Hello everyone! Our "Beloved" book discussion went very well on April 14th.
Here is a summary of the things we discussed and the points that were brought up.
I tried to take notes on our discussion, see below. Please feel free to add your comments below.
"Beloved" was set in rural Ohio several years after the Civil War with Toni Morrison bringing to the forefront a history of slavery and its aftermath, the movement from slavery to freedom, in this literary novel.
The book begins with....
"124 WAS SPITEFUL..." Is it the house or is it the people?
Sometimes it "feels" like there is something wrong with the house. Is there a ghost? It may also be the fact that memories did not want to be remembered. Have things changed? Things have changed once those involved in the house realized that they needed to confront their past by rememory - reconstructing what has been forgotten and living in the present.
1. Consider the extent to which slavery dehumanizes individuals by stripping them of their identity, destroying their ability to conceive of the self. Consider, especially, Paul and how he can't determine whether screams he hears are his or someone else's. How do the other characters reflect self-alienation?
One example of the dehumanization is that the men at Sweet Home when Schoolteacher was running the place were named Paul A, Paul B, Paul C, etc... This seems to give the men a "title" - "Paul" and not being unique for each man except for a different letter. Deplorable treatment of people. Sethe was the only child that her mother kept. Paul D. shuts away difficult memories of the past and wants to establish a permanent family life with Sethe and her family. When Paul D. enters the scene, he was the "catalyst". Everything starts coming back - rememory. There is a manifestation of shame, guilt, remorse. Something happens to trigger this. Paul D. cannot "move on" until he comes to terms with his past and Sethe's.
2. Discuss the different roles of the community in betraying and protecting the house at 124. What larger issue might Morrison be suggesting here about community? Baby Suggs urges the community to love the beauty found in themselves and their children. The community betrays Baby Suggs by not warning the family know of Schoolteacher's approach. Baby Suggs then loses her will to live and eventually dies. Sethe killed her child. The community expected Sethe to express remorse for her action. The community did not want to have anything to do with Sethe and her family. Ella was first to exclude Sethe from the community, for 18 years, for killing her daughter. When Ella finds out that Beloved has returned and is trying to kill Sethe, she then organizes a rescue attempt for Sethe. She leads women to Sethe's house where they make "wordless sounds of female powers". Ella re-members forms of black female spirituality. It was not unusual that the community hurt others and then they turn around and help. Remembering the past required not only by the individuals but the support of the community. When Denver goes to Lady Jones, Lady Jones talks to the community which starts helping Sethe's family by leaving food in the yard. In the end, the community was able to bond together and force Beloved away.
3. What does Beloved's appearance represent? What about her behavior? Why does she finally disappear—what drives her departure? And why is the book's title named for her?
Beloved acts like the two year old child she was when she died. First she is the two-year old daughter, then an angry spirit haunting the house for years. Then Beloved is in the body of a young woman. She is jealous of anyone getting Sethe's attention. As a child, when she does not get her way, she "throws a fit". Beloved gets into everybody's business. She is never satisfied, fixated on Sethe. She has no consciousness of doing anything wrong. Beloved represents the past, the unchangeable pain and loss of slavery. The past is haunting the present. The real change begins by not denying the past, but with acknowledging it moving forward, forming new bridges of unity.
4. Talk about the choice Sethe made regarding her children when schoolteacher arrives to take them all back to Sweet Home. Can her actions be justified—are her actions rational or irrational?
Sethe seems to feel that she is being punished for leaving Sweet Home and taking her children. She does not want her children taken back to Sweet Home. She wants a "better life for her children". Sethe is committed to her children's welfare and kills one of her children, Beloved, to avoid returning them to slavery. Sethe isolates herself after her mother-in-laws death and the death of her child and the ghost. Time stops for Sethe.
5. What does the narrator mean by the warning at the end: this is not a story to pass on." Is he right...or not. This statement is interpreted two ways.
"Pass on" could mean "dying" or "refusing to take action." This is an interesting novel that discusses a history of slavery and its aftermath. Since it is a part of a history, it is something that should be passed on to other generations. Yet, since the things that happened in the novel were bringing up such hard and hurtful memories, maybe it should be a story/novel that we should not pass on to others. Some felt that this novel was hard to read all the happenings, yet they persevered and learned so much about the history of slavery. Toni Morrison drew her inspiration for "Beloved" from Margaret Garner, a real woman who killed her child rather than return it to slavery. "Beloved" cites the heroic ordinary lives of the past.
Here is a summary of the things we discussed and the points that were brought up.
I tried to take notes on our discussion, see below. Please feel free to add your comments below.
"Beloved" was set in rural Ohio several years after the Civil War with Toni Morrison bringing to the forefront a history of slavery and its aftermath, the movement from slavery to freedom, in this literary novel.
The book begins with....
"124 WAS SPITEFUL..." Is it the house or is it the people?
