Today in class we discussed whether or not Beloved is real. This came from a few different questions that some of you posed. We asked:
I would argue that the discussion we had to do was the most authentic conversation that anyone could have around a book like this. Our conversation today mimics a lot of how Sethe, Denver, and Paul D responded to the presence of Beloved. Like Sethe, Denver, and Paul D, we started this semester at a carnival. We were having a good time. We saw our shadow selves working in unity in the proverbial future of the course. Then, we read Toni Morrison's Beloved. We took the novel in and, again like Sethe, Denver, and Paul D, we all used our existing frameworks to make sense of the novel—especially the presence of Beloved.
Sam's applauded comment that he viewed Beloved as a runaway slave girl possessed by the spirit of Beloved worked for several students because it made sense to them. It was a way they could cope with the confusion and put things in a box/framework that they understood. Maj's interpretation matter-of-factly kept Beloved as a real person from beginning to end.
The residents of 124 respond to Beloved in different ways that explain their own views. Sethe turns Beloved into the daughter she killed. Through the character/ghost/slave girl she goes from guilt to okay-ness. Denver views Beloved as an escape from the isolation she has endured. With Beloved, Denver is able to manifest her desire for community and growth. Paul D, on the other hand, actively stays away from Beloved because she represents what he does not want and cannot have. In simpler terms, Beloved is what Paul D represses until he does not repress it anymore.
Sethe, Denver, and Paul D all ask the same questions that we struggled through today. Is Beloved real? How does she know about the earrings? Is this a rememory? But what about all the other people that see her too? What do we see in Beloved? In this way, Morrison expertly turns the reader into a resident of 124 as he tries to figure out what Beloved is and how to interpret her using his own perspectives, experiences, and frameworks.
- What is Beloved?
- Is Beloved even real?
- Why can others see Beloved?
I would argue that the discussion we had to do was the most authentic conversation that anyone could have around a book like this. Our conversation today mimics a lot of how Sethe, Denver, and Paul D responded to the presence of Beloved. Like Sethe, Denver, and Paul D, we started this semester at a carnival. We were having a good time. We saw our shadow selves working in unity in the proverbial future of the course. Then, we read Toni Morrison's Beloved. We took the novel in and, again like Sethe, Denver, and Paul D, we all used our existing frameworks to make sense of the novel—especially the presence of Beloved.
Sam's applauded comment that he viewed Beloved as a runaway slave girl possessed by the spirit of Beloved worked for several students because it made sense to them. It was a way they could cope with the confusion and put things in a box/framework that they understood. Maj's interpretation matter-of-factly kept Beloved as a real person from beginning to end.
The residents of 124 respond to Beloved in different ways that explain their own views. Sethe turns Beloved into the daughter she killed. Through the character/ghost/slave girl she goes from guilt to okay-ness. Denver views Beloved as an escape from the isolation she has endured. With Beloved, Denver is able to manifest her desire for community and growth. Paul D, on the other hand, actively stays away from Beloved because she represents what he does not want and cannot have. In simpler terms, Beloved is what Paul D represses until he does not repress it anymore.
Sethe, Denver, and Paul D all ask the same questions that we struggled through today. Is Beloved real? How does she know about the earrings? Is this a rememory? But what about all the other people that see her too? What do we see in Beloved? In this way, Morrison expertly turns the reader into a resident of 124 as he tries to figure out what Beloved is and how to interpret her using his own perspectives, experiences, and frameworks.