Consequences Of Repressed Memories In Toni Morrison's Beloved

In Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved is a character whose identity is primarily unknown. She retains some of her memories, although they are mostly obscure and symbolic. Even though she become increasingly obsessed with Sethe, her true objectives are only later revealed, when Sethe realizes that she is most likely the reincarnation of the daughter she killed to protect from slavery. Beloved uses Sethe’s guilt to subjugate her, she forces her mother to give, and then forfeit, everything she has to her, including her own sanity. “Beloved didn’t move; said, ‘Do it,’ and Sethe complied. She took the best of everything – first” (Morrison 277). Beloved starts wearing her mother’s clothes and mimicking her behaviors; Beloved becomes the mother, and Sethe the child. “The bigger Beloved got,

The effects of stress on a person’s life can be calamitous. It affects every part of a person’s body and makes them feel useless and alone. In essence, some stress every now and then in our lives is good, but an overwhelming amount of stress can be devastating. An example of overwhelming stress is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD. This disorder occurs when someone is exposed to horrific events in their life causing them severe and ongoing emotional damage due to the extreme psychological trauma. In her novel Beloved, Toni Morrison describes the brutal effects of slavery. The novel follows the story of Sethe and her daughter Denver, as they try to rebuild their lives after they escaped from slavery. After reading the

Beloved is consumed by her cruel acts, and simply drains more and more of Sethe’s health. In the beginning of the novel, Beloved appears to be a pretty, young, and lost girl that wanders into Sethe’s house. However, as time passes, she began to display signs that she is Sethe’s past daughter, the daughter that was killed. As Beloved is induced more and more into the family, she begins to feel

As Sethe's demise and Beloved's mischief become overwhelming, Denver assumes the responsibility to assure the survival of her family. Due to Beloved's presence, Sethe loses her job and soon all of her savings is spent. There is no food, however, Beloved's demands do not cease. Sethe begins to wither away from frustration and a wounded conscience and Denver becomes "listless and sleepy with hunger" (242). Denver realizes that, "she would have to leave the yard; stop off the edge of the world, leave the two behind and go ask somebody for help" (243). Denver must face her terror of a mundane society to keep her sister and mother from starvation.

So often, the old adage, "History always repeats itself," rings true due to a failure to truly confront the past, especially when the memory of a period of time sparks profoundly negative emotions ranging from anguish to anger. However, danger lies in failing to recognize history or in the inability to reconcile the mistakes of the past. In her novel, Beloved, Toni Morrison explores the relationship between the past, present and future. Because the horrors of slavery cause so much pain for slaves who endured physical abuse as well as psychological and emotional hardships, former slaves may try to block out the pain, failing to reconcile with their past. However, when Sethe, one of the novel's central characters fails to confront

The theme of isolation as in many of the other pieces of literature that we have read this year can been seen in this novel Beloved. The theme can be seen in the isolation of Sethe and her inner self. It can also be seen with Denver and her separation from society because of the children at school. There is also the detachment of Sethe’s family from the rest of the world because of her past and what people think of the house and

The Profound Impact of Abuse Seen through Sethe’s Three Response Stages in Order to Help Healing in Beloved by Toni Morrison.

Beloved’s return from the past haunts the present. She often talks about what she has seen and felt while resting in her grave; one of her experiences include the transfer of slaves from Africa to America. She experiences the suffering of feeling contained on a boat deck for nights, smelling the presence of blood, death, and bodily wastes. Sethe puts in her best effort to fulfill the lost motherly affection with Beloved; however, Beloved demands full attention from Sethe. She causes Sethe to loser her job and all the savings Sethe stored for for future use. Sethe, so infatuated with the present existence of Beloved, does not avert her eyes away from her because she is afraid of losing her again. Beloved, “who was getting bigger, seemed nevertheless as exhausted as they were” (Morrison 242) depletes all the vitality from Sethe by mentally and physically torturing her to achieve her every need, but Sethe renders to each of Beloved’s demand regardless of the pain and agony she goes through because she feels shame and regret for what she did to Beloved. Pain is embedded into Sethe’s past and present while Beloved feels satisfaction and superiority. The presence of inhumanity builds excessively in Beloved’s character causing Sethe to feel like a worthless human

Sethe, Paul D., and Denver, are all in some state of conflict in the current circumstances of their lives at the beginning of the novel. Although Beloved's arrival to 124 initially brings more upset to the lives, it eventually leads to resolution for the family. Beloved embodies many of the secrets of the three's pasts. She symbolizes the history of the family not only with her physical appearance, but also with the relationships she forms with the three.

Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved swims like a garden pond full of minnows with thoughts and memories of days gone by. Each memory is like a drop of water, and when one person brings up enough drops, a trickle of a stream is formed. The trickles make their way down the shallow slopes and inclines, pushing leaves, twigs, and other barriers out of the way, leaving small bits of themselves behind so their paths can be traced again. There is a point, a vertex, a lair, where many peoples streams unite in a valley, in the heart of a pebble lined brook, and it is here that their trickles of days gone by fuse with each other, and float hand in hand until they ultimately settle to form the backyard

Sethe and Denver’s connection with the supernatural further fueled Sethe’s inability to let go of her past. The community around 124 allowed themselves to be consumed with memories of the past. Not until Denver gained her independence did the women of the community come together to ward off the demons of their past and fight for Sethe and for their future existence. The entire story of Beloved is centered around the lasting

Discussion of memory in Toni Morrison’s Trilogy In Toni Morrison’s Trilogy, memory is constantly discussed within each character, and plays an important role throughout the whole novel. Memory is used within the novels to show the devastating past of African-American lives during and after slavery. Seth in Beloved is a character that is constantly haunted by her past, and Toni Morrison uses this to show how memory can sometimes over determine the present.

This leaves us to wonder about the kind of love Denver and Beloved have for each other and their mother. In some instances, it seems as though Beloved partly lives through Denver, and it makes for a special connection between them. Early in the novel, Beloved returns as a supernatural being and seems to be vulgar and aggressive, which would definitely seem reasonable as the baby that Sethe killed. Later though, we meet what seems to be the reincarnation of the baby killed 18 years ago as a girl. Beloved seems to be loving, but is there a secret side to her? It is believed by Denver that Beloved was the one that choked Sethe. Is Beloved here to rekindle a lost relationship with her mother or to return the favor? Beloved’s aggressiveness is described in the scene with Paul D where she pushes Paul D into “Touching her inside.” This scene was very uncomfortable as Paul D can’t even hear Beloved’s footsteps. Paul D pleads for Beloved to leave, and she says she’ll leave if he does what she wants. Beloved seems possessive and jealous because she wants Sethe all to herself, and she wants Paul D out of the way. This brings us back to the question, what does Beloved really want? There are two possibilities one indicating a rekindling of love and the other a need for revenge against Sethe. When we look at Denver, she seems to be a lot younger than she actually is. She is shy to the world outside of 124, their house. She becomes very jealous when Paul D comes into 124 and becomes such a big part of Sethe’s life. She begins to act very jealous towards him and views him as a threat to her love for her mother. As time goes on, Denver finally starts to develop a maturity and someday wants to attend Oberlin College. Her love becomes one of a daughter that is very close to her mother. This is apparent when others try to become part of Sethe’s

Assuming Beloved is her dead baby daughter come back to life, Sethe makes sure that she is safe by her side. Aside from Beloved, Sethe also has a difficult time making a family. Sethe was told not to “love too much” as it can lead to disappointment (or even cruel intentions). However Sethe responds saying, “Love is or it ain't. Thin love ain't love at all” (Morrison, 194).

Her actions have far-reaching repercussions for those around her, even years after the death of Beloved. The introduction of the preternatural in the form of both the ghost of Beloved and the appearance of a young woman who is uncannily like the daughter that Sethe murdered presents an element of stigmatisation to the lives Sethe and her family. Reincarnated as a representation of Sethe’s inability to let of what she did to her infant daughter, Beloved becomes a symbol of hope for Sethe, but also a symbol of the necessary violence she tries so desperately to forget. This has a lasting impact on her position in the black community which noticeably shuns those who resort to the very same violence that the white oppressor used to control black slaves. Sethe rebels against these “social mores that suggest mothering is nonviolent” (Putnam, 2011: 38) and takes drastic measures to ensure their freedom: even freedom in death. Thus, violence begets violence, becoming a perpetuating cycle out of necessity for