Sometimes it "feels" like there is something wrong with the house. Is there a ghost? It may also be the fact that memories did not want to be remembered. Have things changed? Things have changed once those involved in the house realized that they needed to confront their past by rememory - reconstructing what has been forgotten and living in the present.
1. Consider the extent to which slavery dehumanizes individuals by stripping them of their identity, destroying their ability to conceive of the self. Consider, especially, Paul and how he can't determine whether screams he hears are his or someone else's. How do the other characters reflect self-alienation?
One example of the dehumanization is that the men at Sweet Home when Schoolteacher was running the place were named Paul A, Paul B, Paul C, etc... This seems to give the men a "title" - "Paul" and not being unique for each man except for a different letter. Deplorable treatment of people. Sethe was the only child that her mother kept. Paul D. shuts away difficult memories of the past and wants to establish a permanent family life with Sethe and her family. When Paul D. enters the scene, he was the "catalyst". Everything starts coming back - rememory. There is a manifestation of shame, guilt, remorse. Something happens to trigger this. Paul D. cannot "move on" until he comes to terms with his past and Sethe's.
2. Discuss the different roles of the community in betraying and protecting the house at 124. What larger issue might Morrison be suggesting here about community? Baby Suggs urges the community to love the beauty found in themselves and their children. The community betrays Baby Suggs by not warning the family know of Schoolteacher's approach. Baby Suggs then loses her will to live and eventually dies. Sethe killed her child. The community expected Sethe to express remorse for her action. The community did not want to have anything to do with Sethe and her family. Ella was first to exclude Sethe from the community, for 18 years, for killing her daughter. When Ella finds out that Beloved has returned and is trying to kill Sethe, she then organizes a rescue attempt for Sethe. She leads women to Sethe's house where they make "wordless sounds of female powers". Ella re-members forms of black female spirituality. It was not unusual that the community hurt others and then they turn around and help. Remembering the past required not only by the individuals but the support of the community. When Denver goes to Lady Jones, Lady Jones talks to the community which starts helping Sethe's family by leaving food in the yard. In the end, the community was able to bond together and force Beloved away.
3. What does Beloved's appearance represent? What about her behavior? Why does she finally disappear—what drives her departure? And why is the book's title named for her?
Beloved acts like the two year old child she was when she died. First she is the two-year old daughter, then an angry spirit haunting the house for years. Then Beloved is in the body of a young woman. She is jealous of anyone getting Sethe's attention. As a child, when she does not get her way, she "throws a fit". Beloved gets into everybody's business. She is never satisfied, fixated on Sethe. She has no consciousness of doing anything wrong. Beloved represents the past, the unchangeable pain and loss of slavery. The past is haunting the present. The real change begins by not denying the past, but with acknowledging it moving forward, forming new bridges of unity.
4. Talk about the choice Sethe made regarding her children when schoolteacher arrives to take them all back to Sweet Home. Can her actions be justified—are her actions rational or irrational?
Sethe seems to feel that she is being punished for leaving Sweet Home and taking her children. She does not want her children taken back to Sweet Home. She wants a "better life for her children". Sethe is committed to her children's welfare and kills one of her children, Beloved, to avoid returning them to slavery. Sethe isolates herself after her mother-in-laws death and the death of her child and the ghost. Time stops for Sethe.
5. What does the narrator mean by the warning at the end: this is not a story to pass on." Is he right...or not. This statement is interpreted two ways.
"Pass on" could mean "dying" or "refusing to take action." This is an interesting novel that discusses a history of slavery and its aftermath. Since it is a part of a history, it is something that should be passed on to other generations. Yet, since the things that happened in the novel were bringing up such hard and hurtful memories, maybe it should be a story/novel that we should not pass on to others. Some felt that this novel was hard to read all the happenings, yet they persevered and learned so much about the history of slavery. Toni Morrison drew her inspiration for "Beloved" from Margaret Garner, a real woman who killed her child rather than return it to slavery. "Beloved" cites the heroic ordinary lives of the past.
Denver played an important part in helping her family. Denver withdraws. She lost her hearing for several years when a boy at school tells her the news of how Beloved died. Deafness solved the issue of hearing unpleasant things, but it also isolates her. She no longer leaves the house. She then recognizes the disheveled young girl in the front yard as her sister, as Beloved. She likes having Beloved around since her mother, Sethe's attention is on Paul D. Then Denver realizes that Beloved is trying to kill Sethe. Although Denver is shy and inexperienced she forces herself to go outside of the house to get a job to support her mother. Denver's change is aided by Baby Suggs giving her courage and by her former schoolteacher, Lady Jones.
Another question to answer... Why is the book's title named for Beloved?
Please comment. We would love to "hear" your thoughts about this novel. Please add to our discussion.
Please comment. We would love to "hear" your thoughts about this novel. Please add to our discussion.
What a great turnout!
ReplyDeleteIt was a great discussion! Everyone participated and brought out some great points of view to share. Thank you everyone. I am looking forward to our next discussion on May 12th, "The Stories of John Cheever"
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