Why do mothers shelter their children? Perhaps it is because they don’t want their children to experience the same horrors that they experienced. Or, they think that the only way for a child to survive in the world is to be nurtured and protected.
That is certainly true for Sethe in the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison. In the novel, set in the middle of the 19th century, a woman named Sethe lives with her daughter Denver in a house in Cincinnati. Eighteen years before, Sethe escapes from slavery along with her children, but is hunted down by her master. Instead of subjecting them to the brutality of slavery, Sethe tries to kill her children, succeeding in killing her three-year-old daughter. Ever since, the family has been isolated from society
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Sethe’s motivations in keeping Denver close are not entirely noble, as she keeps Denver closer to her in order to make up for the death of Beloved. When the women of Cincinnati are gathered in the yard to exorcise Beloved, Sethe sees Mr. Bodwin approaching and thinks, “He is coming into [my] yard and he is coming for [my] best thing”(308). Sethe mistakes Mr. Bodwin for another white man, schoolteacher, who came into her yard and forced her to murder one of her children. The “he” she refers to represents all white men in this case. It also helps show Sethe’s confusion, and how she bundles two people with different ideologies and personalities into a single person, perhaps because of their similarities in appearance. Sethe worries that the white man, whoever he is, is coming for “her best thing”, which is Beloved. Just like schoolteacher tried to take away her children from her 18 years before, she doesn’t want anyone to take away Beloved. She tried to keep Denver and Beloved sheltered in order to make up for her actions when the white man came last time, and she can’t imagine going through that again. Earlier, Sethe speaks to Paul D about how happy she felt when she was free, before schoolteacher came to their house and ruined their lives. She says, “[t]hat’s a selfish pleasure I never had before. I couldn’t let all that go back to where it was”(192). In this instance, …show more content…
Denver first realizes that Beloved is planning something bad for her mother in the clearing when Beloved chokes her mother. Denver confronts her, saying “’You did it, I saw you….I saw your face. You made her choke’”(119). Up until this point, Denver has been utterly on Beloved’s side, but she now can see something is off about Beloved. Denver truly believes that Beloved “made her choke”, and realizes that she might have to watch Beloved in case Beloved tries to hurt her mother again. Similarly, when Beloved has Sethe under her spell at the end of the book, Denver realizes “that her mother could die and leave them both and what would Beloved do then…She would have to leave the yard; step off the edge of the world”(286). At this moment, Denver knows the full scope of Beloved’s abilities, and the repercussions that could occur. Her mother “could die” after all. Not only would that mean that Sethe was gone, but it would mean that Denver would have no protection from Beloved. Even though Sethe was overprotective, she still kept Denver safe. If she were to die, Denver would be all alone. So, Denver “step[s] off the edge of the world.” Not only is she leaving her house, the only place she’s ever known, but she is entering a new stage
metaphor, lamenting that her daughter may live “without a mother’s love to shelter her from the
to her. Amy Denver saves Sethe. Amy is a white girl who came to Sethes
Sethe divulged to Paul D the catastrophic events that caused her to run away from Sweet Home, and then she surrendered her sons and daughter to a woman in a wagon because she was worried about the family’s future under the Schoolteacher’s reign. Her description of the assault was straight forward. She told Paul D and very succinctly the roughness and cruelty of those white people especially the two white boys who beat her while she was pregnant with Denver injuring her so badly that her back skin had been dead for years. She refers to the situation as
When Sethe first meets Beloved, she welcomes her with a suspiciously large magnitude. Furthermore, it is clear that Sethe never revealed her past experiences to Denver, yet the moment Beloved asks about her lost earrings, it was “the first time she had heard anything about her(Sethe’s) mother’s mother”(61). This proves that Beloved, and not anyone else, is pulling Sethe to the past, by making her recollect of her days as a slave. In addition,“it is clear why she holds on to you(Sethe), but I just can’t see why you holding on to her,” Paul mentioned(67). This shows how Paul realizes that Sethe has taken in Beloved without much reasoning, and when Beloved hums a song that Sethe happened to make up, Sethe fully but blindly embraces Beloved as family. In fact, she “had gone to bed smiling,” anxious to “unravel the proof for the conclusion she had already leapt to”(181). This shows how consumed by Beloved she is.
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.
Sethe is not simply attempting to kill her children just for the sake of doing it; she sees no other option for the betterment of their lives. Sethe is attempting to take the lives of her children out of pure love and the opportunity to not drag them through a life of suffering.
