Showing posts with label Beloved. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beloved. Show all posts
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Now Reading in Albuquerque
Friday, October 21, 2016
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
The Beloved Discussion Highlights
Donnelly
Library had its first meeting of the Pulitzer Prizes Reading Group on Thursday,
September 1, 2016 when we got together to discuss Toni Morrison’s Beloved. Discussion was lively and
focused on many different themes. One of the most animated parts of the
discussion was whether or not Beloved was a ghost. Reading group participants had
different points of view on this issue. Some reading group participants thought
she was a ghost, others not, and still others said that they had never thought
about the reality of the ghost in the novel. The discussion of the ghost connected
with an interesting discussion of how America is haunted by its history of
slavery and how Morrison was able to vividly portray the horrors of slavery and
its aftermath.
Trauma
and recovery was another major topic of discussion. Reading group participants
talked about how the characters in Morrison’s novel dealt in different ways
with the trauma of their pasts and how they were (and weren’t) able to recover.
The
theme of the relationships between mothers and daughters was talked about
focusing on the relationship between Sethe and Denver and Sethe and Beloved. The
constant presence of past trauma certainly affects the relationships between
the generations. Group participants said they felt hopeful for Denver’s future
by the end of the novel.
Participants
also discussed with Dr. Brandon Kempner how the novel fit within the history of
American literature, novels about slavery, and Toni Morrison’s place in the
canon.
What
did you find most interesting about the first meeting’s discussion or about the
novel? Please post in the comments below.
 |
| First Meeting of the Readng Group |
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Questions for Donnelly Library's Discussion of Beloved
Donnelly
Library’s Pulitzer Prize Challenge reading group has its first meeting in a
little under two weeks on Thursday, September 1. Below are a few questions to
think about for the upcoming discussion.
Take
a look at the questions and post your own questions or discussion points for
this novel in the comments below.
Questions
- How does Toni Morrison connect the idea of slavery and the idea of haunting? Is America haunted?
- The novel is a narrative about trauma and recovery. What does it mean to recover from trauma? How does Sethe recover?
- This novel is about the relationships between mothers and daughters. What kinds of relationships do the characters have? How do they change over the course of the novel?
- Is the ghost real?
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Beloved at Octavia Fellin Library
I'm really looking forward to our next book, "The Plague of Doves" by Louise Erdrich, and will talk about it more as we get closer to the 21st. Let's hope it sparks just as much interesting discussion and debate.
Thursday, April 21, 2016
The pieces I am, she gather them
This powerful quotation from Toni Morrison's Beloved seems to be one more illustration of how the characters in the book turn to each other to heal their trauma through "rememory," and the collective process of making sense of the atrocities of slavery.
Although this is inspirational it's hard to imagine Sethe being a friend to anyone. Is a "friend of your mind" different in some way than a regular old friend?
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Loving Beloved: Notes from the NMHC Chair
Words of reflection and wisdom from the NMHC Chair, Doris Fields:
We love it too, and are always grateful to consider new perspectives! Thank you Doris!
Morrison's Beloved is about so much. In part it is about pride and a kind of love that is difficult to describe: love of family, love of life, love of freedom, love of color, love of self, love of community and, so very much, grace. For a people who were dis-Africanized, subsequently racialized, and socialized to loathe all that is of Africa and, thus, themselves. Through Baby Suggs, Morrison urges all of us to love, to love ourselves. Not the plain old self we think about commonly but the detailed self, every inch of self. This passage is one to which I refer regularly, particularly when I think myself about to be defeated. It reminds me to love every part of me, to stand up for what I believe in. It reminds me to be gracious in my loving, in my family, and in my efforts for community uplift.
I found water to be a major theme in Beloved. Morrison shows its necessity, that water is life-giving and sustaining: the Ohio river marks a boundary and provides a passage from bondage to freedom. Beloved, a very special child, is born in water; there is a stream in the back of 124; Beloved and Sethe are repeatedly connected via water, whether at the sea, under the bridge (over water), or in the river; Sethe returns from the carnival and seems to pee just short of forever; Sethe recognized Beloved's re-entry into her life (although she never truly left her) because of her incessant drinking, cup after cup; she dribbles. What is Morrison telling us? I hope to hear/read other views and takes on Beloved. Shall I say I love this book and urge everyone to read it!?! The New Mexico Humanities Council made a genius decision in including all of these Pulitzer winners. I really did not mean to go on, so but I love this book!
We love it too, and are always grateful to consider new perspectives! Thank you Doris!
Monday, April 18, 2016
"Beloved" Book Discussion at Branigan Library, April 14th!
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.
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Beloved discussion today at Thomas Branigan!
Join us at 2 pm today at the Thomas Branigan Memorial Library for a discussion of Beloved.
In case you missed it... Here is a list of some questions that we may discuss, please feel free to comment on these or other questions… Does the book engage you to keep reading? What strikes you about the characters, plot, point of view?
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?
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?
In case you missed it... Here is a list of some questions that we may discuss, please feel free to comment on these or other questions… Does the book engage you to keep reading? What strikes you about the characters, plot, point of view?
Discussion Questions
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?
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.
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?
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.
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?
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?
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.
(Questions from LitLovers.com)
(Questions from LitLovers.com)
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Happy Drop Everything and Read Day!
Not a problem when you've got a good book! Beloved fans can also call it "It's time to lay it all down and Read Day"..."Lay em down, Sethe. Sword and shield. Down. Down. Both of em down. Down by the riverside. Sword and shield. Don't study war no more. Lay all that mess down. Sword and shield." And under the pressing fingers and the quiet instructive voice, she would. Her heavy knives of defense against misery, regret, gall and hurt, she placed one by one on a bank where clear water rushed on below.
