Sethe is described in many ways throughout the novel, however the one that sticks with me the most is the description of the scars on her back. Initially the scars on her back are described as as a tree which often will represent growth and development. This would be telling how she has grown from her past and will continue down a positive past in the future however this does not last. After Paul D. arrives he sees what he once saw as an image of a tree as just scarred flesh. This could represent many things; for one it could represent wishful thinking. The initial view of the scar turned out to be different than he expected, as Sethe had hoped for a positive future full of progress and development, she would never achieve it because she is held back by her fears. The interpretation of the scar could also mirror her killing Beloved. Initially she felt that killing Beloved was what was best for her, to keep her from slavery, however the result was one of guilt. The changed view shows that what she had seen as necessary and good is not actually the case, as the scar changed from an image to nothing.
Sethe's appearance changes many times throughout the novel. One instance I want to focus in on is when her back is scarred and looks like a chokecherry tree after she is beaten. As such, Sethe explains that she was whipped before she ran away from Sweet Home to meet her mother-in-law at 124. She reveals that the resulting scars from the whipping looked like a chokecherry tree. This very image painted by Morrison speaks to me. The scars appear to be clumped and branch out as they resonate on her back. I believe that the scar is a reminder to the readers that no matter what her skin color is, Sethe is still a human and her humanization transcends the boundary that her skin color places on her. The tree is symbolic of growth, life, and existence. In the same sense, I pondered why Morrison decided to chose a chokecherry tree to represent the marks made on her back. As it turns out, chokecherry trees are invasive. They never stay in the same place, just like racism. Just as the chokecherry trees are invasive, so is racism and both will forever be with her. Even so, Paul D lies awake in Sethe’s bed and decides that her chokecherry tree marking is nothing but an ugly clump of scars. To me, this showed that other people will not interpret the abuse that someone experiences the same way as the person who experienced it, especially when it comes to abuse that is done to those who were enslaved. In order for Sethe to continue on from this, she has to grow just like chokecherry trees.
Chronologically, in the beginning Sethe is described as young and she works at Sweet Home for Mrs. Garner. Her youth, while not described, is easy to imagine. Her state of mind is not exactly naive, but the true horrors of slavery have not been experienced yet. When she gets 'married' she receives a pair of earrings and wears a nice dress, oblivious to the fact that she has it so good. When schoolteacher shows up and cracks down on the slaves, the scar on Sethe's back is representative of her new state of mind. She is desperate to save her children from the new life in which she is experiencing, but strong-willed enough to endure. Arriving at 124, Sethe now wears those earrings, likewise she is oblivious to the calm before the storm. Here, Sethe can let herself be seen just like those earrings and enjoy her life and her children. Once the haunting begins, Sethe becomes gentler. Her hair comes down and her legs shine with chamomile. While daily life and the ghost bother Sethe, she becomes less formal, and resigns herself to a life of rashes and hauntings. Finally, towards the end of the novel, Sethe is weak and thin and lays all day on Baby Suggs' bed. She has given up, and there is nothing left to it.
Agreeing with Kate, Sethe received a pair of earrings and a dress for her marriage, not realizing just how good she had it. However, she soon enough received a chokeberry tree on her back. This was the turning point of Sethe. I feel as though the tree represents Sethe’s family tree which provided a constant reminder for Sethe to protect her family. I feel like the tree showed strength in Sethe that she survived something so painful and crucial to herself as a person. However, towards the end of the novel, Beloved consumed Sethe. Sethe began to be seen as so small and frail, and Beloved was becoming so big, much bigger than Sethe. It was almost as if Sethe wasn’t capable of protecting her family anymore. She needed to protect herself.
I don't really think you can say that Sethe "had it good" during the time when she received the earrings and dress for her marriage. She was still a slave. Yes, Mrs. Garner was nice enough to acknowledge her marriage to Halle and gift her a pair of earrings. But she never let Sethe have a formal wedding, like white people did and she laughed when Sethe asked if there would be one. Also, Sethe had to stitch the dress herself so it was probably far from glamorous. Compared to most slaves during that time, Sethe knew she was lucky to be owned by Mr. and Mrs. Garner. This time was one of the bright spots in Sethe's life and she was in a hopeful, happy state of mind.