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
Sethe understands that her history, filled with the pain of slavery, grief over losing her children, and guilt over Beloved's death, and tries to hide from all the anguish. However, she admits that the past seems to "always be there waiting," thereby emphasizing the idea that past horrors of life continue to haunt forever. It appears as though the power of her experience in slavery influences her so greatly that the memory triggers great pain, causing the horrifying incidents to "happen again." Even though Sethe understands that she cannot ever fully escape her history as it will come back to trouble her, she still tries to avoid them and thus attempts to shield her daughter from the horrors of history: "As for Denver, the job Sethe had of keeping her from the past that was still waiting for her was all that mattered" (45). It seems as though Sethe tries to deny the fact that history does not simply disappear. She still tries to protect Denver "from the past" even though history "waits," prepared to cause trouble and inflict the pain Sethe tries to repress. It appears as though Sethe continuously tries to fight against her memories and ignore her past in part one. For example, after she wakes, she begins "Working dough. Working, working dough. Nothing better than that to start the day's
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
Beloved, like many of the other books we have read, has to deal with the theme of isolation. There was the separation of Sethe and Denver from the rest of the world. There was also, the loneliness of each main character throughout the book. There were also other areas of the book where the idea of detachment from something was obvious. People’s opinions about the house made them stay away and there was also the inner detachment of Sethe from herself. The theme that Toni Morrison had in mind when the book was written was isolation.
Notably, being a loving child was very important to those around Denver. After the tragedy of Sethe losing three of her four children, the town she and Denver lived in began shutting her out. Denver was well aware of how the town treated her mother, so Denver did all she could to support her mother. She strongly respected her mother and cared for her deeply, no matter what happened. When Sethe remembered her past and horrible experiences, Denver could always be counted on to help. Additionally, after Beloved became apart of the household, Denver was more than willing to accept her. Denver always considered Beloved the sister she never had, which meant a lot to Denver. Beloved and Denver often relied on one another when they needed someone to
In Beloved, Morrison discusses the power that the past can hold over a person. Sethe murdered her daughter and was stopped before she had the chance to murder her other children. However, the murders did not occur out of malicious intent. After escaping her owner, Sethe is terrified that someone will catch her and her children and force them into slavery. She feels that the worst thing in the world is
Denver claimed she was the first to know it was her dead sister “as soon as she spelled her name” and from that moment “Denver tended her, watched her sound sleep, listened to her labored breathing and, out of love and a breakneck possessiveness that changed her.” (64) Developing aplomb was essential If Denver was to get any information she knew she had “to appear uninquisitive about the things she was dying to ask Beloved, for if she pressed too hard, she might lose the penny that the held-out hand wanted,” (141) meaning if she were to get the information she wanted, Denver would have to use deception and strategy. Opportunity was key for Denver’s scheme to be successful. So when it presented itself, Denver suggested Beloved could sleep in her room, where “they could have their talks easier.” (80) As Denver’s questions began to narrow, Beloved’s answers became more precise. Too precise. Her answers were no longer ambiguous: they were real, emotion-filled, and supernatural. The type of answers that made Denver feel like the amount of time before her mother would find out, and kill Beloved again had drastically dwindled. It was then that “Suddenly Denver, who was sitting cross-legged, lurched forward and grabbed Beloved’s wrist,” commanding, “Don’t tell her. Don’t let Ma’am know who you are. Please, you hear?” (89) Leading Beloved to reply, ”Don’t tell me
Sethe tries to protect her children from experiencing slavery by killing her children but this act only causes the past to come back again later on. It brings Beloved back for revenge. Sethe has not truly dealt with her past which is why Beloved is constantly returning. Once she returns, Beloved deteriorates Sethe. Through Denver's perspective, Denver describes, “The flesh between her mother’s forefinger and thumb was thin as china silk and there wasn't a piece of clothing in the house that didn't sag on her.
She remembers the day in which she kills Beloved. The slave owners from Sweet Home arrive, so Sethe kills Beloved and “She did not look at them; she simply swung the baby toward the wall planks, missed and tried to connect a second time” (175). The past memory of her killing her baby shows that her actions haunt her. The merciless way she kills her children by throwing them at the wall without even looking, and her vivid remembrance of killing Beloved in this way shows that she has not moved on.