For some historical background to slavery, have a look at this website:www.pathways.thinkport.org
If you want to supplement our class notes on the novel, try: www.grade-saver.com
Now add your own notes and comments. Remember to state your name at the start of each comment.
25 comments:
Martin & Mathew
This is a link to two Beloved Notes sites. Sparknotes is recommended.
Beloved Notes - Sparknotes
Beloved Notes - Bookrags
Megan
The main themes of the book "Beloved" by Toni Morrison are:
*MOTHERHOOD
*SLAVERY
*BURDEN OF THE PAST
Megan
The key incidents of the book "Beloved" by Toni Morrison are:
*The death of Mr Garner and the arrival of schoolteacher.
*Halle witnesses Sethe's rape.
*Paul D's experiences from his time at Sweet Home.
*The escape from Sweet Home.
*Sethe's murder of her toddler.
*Paul D's experiences after Sweet Home.
*Baby Suggs death.
*Paul D arrives.
*Paul D and Sethe go up stairs to have sex.
*First sighting of the baby ghost.
*Paul D asks to stay.
*Paul D, Sethe and Denver go to the carnival.
*The arrival of Beloved.
*Denver questions Beloved.
*Sethe is strangled in clearing.
*Paul D moves out and has sex with Beloved.
*Paul D finds out about Sethte's murder of the toddler.
*Paul D leaves.
*Sethe devotes herself to Beloved.
*Denver goes to see Lady Jones.
*Denver takes on the motherly role within the household.
*Sethte's attack on Mr Bodwin.
*Paul D's return.
Beloved is set in the United States during the mid 1800's, before, during and after the civil war. The contemporary events of the novel are set after the war, in Cincinatti, Ohio.
We often see the novel refering back to events on a plantation known as Sweet Home. The timeline for these moments is before the abolishment of slavery. Sweet Home is located in Kentucky.
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The first link is a map of the United States. The second link is a closer view of the states circled in red in the first image.
Map of America
Kentucky & Ohio
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The setting plays a key role in the theme's explored in Beloved, as Morrison's aims of this novel are to explore slavery and its legacy. Slavery is a significant part of American history, which is why this setting is extremely important.
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Posted by Martin & Mathew btw!
Martin & Mathew
Baby Suggs
Baby Suggs is Sethe's mother-in-law who was bought out of slavery by her son, Halle, at Sweet Home. Sethe was her replacement on the plantation, and Baby Suggs took Sethe and her children into 124, her home in Cincinnati. Among the Negro community of Cincinnati, Baby Suggs was an informal spiritual leader, referred to as Baby Suggs, holy. She was respected in the community, and her home was a way station for news and refuge and company until Sethe murdered her daughter there. After that, the neighbours shunned the family, and Baby Suggs gave up her faith and resigned to her bed to contemplate colour until she died.
Her role in the novel is to convey to the reader that black mothers cannot get to attached to their children due to the effects of slavery. We see the effects of slavery on the victim’s families through Baby Suggs because she was a free woman she understood and was able to reflect upon the consequences of loving your children too much like Sethe did this creates a contrast between the two mothers showing how Baby Suggs is an effective portrayal of the mother figure who is a slave.
“I had eight. Every one of them gone away from me. Four taken, four chased, and all, I expect, worrying somebody’s house into evil.”
With Baby Suggs we see how slavery can disrupt the normal family life, denied both mothers and children the loving relationship they should be entitled to.
She is a strong character like Sethe; she was admired and respected in her community. Her story is a sad one because she has lost all her children and she is mentally scarred and worn out due to “the white man” (slavery) but because of her enduring strength she was able to live through so many hardships brought on by slavery.
In the black community she was well respected by everyone, since she preached and supported everyone in the community. She had a strong presence, and her impact on the characters in the novel is everlasting throughout the course of the book. We think that due to Baby Suggs strong personal qualities that she would come across as an intimidating but respected character.