I believe that the most significant description of Sethe is the one of the chokeberry tree on her back. The tree can represent many different things. There is no question that the scar is a reminder of Sethe’s strength. During slavery Sethe went through events that could easily break someone, yet Sethe went on to raise her family. This is why I like what Cassidy said above about the tree acting as a family tree that is a constant reminder that her family always comes first. I also think it is ironic that the tree is described as a “chokeberry tree,” since she slit the neck of her own daughter. While the tree is be a reminder to her that family is the most important thing, it is also act as a reminder of slavery. The reason the chokeberry tree occurred is part of what lead Sethe to slit the neck of her own daughter.
Sethe's character is one of kind. Morrison shows that her character is no longer able to trust people, because she was taken advantage of and hurt at a young age. Sethe, when the reader first meets her, see that she is strong independent woman who has seen and dealt with things that no person should ever have to, which is why she tries to forget the past. Sethe's life is affected heavily by the killing of her daughter Beloved, and because of this she struggles to move forward in life because of Beloved's ghost. Sethe's actions accommodate to her character and who she becomes and because of this, Sethe soon begins to deteriorate emotionally and physically as a person.
I can agree with Alexis that Sethe never “had it good”. Yes she was treated well by the Garners and was supported, but that does not take away from the fact that she was in slavery none the less. The most important description of Sethe was the scars on her back. The scars represent her torture and the pain she suffered as well as how they stick with her. As Paul D looks at her back, he describes the scars to maintain the shape of a chokecherry tree. A tree in any sense represents growth and branching out to new experiences. At the beginning of the novel, she is not nessesarily in a point to grow or create new beginnings. The tree is invasive and is a representation of racism and the past of slavery spreading over her life. I think it changes her mindset that she has to invade the invasive. It is hr job to stop the tree from growing and invading her life. And at the end of the novel, she does just that and takes over the invasive idea of the tree.
Sethe was a woman full of strength. Similar to the other comments, one description that I noted was the tree on her back. Like a tree, she is incredibly strong and can withstand a lot. She lived through the horrible time of slavery and endured the brutal treatment bestowed upon her. SHe is a woman of enormous strength. But as the novel progresses and Beloved gets stronger, Sethe starts to whither away. Towards the end of the novel, she is very thin and appears very ill.
A determined woman, Sethe is strong, both physically and mentally. However she does endure hardships, and at times shows signs of weakness. Yes she kills one of her children, but one she fought to keep alive. She carried Denver in her for a good part of her journey to Ohio, before finally giving birth to her on a boat. She also survived being a slave, and escaping from being a slave. when we reach the end of the novel however, Beloved has stolen most of that strength from Sethe, and she is withered away.
Throughout the story Sethe is described in many different ways. I got the opinion that when she was young and naive, living on Sweet Home that she was quite beautiful. However, when you skip to the more current time, especially around Paul D’s arrival, Sethe is no longer described as very pretty. They draw emphasis to her pretty eyes a lot, but Paul D does not see her as attractive. A big part of her appearance comes in the form of the scars on her back that someone once said looked like a chokecherry tree. While Sethe thought the tree was okay for a while, as time goes on, those around her see how ugly it truly is. It seems that when Sethe lost her innocence on Sweet Home she also lost her looks. I also think that Cassidy’s point about the tree being a “family tree” of sorts is extremely interesting.
Sethe is described in many ways throughout Beloved. Initally, as a child, she is described as beautiful. At Sweet Home, all the men fight over her, and she is portrayed as very attractive. However, as the novel progresses and Paul D arrives at 124, he is surprised by her appearance. Her physical attractiveness has diminshed, and Paul D sees the scars on her back which looks like a chokecherry tree. The branches on her back spread and represent her memories of slavery taking control of her life. She needs to prevent the tree from growing and relieve herself of her past memories.
Sethe’s appearance that sticks with me most are the scars on her back. They are described as the relative of a chokecherry tree. She got the scars from being beaten and whipped while at Sweet Home. The way I picture the scars is very jagged, winding, and sharp. The appearance of the scars represent the hardships Sethe went through. The scars still being there is a reminder of her past that will never be forgotten.
The most noticeable changed I noted with Sethe was how when she was a young woman at Sweet Home, all the men competed to get with her because they were in awe by her beauty. Yet, years later, when one of these men (Paul D) finally has the opportunity to have sex with her he doesn’t see her beauty. Another change that I noticed in Sethe is how she starts off as a strong woman who had endured a lot as a slave. However, when Beloved is introduced she begins losing weight, and withers away. Essentially all that strength she built up gets taken away from her and for a time she is a weak character in the novel. Sethe has never been one to let someone else control her. Hence why she was so invested in escaping the plantation. But when Beloved is seeking revenge, she doesn’t try to stop her control.
