How Does Sethe Change In Beloved

Both Sethe and Denver see Beloved reincarnated at the age she would have been in if she had not been killed earlier. I believe that they both were imagining that Beloved was their because of the trauma they had been through. Towards the end of the book, Sethe becomes depleted and even sacrifices her own need for eating, so Beloved can continue eating. Eventually, it seems like Sethe has given up on life. Doctor Melinda Smith believes that one symptom of PTSD is feeling emotionally numb. She states, “That victims often avoid activities, places, thoughts, or feelings that remind them of the trauma. Also, they lose interest in activities and life in general and feel detached from others.” (Help Guide) At the conclusion of the novel, Sethe is completely worn out because Beloved consumes her spirit slowly. Another symptom of PTSD is not being capable t let go of the past. Sethe has a hard time letting go of what happened. Sparknotes.com states,

Destruction of identity, another theme of the novel, relates to the violent scenes. In the second part of Beloved, Sethe takes a stand and expresses her feeling on the violent acts being performed on her. “Nobody will ever get my milk no more except my own children. I never had to give it to nobody else—and the one time I did it was took from me—they held me down and took it. Milk that belonged to my baby” (Morrison 200). Sethe finally comes to terms with her past and vows to never let such a horrendous act happen to her again. Beloved’s reincarnation occurs because Sethe needs to face her dark past head on and free herself from living in shame. It took time, but, Sethe eventually overcomes the odds and begins to live freely and peacefully in her house.

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.

Denver’s exclusion from Sethe and Beloved helps her realize the negative effects Beloved has on her and Sethe so that she can turn her life around for the better. Beloved’s distraction of Sethe brings Denver isolation and hunger. “The thirty-eight dollars of life savings went to feed themselves with fancy food and decorate themselves with ribbons and dress goods” (283). Sethe spends all of her savings, which are meant for an emergency, on Beloved to make up for her murder of Beloved. After Sethe stops going to work, she put her full focus on Beloved and tries to please her with the most expensive food and goods that she can buy. Sethe’s actions allow Denver to realize that Sethe is spending all of her money to please Beloved who is manipulating Sethe. Denver starts to isolate herself from Beloved because she is seeing the effect on her mother and does not want to be near someone who is going to manipulate her. Denver’s removal of herself from Beloved, helps improve her life and brings her closer to being an independent

Beloved is seen as the resemblance of Sethe’s dead baby. Beloved is portrayed as a teenage girl, however she is different from other black teenager, “…and younger than her clothes suggested – good lace at the throat, and a rich woman’s hat. Her skin was flawless except for three vertical scratches on her forehead so fine and thin they seemed at first like hair, baby hair before it bloomed and roped into the masses of black yarn under her hat.” (Morrison 62). Beloved unexpectedly came to 124, the house where Sethe, Denver, and Paul D lived. However, Sethe became attracted to her, “Sethe was deeply touched by her sweet name; the remembrance of glittering headstone made her feel especially kindly toward her. Denver, however, was shaking. She looked at this sleepy beauty and wanted more.” (Morrison 63) represent Sethe’s fascination towards Beloved, because she made Sethe recall her dead baby, which also has the word Beloved engraved in the gravestone. The name Beloved itself makes Sethe sentimental from

The progression of the novel is where Sethe develops her maturity to confront and overcome her complications. Throughout the novel Sethe is sacrificial of herself for her children which seems to be the justification for her treatment of her children. However, Sethe never seems to attempt to mollify this ghost that lives in her house with her but instead coexist with the ghost. The actions that Sethe tries to ensue to benefit the relationship with Beloved are a little senseless. “Now I can.

Sethe lives in the shadow of her act of infanticide throughout the entire length of the book. This is because its legacy pervades itself throughout the entire novel, showing events leading up, and ways the future has been affected. The novel begins as such: “124 was spiteful. Full of a baby’s venom. (Page 1)” This baby refers to Beloved, who became a ghostly presence in Sethe’s house and continuously terrorizes the house

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

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

The murder of Beloved both creates a character judgment on Sethe and also creates a base from where the entire supernatural theme is created on. Minus the inclusion of Sethe in the plot the murder of Beloved would not be significant. When beloved comes back as a supernatural being, she torments Sethe for her actions. Additionally, Beloved’s only interest in the novel is to punish Sethe for her death. The significance of Sethe in the novel is highlighted by the analysis of her contribution in the above acts.

Despite the fact that she can only experience history second hand, Denver, much like Sethe, is still affected on a daily basis by everything that happened before her, a fact she cannot escape. Even though Denver’s birth marks the time from which Sethe wants to move past, there is a time a few days before her birth that begins this journey of moving on. While trying to escape Sweet Home, Sethe is a found by a white girl by the name of Amy Denver. Amy found Sethe heavily pregnant, crawling through the woods on the brink of death and just ready to give up. Amy would help save Sethe’s life and even deliver her child, which Sethe would thank her for by naming the child with Amy’s surname.

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.

Although Beloved is dead and has long since been buried, Beloved is introduced in the beginning of the novel as a baby poltergeist who haunts house 124 because it was furious at having its throat cut (5). The baby ghost enjoys wreaking havoc in the house and terrorizing its residents, such as shattering mirrors and imprinting its hands onto a cake. As the novel progresses, Beloved becomes a physical manifestation of the past and is described as “a fully dressed woman [who] walked out of the water” (50). As a supernatural being, Beloved affects Sethe’s present life, for she prevents Sethe from forgetting the past. Her name alone is a constant reminder of Sethe’s deceased daughter.

In Beloved, Toni Morrison frequently alternates between telling stories from Sethe's past, to telling events in the present. Morrison introduces Beloved, who serves as the link between Sethe and Paul D's past at "Sweet Home" as slaves, and the present, living in Ohio as a free family of three: Sethe, Paul D. and Denver. The character of Beloved allows Morrison to explain the experiences and characteristics of the three characters, and how they are reactions to their pasts. Up to Beloved's arrival, Sethe and Denver lived in a "spiteful house.", which created a state of uneasiness. The ghost of Beloved had driven off Sethe's two sons, yet the mother and daughter continued to live at 124. With the arrival of Paul D., some of Sethe's