124 Bluestone

Expanding upon the idea in "The Last Connection" post - An example of present day racial tensions:

Beloved’s incredibly touching and vivid depiction of the African American experience in the late nineteenth century surprised me. I was definitely aware of the effects of slavery, but I never paid much attention to what slaves who were free thought about and felt. I could not believe that Sethe, Paul D, and other slaves, some freed, were almost immune to positive emotion. In my ignorance, I understood that as soon as slaves were free, they did the best they could to make a life for themselves among continuous persecution, but their lives were far from that. Emotionally, physically, and mentally scarred, Sethe, Paul D, Saxo, and others could not ever understand the true meaning of freedom because, while physically free, they were still bound with chains in their minds.

Today in the United States, conditions regarding the relations of race have definitely improved, but issues still remain. There are still racial tensions between Caucasians and African Americans which are evident through current events such as when a white firefighter began arguing with a black man on the subway and called him the “N-word.” I feel like most racial issues revolve around African Americans being degraded by Caucasian Americans, but many times it goes the other way as well.

Toni Morrison’s novel demonstrates pain, suffering, and the desperation that comes along with being trapped by one’s memories. It is highly symbolic, contains many metaphors, and powerful sentence structure used to capture the reader and convey the emotions of the characters. To some, this novel may be a work of art. To others, maybe just a good book. However, there is always that last group that is not fond of the book at all. My opinion falls between the last two groups.

The ending of the novel left me hanging. Not only is there the question “What becomes of Sethe and Paul D?” but Beloved’s story is left somewhat unclear. Is she truly the ghost of Sethe’s baby, or is she the ghost of slavery and its captives? The story of Sethe and Paul D literally ends in in a question. Paul D says “You your best thing, Sethe. You are” and Sethe responds “Me? Me?” which leaves me to wonder if they make their relationship developed into something that made them both happy or if Paul D went on using Sethe for her body. The entire novel ends with a section about the woman that Sethe, Denver, and Paul D called Beloved. Morrison writes “Everybody knew what she was called, but nobody anywhere knew her name,” (273) and reveals that Beloved, or the woman who was called Beloved, is just a wandering spirit.

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At this point in the novel, Sethe is in a losing battle with happiness. She is captivated by Beloved, though not as much as poor Denver, and just lost Paul D. I commend Sethe for her strength, but she also has many flaws, including ignorance and her tendency to be short-sighted on many topics. Throughout the novel, Sethe has proven her bravery running to freedom, birthing Denver in the woods, and living in the house at 124 Bluestone Road despite its haunting. However, despite being strong, she has made bad decisions through her life which altered her life forever. These monumental events could have been avoided if Sethe just slowed down to think. This, Sethe’s rashness, is what moves me most about her situation.

Had I been Sethe, I would have made many different choices in the circumstances she was faced with. I still would have ran, ran for my life at the opportunity for freedom. I also would have panicked when seeing the schoolteacher’s hat on her property, but I would have tried to make a well thought out plan rather than immediately go for the kill. Even though slavery is a horror only those involved can understand, I couldn’t imagine trying to kill my children, the ones I am to love the most. It may be selfish of me, but I would have wanted to spend as much time as I could with them before we were separated.

Oral tradition is an age old custom in African American culture. From the first slaves who told stories of their homelands to the first generation of free African Americans who wanted to keep their ancestors’ memories alive, story-telling by way of mouth was extremely important to them. Most stories were passed down this way because of the illiteracy among African American people during years of slavery and many years after.  In the novel Beloved, Toni Morrison uses oral tradition to explore her characters’ pasts and explore how these characters’ memories have affected them.

Over the course of the next fifty pages of Beloved, the spookiness level has definitely increased. I feel like the most eerie of events to occur so far is when Beloved collapses on the floor of the cold room moaning and says she sees her face in the floor. With this increase in supernatural occurrences, I can only assume that a very significant event is held in the future pages of Toni Morrison's novel. One important fact held between pages 100 and 150 is the story of how the baby's ghost began to appear at 124 Bluestone Road. It started after one of Denver's classmates told her that Denver's mother was a murderer. Denver proceeded to ask Sethe about the classmate's statement, and it was then that the baby was heard going upstairs. This was the only time that the baby's spirit was peaceful; any other time it is full of revenge and spite, something I find very curious.

Two things that I have found incredibly interesting are the relationships between Denver and Beloved and Denver and Paul D. From the start, Denver is enthralled with Beloved. Even though Beloved continues to strain  her relationship with Denver, Denver's enchantment with Beloved only intensifies. I almost pity Denver, because the first person she has ever really thought of as a friend hardly interacts  with her and overpasses her for Sethe. In contrast, Denver's connection to Paul D is one of extreme dislike. I believe it stems from the initial entrance of Paul D and intrusion into Denver's life, but she even goes on to say she "prefer[s] the venomous baby to him any day" (104).