Morrison provides various descriptions for Sethe, regarding her physical appearance, throughout Beloved. At first we seen to believe she is an attractive woman - all of the men at Sweet Home fight over her and want to be with her. However, when Paul D is introduced we learn about her scar, in the shape of a chokecherry and his disgust by it leads readers to draw a new conclusion. Personally, I picture Sethe to be weak, despite her endurance to her treatment as a slave. She is unable to move past what she previously dealt with as a slave, and is hurt over and over again, as she deals with isolation. By the end of the novel, I feel as though she almost reaches a point where if she is kicked down once more she won't be able to recover.
Sethe is described in many different ways throughout the novel. At Sweet Home, Sethe was very attractive as she had a group of men fighting over her. As the novel progresses however, Sethe begins to lose her physical attractiveness. When Paul D, one of the men who had fought over her, saw her years after Sweet Home, he was surprised how different her appearance was from the last time he saw her. Sethe is also very strong initially as she was able to withstand the hardships of slavery which included being whipped and raped. However when Beloved returns, Sethe grew weaker and skinnier like she was ill.
There are many descriptions of Sethe throughout the novel. As a child, Sethe was described as beautiful. A little while later at Sweet Home, Sethe was described as attractive and all the men fought over her. the men fight over her. As the novel moves on, Paul D arrives at 124 and he is shocked by Sethe. Her attractiveness as gone and she has scars on her back which resemble a chokecherry tree. The scars of slavery are forever with her and slavery is slowly taking her personality from her. She is miserable and she believes a ghost of Beloved is haunting 124.
Throughout this novel Sethe is described many different ways. The first time she is described is when she was still a Sweet Home. Sethe was described as very beautiful and even had a group of Men fighting Men over her, however over time her beauty veins to fade. When Paul d, who previously was kne of the men who fought over Sethe, was disgusted by Sethes scars and appearance when he arrived at Sweet Home. I feel as if Sethe was described as weak throughout the story, as she is unable to move away from her past as unable to properly be a member of the community.
The imagery used to describe Sethe scars on her back really stuck out to me. The scars tell a story from her past. A story that will never go away. Although Sethe may not be able to see it personally because it is on her back she will always know it is there. Sethe is a character who portrays a strong brave woman that over time gets weaker and weaker because of everything she goes through.
When Sethe is described during her time at Sweet Home, she is described as having beautiful hair. She is the epitome of sexiaulity during her time at Sweet Home; all of the men desire her but do not dare to touch her. Morrison depicts Sethe this way to showcase her innocence. Eighteen years later, Sethe is described much differently. Paul D no longer has much of a sexual attraction toward Sethe. In fact, he is repulsed by the scars on her back. He describes Sethe as having iron in her eyes, meaning she has closed herself off and she is no longer as innocent as she once was because of the horrors she experienced from slavery - being whipped, raped, and driven to kill her baby. Morrison describes Sethe’s appearance differently throughout the novel to reflect her changing mind.
Sethe description changes throughout the novel. She is seen as a beautiful woman throughout her whole youth and used to be fought over by men in Sweet Home. When having sex with Paul D, we see that she is scarred with marks that were caused from being beaten in Sweet Home. We see that this beautiful woman carries a layer of unappealing sights. She may seem to be of well standing but is a woman whose feet are crumbling beneath her. At the end of the story she appears so weak that she could never recover.
Throughout the novel, Sethe’s description changes as her character changes. At first, she is marked by her choke-cherry scars, leaving her a physical reminder of her slavery. She has escaped and made it free, but her past has always characterized her. She was broken down and tortured as a slave, but she grew into a strong and independent woman who makes her own decisions, regardless of how people judge her.
There are many different ways in which Sethe’s appearance is described throughout the novel and it does reflect her changing states of mind. At Sweet Home, Sethe is abused and tortured, including being whipped. In result of the whipping, Sethe is left with scars on her back that resemble the shape of a tree. Trees are symbolic of growth, healing and comfort. This is ironic as the scars on Sethe represent pain and torture. The whipping and the scars that remain serve as a reminder to Sethe that she is still human even when the cruel acts of slavery are dehumanizing. Moreover, the scars on Sethe’s back are more specifically in the shape of a chokecherry tree, which is invasive. This is symbolic as a chokecherry tree never stays in one place, just like racism. Slavery has taken over Sethe’s life and she will forever carry the horrors of slavery with her. Along with her appearance, her state of mind, regarding her strength, decreased over the course of the novel because the toll of slavery was overbearing.
