Examples Of Unspeakable Language In Chapter 20

Besides the issues that the family as a whole face at 124, Sethe has her own struggles from early on in her life. Michele A.L Barzey touches on one of these struggles Sethe faces with motherhood in her article on “Thick Love: Motherhood in Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love”. Sethe never knew her mother and she was the only surviving child her mother, Ma’am had since she was raped so many times by white men. However, Sethe also had two other mother figures bringing her up into

Although this event is repeated several times, it is never repeated for the some reason or in the same way. We go from meeting Amy before Denver is born, to the actual birth on the boat, and finally the story of naming the baby after she is born. This sequence of events, and the use of the story over and over again, show its significance in Sethe’s life so far. Not only was it the start of a wonderful relationship with her daughter, but it was also the start of some pretty horrible memories. This is referring to Sethe’s sudden urge to try to kill her children as protection from future slavery. While she thought this was a good idea at the time, it turned out to be yet another horrible memory in her life. Using this story a number of times in the text shows the overbearing weight Sethe must carry with this

Sethe has lived an unthinkable past as a slave. Although she is no longer a slave physically, she is not entirely free. She cannot erase her horrible

Sethe is the most profoundly haunted of the characters, she was the one who sacrificed her first born daughter eighteen years prior, rather than turning her over to slavery. When Paul D. enters Sethe’s life, he grasps the deep-rooted spirits of 124. The first time he enters the house, he “followed [Sethe] through the door, straight into a pool of red and undulating light that locked him where he stood” (Morrison 10). The surging light embodies her sacrificed baby’s ghost. The prodigious power she exemplifies is described here to have locked him where he stood.

Sethe says she believes she won't even have to explain her motives for killing her (a love so great she can't let her be taken into a life of slavery). "I don't have to remember nothing," Sethe tells herself on page 183. "I don't even have to explain. She understands it all." Sethe believes the one true way she will find restitution and understanding with Beloved, is by knowing the mark she has left on her daughter. "I only need to know one thing. How bad is the scar?" Sethe feels that by knowing the scar, by touching the "memory of a smile under her chin," she can feel her daughter's pain and connect with her.

Her other children have left. Sethe experiences separation from her children because she sacrifices her wellness to ensure that they have set off into the world. Sethe is also robbed of her breast milk, which is an essential part of her motherhood. Sethe is constantly reminded of her breast milk which as a mother is her natural life source for her baby. “All I knew was I had to get my milk to my baby girl...Nobody was going to get it to her fast enough, or take it away when she had enough and didn't know it. Nobody knew that she couldn't pass her air if you held her up on your shoulder, only if she was lying on my knees. Nobody knew that but me and nobody had her milk but me” (19). Sethe describes this horrific, barbaric event to her daugher Denver, “After I left you, those boys came in there and took my milk. That's what they came in there for. Held me down and took it “(19). Sethe is quite hung up on this memory because her breast milk was a representation of her motherhood that she believed the white folks can not take away from her. This life source is the one true aspect that belongs to her; however, when the white boys forcefully took it from her they stripped her of her worth not only as mother but also as a

Through character development, the story also portrays the theme of escaping the past. Sethe’s actions are influenced heavily by her dead child, Beloved. When the “human” form of Beloved arrives while sleeping

By referring to Sethe as only a “child,” Mrs. Gardener subconsciously feeds into the tactics used by many to make the slaves feel inferior, as well as it adds into the philosophy that slaves are not humans and do not deserve to be treated as such. This constant dehumanization of slaves leads to many of them, including Sethe, to believe as though they are not a rational adult and that their choices are insignificant. This thus sends them plummeting into a state of immense depression. For instance, when told that she is not worthy of having a formal wedding ceremony, Sethe believes her slave owners due to the fact that she is accustomed to always trust them. This lack of control of her own decisions greatly belittles Sethe as well as it leads

