe while at the same time not allowing her to grow up. This is in no way a conscious decision made by Sethe. This is a part of the horrible life Sethe has had and it is part of her way of coping.
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 21, 2016 at 4:14 PM

    I agree that it was very shocking to discover Denver's age. She seemed so innocent and youthful, making it frankly strange to me that she was actually 18. I also believe Sethe was a major factor in making me think Denver was so young.

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  2. AnonymousNovember 21, 2016 at 4:57 PM

    I agree. I though she was a lot younger than 18 until her age was mentioned, and even remembered in our class discussion that people were unsure of her age and thought she was much younger than she was. And I really like and agree with your explanation for why.

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  3. AnonymousNovember 21, 2016 at 5:41 PM

    I completely didn't notice that either, although now it makes sense because it said it had been 18 years since "The Misery" happened. I definitely agree that Denver seems more childish because of her confined upbringing. There are so many experiences that have to happen outside the house that are so integral to what is considered a "normal" upbringing.

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