Megan Margaret and Laura
Character Study of Sethe:
Personal Qualities
*Independant
*Strong
"I will never run away from another thing on this earth"
*Cold Personality, this shows Sethe keeps people out. She has learnt to do this for her survival.
"Iron eyes"
"Lay em down, Sethe sword and shield"- Thi is advice given to her by Baby Suggs so Sethe can forget the past and move on with her life.
*Damaged
-she is able to watch things which other people would normally noy be able to watch.
Sethe has a scaron her back. This is from when she got whipped at the same time as her rape. "wrought-iron maze" - this shows the skin around he scar is dead and it is textured like an inanimate object.
There is a milk image continuously used to describe Sethe. It is used in different contexts throughout the novel:
*at Sethe's rape
*her escape from Sweet Home
*the nourishment of her children
Sethe has never been able to forgive herself for the murder of her toddler. She shows great joy and excitement when she finds out the Beloved is theghost of her daughter. Sethe becomes possessive and devoted to Beloved.
Sethe has had a very unhappy life and at some points in the novel Sethe seemed very desperate:
"28 happy days which were followed by 18 years of disapproval and solitary life"
There is a turnng point in the novel where Sethe goes from being the strong character to being besotted by Beloved. At this point in the novel Sethe appears to be ground down by life just like Baby Suggs was. Sethe begins to act more like a young girl and it is at this point that Denver takes on the motherly role of the household.
Readers reaction to Sethe
Sethe appears to be quite a threatening character but at the same time the reader can sympathise with her because of all the traumas she has been through.
Sethe is not a character that we can relate to because of the fact that she is such a damaged person.
Martin & Mathew
Denver
Denver is Sethe's 18-year-old daughter born on the Ohio River with the help of a white girl as Sethe was escaping to freedom. She survived her mother's attempted murder and stayed in jail with Sethe because she was still nursing. Denver is lonely at 124 (Sethe's house) because she hasn't gone beyond the yard in 10 years. The townspeople avoid Sethe and her family after the murder. When Beloved comes, Denver is possessive of her because she believes Beloved to be her sister's ghost come to life to keep her company. Denver tries to protect Beloved from Sethe because she is afraid that Sethe may try to kill one or both of them again. Denver ends up being the one to go outside of 124 to get help in the end and takes care of Sethe once Beloved leaves.
In the course of the novel we see how Denver matures from a spoiled little girl when Paul D arrives to a grown up woman who ultimately saves the family.
At the start of the novel we see Denver’s immature reaction to Paul D’s arrival.
Throughout the novel she never thinks to highly of him because of this as she is jealous. She is no longer receiving Sethe’s attention. Although at the end of the novel we see how Denver communicates differently with Paul D now in a civil manner,
this shows that she has matured. To overcome this fear she shows her bravery when she goes and gets Lady Jones for help even thought she hasn’t ventured out of her house alone for the past ten years.
At the start of the novel Denver is devastated when Paul D exorcises the ghost from 124 because she thought of is as her only friend.
She is very possessive of Beloved and caring for her helps her attitudes to mature.
Although she matures when she realises the danger her mother is in, at one point in the novel she admits that she would support Beloved over her mother in a fight; she is ashamed of herself because of this.
Our view on Denver changes when she does this, as previously we think she was almost spoiled. But now we see her as a brave character that is willing to take responsibility to help her mother, when the incidents occurring are not her fault.
Please add comment and quotes for this character summary of Denver. Thanks
Martin & Fraser & Stefan
Paul D
Paul D was a slave with Sethe in Kentucky, but did not manage to escape with her. For 18 years or so, he endured a cycle of running away and being caught again, finally ending up in Cincinnati at Sethe's front door. Like Sethe, his past is too horrible to bear and so he stores it in the "tobacco tin" of his heart, leading a sort of half-life. While staying with Sethe, Paul D manages to confront his past in the form of Beloved, and also learns what it means to finally lay down his load and rest.