Her community shuns her, and even a trusted friend like Paul D says “What you did was wrong, Sethe.” (Morrison 194) Margaret Garner was provided with sympathy and support from her enslaved community that recognized her desperation and fear, and outsiders that were inspired by the tragedy of her case. Sethe’s peers share her experiences with slavery, but are less compassionate in their response. She was isolated from her neighbors because she killed Beloved. The act was seen as a sort of betrayal to the community in which no one is left behind, even if they knew her circumstances. The trauma behind the crime was acknowledged, but not understood. Both Margaret Garner and Sethe experience immense stress in the aftermath of their daughter’s death, as people question whether or not what they did was right and challenge why they committed the crime to begin

does so by demonstrating how Sethe, a former slave, both copes with experiences from her past

Sethe begins to nurture her children, only for her children to have a growing fear that Sethe would kill them one day, enacting her children to distance themselves. Due to Sethe mother’s abandonment, Sethe in fact has never been a “daughter” and the love she displays, Paul D. describes as “too thick” (193) causes resentment from her children. As Sethe undergoes mental and physical abuse from Beloved, causing her strong personality to wither away and becoming fully dependent on Beloved, Sethe gives herself to Beloved, “[a]nything she wanted she got” (283). This is a story not to be passed on for Sethe, she allowed herself to be swallowed up by her own inability to move past her dreadful memories at Sweet Home. The past, “Beloved” began to slowly creep on her, draining away the strong woman she once was. Sethe always tried to nurture her child, the way her mother never nurtured her. However, in the end when she becomes dependent on Beloved, she becomes old and weak. Yet, her positive development occurs when Paul D tells her that she, herself is the most important thing and finally then Sethe moves on.

As a result of this, the people she needs forgiveness from aren’t her neighbors or the general public, but are rather Howard, Bulgar, and most importantly, Beloved herself. Despite sinning against society and everything motherhood should stand for, the most atrocious sin she committed was against her own children, which is why their forgiveness is the only one that truly matters. Furthermore, while certainly not being noble or courageous, Sethe’s actions are indeed maternalistic—she chose to kill her children because it was the only way she felt she could protect them from the schoolteacher. In her argument with Paul D, Sethe contends that, as a mother, “It’s my job to know what is and to keep them away from what I know is terrible” (Morrison 194), and she did just that. Sethe knew exactly what was in store for her children if they were to fall into the clutches of the schoolteacher, so, as their mother, she protected them from it because it was her duty as their mother to do so. However, in addition to being maternalistic, it can also be argued that Sethe’s actions were instinctual and were not as planned out as they should have been, therefore coming across as rather animalistic and barbaric. As

In the story, Sethe is continously making big descions. For instance, in the story Sethe says “No moving. No leaving. It’s alright the way it is” (9). This shows Sethe is straight foward and is confiedent in the choices shes makes for her and for the people around her. Another example showing that Sethe is brave enough to make descions is when Paul D is an a bit of a conflict with her then he says “Sethe, if I'm here with you, with Denver, you can go anywhere you want. Jump, if you want to, 'cause I'll catch you, girl. I'll catch you "fore you fall. Go as far inside as you need to, I'll hold your ankles. Make sure you get back out. I'm not saying this because I need a place to stay. That's the last thing I need. I told you, I'm a walking man, but I been heading in this direction for seven years.” (28). Sethe agree with that but she knew

During the whole novel, we read how Sethe is trying to move on from being a slave to becoming free. We get a lot of flashbacks of awful experiences of being a slave, and how difficult it is to separate the past from the present. Her memories of slavery and of the brutality she suffered as a slave, invade her everyday life and lead her to dwell on her past that can never really be removed. When Sethe was a slave, she didn’t have an identity, but rather she was a slave to her identity. When slavery became illegal, she

Sethe had a difficult choice when she forced herself to make a decision on whether to keep her daughter alive and be taken into slavery, or kill her and prevent her from suffering from the same or maybe more pain Sethe had in slavery. For example, when the novel Beloved states, “That's what they came in there for. Held me down and took it.” This piece of evidence exemplifies the way slave owners could abuse you, and you couldn't do anything about it. The importance of this evidence is that slavery wasn't something you could get away from when you're young, and Sethe killed her daughter for a reason. Another piece of evidence from the text that talks about the horrible life of slavery, “Schoolteacher made one open up my back, and when it closed it made a tree. It grows there still.” This example proclaims that they beat Sethe and this was only because she was a slave, they left her a scar she would have for the rest of her