Friday, April 8, 2016
Branigan Library is starting our 100 years of
Pulitzer celebration on National Library Week, April 10 – 16! Our first book discussion in the Reading
Challenge – “Read 5 Books in 5 Months”! will be on Thursday, April 14th at the library at
2:00pm. We will be discussing “Beloved”
by Toni Morrison.
“Beloved” set in 1873-74, Toni Morrison examines the painful part of the African
American heritage, slavery by “rememory” – “deliberately reconstructing what
has been forgotten.” Morrison
shows the physical and psychological effects slavery has on African American
women.Here is a list of some questions that we may discuss, please feel free to comment on these or other questions… Does the book engage you to keep reading? What strikes you about the characters, plot, point of view?
Discussion Questions
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?
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.
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?
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.
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?
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?
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.
(Questions from LitLovers.com)
Discussion Questions & More! #Pulitzer100
(Questions from LitLovers.com)
Discussion Questions & More! #Pulitzer100
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Join the Reading Challenge at Octavia Fellin Library
5 Pulitzers in 5 Months!
To commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Pulitzer Prize, Octavia Fellin Public Library is one of six libraries across New Mexico to partner with the New Mexico Humanities Council, bringing a very special reading grant to our communities.
We invite you to join us as we read and discuss five Pulitzer winning and nominated books beginning in May 2016.
The novels chosen for this challenge are:
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
Lovely, Dark, Deep by Joyce Carol Oates
The Stories of John Cheever
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Discussions will be held on the Tuesdays listed above in the Main Library Meeting Room. To reserve your place in the discussions and pick up a copy of the books visit the library beginning April 11th or contact us by phone: 505-863-1291. Registration for all groups begins Monday, April 11, 2016 at the Main Branch of the Library, 115 West Hill Avenue, Gallup, NM. Please stop by to fill out a signup form and receive your books and informational materials.
Our facilitator for the discussions is Gallup resident Lynn Huenemann. Lynn is a former elementary, high school and college teacher in the fields of World Music, Cultural Studies and Education. He is a past faculty member of University of New Mexico, Diné College, and Arizona State University.
Visit our Reading Guide for quick and easy insights into the books and authors on our reading list!
Rememory & Scarification in Beloved
In this discussion of Toni Morrison's Beloved, Jason Campbell makes a powerful argument that "rememory," though a painful process, allows for healing through collective sympathy.
read Campbell's paper here
Monday, March 28, 2016
THOMAS BRANIGAN MEMORIAL LIBRARY Las Cruces, NM
THOMAS BRANIGAN MEMORIAL LIBRARY
“2016 Reading Challenge - Read 5 Pulitzers in 5 Months!”
New Mexico Humanities Council and Selected Libraries Across the State of New Mexico will be celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Pulitzer Prizes. Thomas Branigan Library is one of six libraries across the state and many around the country hosting special programs to commemorate the event.
We invite you to join in and be part of the celebration! We will read and discuss one Pulitzer (either a finalist or prize-winner) novel each month. These novels represent different historical periods, regions and cultures, but all of them reveal meaningful perspectives on ourselves, our own culture and the world we live in.
The titles we will be discussing:
April 14 - “Beloved”- Toni Morrison
May 12 – “The Stories of John Cheever” - John Cheever
June 9 – “The Plague of Doves” - Louise Erdrich
July 14 – “Lovely, Dark, Deep” - Joyce Carol Oates
August 18 – “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” - Junot Diaz
The discussions will be held on Thursdays at 2:00pm in the library board room.
Reserve your place in the discussions and pick up a copy of the books by contacting the Reference Department @ 575/528-4005 or email library.reference@las-cruces.org. #Pulitzer100
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Read 5 Pulitzer Titles in 5 Months!
To commemorate the centennial of the Pulitzer Prizes, six libraries from across New Mexico are partnering with the New Mexico Humanities Council to present a five month reading and discussion series centered on five works of fiction deemed among the best of the best by Prize judges over the years.Each library will host a program designed to challenge and engage members of its respective community to read and discuss one Pulitzer Prize novel each month-novels that represent different historical periods,regions, and culture but that all reveal meaningful perspectives on ourselves, our own culture, and the world we live in.
"The New Mexico Humanities Council supports the Pulitzer Campfire Initiative because everybody should have the opportunity to read and enjoy good novels," said Dr. Craig Newbill, executive director of the New Mexico Humanities Council.
"Reading fosters emotional intelligence and enhances social and personal interactions,"Newbill said."The best literature provides for valuable experiences and personal growth. It is enjoyable and personally rewarding to read really good books and share details about life. It is pleasing and not just a theoretical activity."
Visit a participating library for details and to take part in activities and discussions.
Thomas C. Donnelly Library at New Mexico Highlands University 900 University Ave, Las Vegas, NM 87701; 505-454-3322 Reading discussions begin August 2016
The Public Library ABQ-BernCo | South Broadway Library 1025 Broadway SE Albuquerque, NM 87102 (505) 764-1742; Reading discussion begins in August 2016
Clovis-Carver Public Library 701 N. Main St Clovis, NM 88101 575-763-9687; Reading discussions begin May 2016
Marshall Memorial Library in 110 S. Diamond Ave, Deming, NM 88030 575/546-9202; Reading discussions begin May 2016
Octavia Fellin Public Library; 115 W. Hill Ave, Gallup, NM 87301; 505-863-1291 Reading Discussions begin May, 2016
Thomas Branigan Memorial Library; 200 E Picacho Ave, Las Cruces, NM 88001, 575-528-4000; Reading discussions begin April, 2016
Let us know how you did, or how you’re doing, by using the hashtag #pulitzer100 on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter! We look forward to reading and discussing these novels with you!
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