Seth
Martin, Stefan, Kieran
Beloved
Beloved is Sethe's third child, murdered at the age of one and a ghost in 124 for the next twenty years. She is reborn in that twentieth year, but though 21 years old in appearance, her mind is that of a child. Thus, Beloved both seeks Sethe's affections as well as vengeance for a murder she cannot understand. In the novel, she serves both as a character as well as a symbol for the past and the sixty-million slaves killed in the Middle Passage.
Eilidh
BELOVED
Beloved is the eponymous character of Toni Morrison's novel Beloved. She can be interpreted in many ways by the reader, but for the most part the author leaves her character rather ambiguous. This allows the reader to make up their own mind about Beloved.
*****
Here is a basic rundown of how each of the main characters in the novel perceived Beloved:
SETHE:
Sethe sees Beloved as the physical manifestation of the daughter she murdered with her own hands, or rather that Beloved is her daughter returned from the dead.
Martin Stefan Kieran
Beloved
Role of Beloved is a bit more ambigous. There are lots of clues that suggest that Beloved is the murdered daughter of Sethe but we never actually find out her name. Another interpretation of her role is that she is the physical incarnation of Sethe's supressed memories which must be confronted before she moves on.
sethe
was a slave in Sweethome. She went there to replace
she didnt know her mother as she was always working on the plantation. All she knew about her mother was the fact that she was branded and that she wore a cloth hat. Even as a 39year old Sethe still feels that her mother hurt her by denying her the right to know her. Sethe was nursed by a woman called "Nana"
she was married to Halle at the age of 15
she has had four children (2boys 2girls).The boys ran away from the house because of the polterguist. She murdered her first born child to save her from slavery
Her relationship with Paul D started at Sweethome when they worked together on the plantation. Both characters can relate to their horrific experinces of torture and slavery.
Paul D was Halle's best friend in Sweet Home
she escapes from sweethome whilst pregnent with daughter Denver.Whilst on the run from Sweethome Sethe goes into labour and is helped by a litle white girl named Amy Denver. She names her daughter after the little girl
she is a strong person (references to iron thoughout the whole novel proves this)
Martin Stefan Kieran
Stamp Paid
Stamp Paid is a former slave who helps Sethe to freedom using the Underground Railroad and later saves Denver’s life. While in slavery he endured emotional and moral traumas which proveked him to change his name. By the end of the book he thinks he owes it to Sethe to help her. Angered by the community’s neglect of Sethe, Denver, and Paul D, Stamp begins to question the nature of a community’s obligations to its members.
Stefan MArtin Kieran
Schoolteacher
After the death of Mr Garner (the plantation owner) Mrs Garner his widow brings school teacher and his nephews to run the slave plantation. He is a harsh cold hearted man and the slaves take a dislike to him due to the way he treats them compared to the Garners
He scrutinises the slaves, which involves asking questions, taking physical measurements, and teaching lessons to his white pupils on the slaves’ “animal characteristics.”
Martin Stefan Kierimodo
Halle
The son of Baby Suggs and Sethe's husband, he is a kind, giving, caring husband. He gave up his one day off (Sundays) to do extra work to pay for his mother's freedom. Schoolteacher stops this privilage and this provokes the escape because of the fear of not being set free.
But during their stay at the plantation Sethe's rape by schoolteacher’s nephews’ makes him eventually go mad, and dissapear.
Nattie and Gail
- Sethe -
Sethe compares herself to a snake as she feels dangerous.
The milk imagery has twice been used in very unpleasant circumstances, when she was raped and during her escape. This shows her discomfort, milk should be associated with love nourishment.
Sethe has too much love for her children; it is risky to love your children that much because of slavery.
“Something’s pass, something’s stay” Unresolved issues make it hard to move on; the past is still with her. She doesn’t want slavery to happen again, she tries to protect her daughter.