I agree with everyone else in the fact that Sethe's physical discription of the scar shaped like a tree on her back portrays her as strong and able to withstand anything. Another description that showed her strong side was when she was in the shed with Amy and her feet were cut up and her back was bleeding. Not only was she physically exhausted and hurt, but she was pregnant on top of it. Her dedication to get Beloved her milk and to get Denver to 124 showed her as a strong and dedicated mother, unlike what other scenes may have portrayed her as.
Once beautiful and desired by all the men a Sweethome, Sethe's appearance decays throughout the book. As a young girl, she was beautiful and that carried on until Sweethome. When Paul D came to see Sethe and they had their encounter, he saw beauty in her scars, but those scars stopped looking like a tree and became gruesome and ugly. Amy said her back looked like a chokecherry tree which can represent her family and the scarring she went through. It also says there is iron in her eyes which means that she is strong and has gone through a lot. This is because of events like the rape, whipping, and killing of Beloved.
Chronologically, one of the early descriptions of Sethe is when she is escaping from Sweet Home. She is pregnant, messy and dirty from running, has swollen feet that she can barely walk on, and is bleeding from open wounds from whips on her back which are described as a chokecherry tree. This appearance is pitiful, it is clear that she is in immense pain and she is lucky to have someone like Amy help her along. Although Sethe is physically described as weak at this point, she is still alive, young and full of determination to reach Cincinnati. Towards the end of the book, however, Sethe is suffering in a different type of way as result of Beloved. She is becoming thin and fragile, appearing weaker every day that Beloved stays with her. Sethe appears to have given into this pain at its worst, resorting to laying in the bed where Baby Suggs died. Both descriptions of Sethe show that she was close to death, but for entirely different reasons. The first was purely physical, however the second instance of a total lack of strength is due to her past weighing too heavily on her and tearing her apart both physically and mentally.
Sethe’s appearance is described in various ways throughout the novel. The first physical description of Sethe was of the scar on her back showing what she had been through while enslaved at Sweet Home. However, the scar is described as a tree, usually having a positive connotation. Accepting her scar, Sethe didn't really feel ashamed of it; until Paul D saw it and didn't think of it as anything special. As the novel progresses it is quite clear that Sethe is changing. The last description of her is weak and vulnerable, showing everything that has happened to Sethe after she escaped from Sweet Home. Beloved coming back and sucking the life out of Sethe, really took a toll on her causing her appearance to unfortunately change for the worse.
Sethe's appearance was run down. This was a direct result of the life she lived. Her life as a slave left her brusied, battered, and scarred. The scars on her back initially were referred to as a tree. A tree is life, it is growth, this could possibly mean hope In Sethe's future? Well not exactly. Paul D. comes into her life which is at first a good thing for her, but when he sees her scars on her back he is repulsed. To him they do not represent a tree of growth, promise, and hope. At the end of the novel Sethe looses the energy and life about her. Beloved sucks the energy out of her in order to gain vengeance from the past actions of her mother. Sethe's life never really had a big hopeful moment because her past and her position in life would not permit her to be happy or at least enjoy the life she did have. Her appearance was hurt
At the beginning of the novel, I imagined Sethe to be youthful and beautiful. The proof behind this is supported by the fact that the slaves around her competed for her love and attention, and when Halle won Sethe’s heart, the remaining slaves bowed down in defeat. While she was still captive, her life at Sweet Home under the authority of Mr. Garner was the best treatment she ever received. When schoolteacher arrives and takes over, Sethe’s physical deterioration mimics her mental deterioration (this decline also takes place when Beloved arrives at 124). The chokecherry tree of scars she is branded with mark the lasting effects of abuse that have been literally carved into her skin. The branches of the tree resemble balance and stability, something Sethe has never known. When Paul D arrives to 124, he almost doesn’t recognize Sethe. After years of coping with trauma, Sethe’s physical appearance had greatly declined. Also, once Beloved sucks the life out of Sethe by the end of the novel, her appearance is at an all time low. She is sickly, withered down, and low in energy, just the way she was when she left Sweet Home, only this time, rejuvenation seems much less likely. Overall, I can conclude through Morrison’s descriptions that Sethe’s strength and moral deflates from her time as a slave to a free woman, which seems odd, but is unfortunately true. One would think that after achieving freedom, Sethe would be able to revitalize her spirits, but this is not the case.
