124 was spiteful. Full of a baby's venom. The women in the house knew it and so did the children.
For years each put up with the spite in his own way, but by 1873 Sethe and her daughter Denver were its only victims. The grandmother, Baby Suggs, was dead, and the sons, Howard and Buglar, had run away by the time they were thirteen years old—as soon as merely looking in a mirror shattered it (1).
Morrison introduces, what I think, is going to be a prevalent theme throughout the novel. This first page struck questions about the baby and why only some ran away from the house. Looking at the text closer I can see the only ones running were the boys and men. But, this idea of the supernatural and ghosts doesn't disappear as it shows up soon after, "Baby Suggs died shortly after the brothers left, with no interest whatsoever in their leave-taking or hers, and right afterward Sethe and Denver decided to end the persecution by calling forth the ghost that tried them so" (2). Sethe and Denver approach the ghost with a casual tone. The description of how they react to the ghost isn't fear or running from it like the men did when it was previously mentioned.
At this point I am not sure whether or not these supernatural mentions are manifested in the physical world. One idea could be that these instances, where supernatural forces play a role in the lives of these characters, are ways they are understanding and acknowledging the world around them. But, on the other hand, these encounters with the ghost and other supernatural mysteries are actually occurring. If that is the case, I am very interested in the story behind it all and what it means.
Discussuin Question: Do you believe these supernatural occurrences are "real?" If so, why do some react the way they do?
I agree that it might be important that only the brothers run away from the ghost (although Denver later says that she thinks the ghost wasn't the reason), while Denver tries to befriend it, but I think the example of Paul D so far shows that not all men react the same way to the ghost. As for the reality of the supernatural, I think all that matters is that the ghost is real to the characters, affecting their behavior. The supernatural in the novel seems to function as a hyperbolic representation of the characters' internal conflicts.
ReplyDelete