Sethe’s has “iron eyes”, she keeps people out. There is coldness about her.
“Decorative work of an ironsmith” describes her scars. There are a lot of them and they are intricate looking. This tells you about the texture of her skin, her skin is dead because of this, she has no sensation of touch on her back. It is described as an inanimate object.
Sethe explains how she had 18 years of misery as a slave, 28 days of freedom until schoolteacher comes and then another 18 years of misery. She then had a few months of normal life with Paul D but now he is gone too.
Was just on to see what was being done in class and am finding the notes, especially the character notes in Beloved, very helpful!!
Glad you could join us Laura! Hopefully you're recovering well and will be back with us soon.
Laura
Paul D
- lived at sweet home, knew Sethe and Halle from Sweet Home though never escaped with them - " Her story was bearable because it was his as well." He is the only male survivor from Sweet Home. This makes him very strong.
- he is very brave as he has been the only person to confront the poltergiest.
- He is very supportive and friendly towards Sethe as she tells him about her beatings.
- he is a man who woman can let their defenses down to (pg 17), he is the type woman can confide in. He seems very sympathetic towards Sethe.
- He moves in with Sethe and Denver and at the carnival offers Sethe "a life".
- feels that Denver needs to grown up more as she is very child like for her age.
- does not like Beloved, does not like the glow around her, he is very suspicious of her as they are given no proper information about where she came from.
- "tobacco tin buried in his chest where a red heart used to be. Its lid is rusted shut." This shows that Paul D does not feel very much emotion. By limiting the emotion he is able to cope more. There is a contrast between the rusted heart and the red heart which he should have.
- he was kept in awful conditions in Sweet home. He lived in ditches 5ft deep and 5ft wide. Here we are told of how the men spoke with their eyes, this gives the reader insight into slavery and how the men communicated.
- He is now able to feel again as there is an image of his rusted tobacco tin opening, his defenses have been broken by Beloved - "red heart". He feels that Beloved should be ttreating Sethe better.
- he leaves 124 after finding out about the murder of the toddler.
Tells Sethe that her love is too thick and that she isn't an animal - "you got two feet Sethe, not four"
-he begins to feel lonely and unhappy with his life towards the end of the novel.
- he returns to 124 to help Sethe. Feels that Sethe has helped him to feel better about himself. He has very complex felings towards her when he returns because she murdered her daughter.
-Mathew-
Character Related Quotes
Quotes relating to the different characters. Useful for the exam.
Sethe
"wrought iron maze"
"iron eyes"
"black as her skin, she looked blind"
These all describe Sethe's eyes and give an insight into her character. The iron eyes, and eyes black as her skin give a sense that you cannot see into her eyes. This has connotations of the phrase: "The eyes are a window to the soul." Not being able to see through iron, or the black eyes is a suggestion that Sethe's soul has been torn apart throughout her harsh life. This links to the theme of Slavery, and how badly it affects its victims, and how emotionless they may become.
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"I will never run away from another thing on this earth"
This shows how strong a person that Sethe is. Should be used in conjunction with the above points about iron, and the incident with Here-boy and the poltergeist. This links with the theme of slavery, showing how ex-slaves have seen the worst of the world during their life as a slave, and nothing else is able to scare Sethe.
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"28 happy days which were followed by 18 years of disapproval and solitary life"
Proof of Sethe's unhappy life; the life of a slave. It shows that even after she gains freedom, the shadow of slavery still looms overheard. Links to the theme of slavery.
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"And if she thought anything, it was No. No. Nono. Nonono. Simple. She just flew. Collected every bit of life she had made, all the parts of her that were precious and fine and beautiful, and carried, pushed, dragged them through the veil, out, away, over there where no one could hurt them."
This is Sethe's instinctive reaction to seeing 'schoolteacher' approaching. The minute she see's his hat, a reaction sparks within her, causing her to act irrationally -as we see with the murder of her child-. The seclusion of the word "simple" emphasises how basic her instincts were, that there was little or no thought in her actions. It could also suggest how easy it was for her to murder her child. She says that her children were parts of her, that were: "precious and fine and beautiful". Sethe clearly values her children dearly, even more than herself. She loves her children to much. "Your love is too thick." As Paul D says. Also to link with this quote: "You got two feet Sethe. Not four." Relates to her almost animalistic nature here. "Over there where no one could hurt them." Necessarily doesn't relate to the shed, but to death. She feels if they are no longer alive then they are save from the experiences that she endured throughout her life. These points relate to the theme of Motherhood: that Sethe feels killing her children to save them is the right thing to do, that she did it with love.
The murder of the toddler
This is significant to the rest of the novel as it shows just how much trauma Sethe had been put through and how she did not want her children living a life of slavery. If she had not done so then perhaps Beloved would not have arrived.
Themes
All three themes are linked in with this key incident:
- Motherhood – it inforces this idea of Sethe having too much love for her children because slave children were denied their children.
- Slavery – this idea that slavery destroys motherhood.
- The burden of the past – Sethe’s past was too much for her to let her children experience.
Situation
After escaping from Sweet Home having been raped and whipped, Sethe took her children out to he cold house of her mother-in-law’s house where she took a handsaw to her eldest daughter’s throat. Baby Suggs and Stamp Paid, in shock, witnessed this experience. school teacher, in coming to take Sethe back to Sweet Home, found her sitting in a pool of her daughter’s blood.
- the incident is told through the eyes of non of the main characters, distancing us from what is happening as if we are watching the main characters as an outsider would. It is told through the eyes of the slave catcher, school teacher, his nephew who raped her, and the sheriff.
- “unlike a snake or a bear, a dead nigger could not be skinned for profit and was not worth his own dead weight in coin.” – shows that slaves were valued lower than slaves because animals could be skinned for profit, shows how disgusting slavery was. This is said by the slave catcher who is also very racist towards Baby Suggs and Stamp Paid.
- he describes them as being “crazy” and “crazy old nigger” because of how they are acting when really they are shocked at the murder they are witnessing. What is ironic is the fact that when the white men see Sethe murdering her daughter, they react in the same way.
- Toni Morrison uses simple statements to describe the murder to show how horrifying it is without exaggeration.
- school teacher feels that his slaves are worthless when he used to value Sethe’s work: “ the woman school teacher bragged about”
- did it because she was raped, she is trying to save her children from slavery
- “nigger eyes” describes Sethe, the reader doesn’t know how to react, horrified at what is being done, or towards the nephews racist comments.
- “she looked blind” – Sethe’s eyes, shows that she herself is in shock and regrets doing it.
- when nursing Denver, she didn’t clean the blood from her, Denver drank some of her blood – shows the horror of the situation and how Sethe herself is in shock.
- went to prison for it and took her children with her.
- was punished by the community for doing what she done, the ignored her and her family
- Denver went deaf as people at her school began to ask questions of her mother’s past, was frightened of her mother as a child.
- Paul D is horrified by her story and leaves.
- Sethe and Denver believe that Beloved is the murdered child and Sethe becomes devoted to her to try and make up for it by being at Beloved’s constant beck and call: “Sethe was trying to make up for the handsaw, Beloved was making her pay for it” – she eventually becomes ground down by life like Baby Suggs and gives up on life – slavery, the burden of the past.
Character Related Quotes
Quotes relating to the different characters. Useful for the exam.
Baby Suggs
”I had eight. Every one of them gone away from me. Four taken, four chased, and all I expect worrying someone’s house into evil.”
This quote shows the situation of all of Baby Suggs eight children. She wasn’t able to keep a single one of them. This links to the theme of Motherhood: showing how slave mothers were denied the right to be a mother to their own children.
“That’s all you let yourself remember,”
This is a quote from Sethe following Baby Suggs’ mention of the child who liked burnt bread. This is evidence of Baby Suggs’ attitude towards loving your children and becoming attached. She deliberately didn’t allow herself to remember anything about her children, this links to motherhood, but also to the burden of the past: as she is unable to cope with the grief of missing her children.
"Nobody stopped playing checkers just because the pieces included her children."
This portrays slavery as a game, the white men being the players. This is effective as the game involves white and black pieces which represent the two races. It portrays white men as malicious people, playing with her children.
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“Baby Suggs, holy.”
Upon learning of Baby Suggs’ preaching, she is referred to by many characters in the book as this. The inversion here places emphasis on the word ‘holy’, portraying Baby Suggs as an almost angelic character in the eyes of the black community.
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“nobody said you-black-bitch-what’s-the-matter-with-you and nobody knocked her down.”
While this describes the kindness of the Garner’s, it portrays the violent attitude of white people that Baby Suggs despises. The bluntness of “you-black-bitch” makes it seem quite brutal and harsh, which emphasises how violent the white men were towards slaves.
"Because slave life had 'busted her legs, back, head, eyes, hands, kidneys, womb and tongue,' she had nothing left to make a living with but her heart-which she put to work at once"
The list here emphasises the amount of damage, physically, that is involved in being a slave. It suggests that white men completely beat them down. This links to the them of slavery.
“Lay down your sword. This ain't a battle; it's a rout"
This portrays the futility of trying to fight against the white man.
Quotes for exams! These are just quotes to remember, analysing them is up to you. Lol @ u.
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“Unlike a snake or a bear, a dead nigger could not be skinned for profit and was not worth its dead weight in coin.” – Slavery
“crazy old nigger” – Slavery
“the woman schoolteacher bragged about” – Slavery
“Sethe was trying to make up for the handsaw; Beloved was making her pay for it.” – Burden of the past
“I had eight. Every one of them gone away from me. Four taken, four chased, and all I expect worrying someone’s house into evil.” – Motherhood, Slavery
“That’s all you let yourself remember.” – Motherhood, Burden of the past
“Nobody stopped playing checkers just because the pieces included her children.” – Motherhood, Slavery
“Baby Suggs, holy.” – Burden of the past
“Nobody said you-black-bitch-what’s-the-matter-with-you and nobody knocked her down.” – Slavery
“Because, slave life had busted her legs, back, head, eyes, hands, kidneys, womb and tongue, she had nothing left to make a living with but her heart. Which she put to work at once.” – Burden of the past, Slavery
“Lay down your sword. This ain’t a battle; it’s a rout.” – Slavery, Burden of past
“wrought iron maze” – Slavery
“Iron eyes” – Slavery, burden of the past
“black as her skin, she looked blind” – Slavery
“I will never run away from another thing on this earth.” – Slavery
“28 happy days which were followed by 18 years of disapproval and solitary life.” – Slavery, burden of the past
“And if she thought anything, it was No. No. Nono. Nonono. Simple. She just flew. Collected every bit of life she had made, every part of her that was precious and fine and beautiful, and carried them, pushed, dragged them through the veil, away, over where no one could hurt them.” – Slavery, Burden of the past
“Your love is too thick.” – Motherhood
“You got two feet Sethe, not four.” – Slavery
“With those assurances, Denver left, but not before she had seen, sitting on a shelf by the back door, a blackboy’s mouth full of money.” – Slavery
"tobacco tin buried in his chest where a red heart used to be. Its lid is rusted shut." – Burden of the past
"Her story was bearable because it was his as well." – Burden of the past
"If a Negro got legs he ought to use them. Sit down too long, somebody will figure out a way to tie them up." – Slavery
"Denver hated the stories her mother told that did not concern herself, which is why Amy was all she ever asked about. The rest was a gleaming, powerful world made more so by Denver's absence from it. Not being in it, she hated it and wanted Beloved to hate it too.” – Burden of the past (for Denver related questions)
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