When Sethe is at Sweet Home and it is still being run by the Garner's, her appearance is representative of her innocence and ignorance. On her "wedding day" she wears a dress and earrings and appears youthful, and therefore oblivious to what life as a slave can really be like. When schoolteacher takes over, she becomes marked with scars on her back from being whipped. The scars that look like a cherrychoke tree are symbolic of how she has been exposed to reality and she is both physically and mentally scarred. The invasive nature of the cherrychoke tree is a metaphor for how the schoolteacher invaded Sethe's innocence. When she decides to leave Sweet Home, she is pregnant and becomes tired quickly, her spirits withered. With the help of some people along the way though, she gets healing and makes it to the north. At 124, Sethe is almost comforted by the hauntings at first and she lets her hair down and has legs that shine with chamomille. For a short time, especially when Paul D first arrives, Sethe's appearance seems to represent someone who is comfortable with life. However, once her rememory becomes worse and Beloved reappears, Sethe 's appearance changes drastically. She loses weight and becomes frail and looks like she is withering away. She looks like Baby Suggs, and theres a chance that with the help of Paul D and Denver, she might gain a healthy appearance once again.
Sethe is described in many ways throughout the novel, however the one that sticks with me the most is the description of the scars on her back. Initially the scars on her back are described as as a tree which often will represent growth and development. This would be telling how she has grown from her past and will continue down a positive past in the future however this does not last. After Paul D. arrives he sees what he once saw as an image of a tree as just scarred flesh. This could represent many things; for one it could represent wishful thinking. The initial view of the scar turned out to be different than he expected, as Sethe had hoped for a positive future full of progress and development, she would never achieve it because she is held back by her fears. The interpretation of the scar could also mirror her killing Beloved. Initially she felt that killing Beloved was what was best for her, to keep her from slavery, however the result was one of guilt. The changed view shows that what she had seen as necessary and good is not actually the case, as the scar changed from an image to nothing.
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ReplyDeleteSethe's appearance changes many times throughout the novel. One instance I want to focus in on is when her back is scarred and looks like a chokecherry tree after she is beaten. As such, Sethe explains that she was whipped before she ran away from Sweet Home to meet her mother-in-law at 124. She reveals that the resulting scars from the whipping looked like a chokecherry tree. This very image painted by Morrison speaks to me. The scars appear to be clumped and branch out as they resonate on her back. I believe that the scar is a reminder to the readers that no matter what her skin color is, Sethe is still a human and her humanization transcends the boundary that her skin color places on her. The tree is symbolic of growth, life, and existence. In the same sense, I pondered why Morrison decided to chose a chokecherry tree to represent the marks made on her back. As it turns out, chokecherry trees are invasive. They never stay in the same place, just like racism. Just as the chokecherry trees are invasive, so is racism and both will forever be with her. Even so, Paul D lies awake in Sethe’s bed and decides that her chokecherry tree marking is nothing but an ugly clump of scars. To me, this showed that other people will not interpret the abuse that someone experiences the same way as the person who experienced it, especially when it comes to abuse that is done to those who were enslaved. In order for Sethe to continue on from this, she has to grow just like chokecherry trees.
ReplyDeleteChronologically, in the beginning Sethe is described as young and she works at Sweet Home for Mrs. Garner. Her youth, while not described, is easy to imagine. Her state of mind is not exactly naive, but the true horrors of slavery have not been experienced yet. When she gets 'married' she receives a pair of earrings and wears a nice dress, oblivious to the fact that she has it so good. When schoolteacher shows up and cracks down on the slaves, the scar on Sethe's back is representative of her new state of mind. She is desperate to save her children from the new life in which she is experiencing, but strong-willed enough to endure. Arriving at 124, Sethe now wears those earrings, likewise she is oblivious to the calm before the storm. Here, Sethe can let herself be seen just like those earrings and enjoy her life and her children. Once the haunting begins, Sethe becomes gentler. Her hair comes down and her legs shine with chamomile. While daily life and the ghost bother Sethe, she becomes less formal, and resigns herself to a life of rashes and hauntings. Finally, towards the end of the novel, Sethe is weak and thin and lays all day on Baby Suggs' bed. She has given up, and there is nothing left to it.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with Kate, Sethe received a pair of earrings and a dress for her marriage, not realizing just how good she had it. However, she soon enough received a chokeberry tree on her back. This was the turning point of Sethe. I feel as though the tree represents Sethe’s family tree which provided a constant reminder for Sethe to protect her family. I feel like the tree showed strength in Sethe that she survived something so painful and crucial to herself as a person. However, towards the end of the novel, Beloved consumed Sethe. Sethe began to be seen as so small and frail, and Beloved was becoming so big, much bigger than Sethe. It was almost as if Sethe wasn’t capable of protecting her family anymore. She needed to protect herself.
ReplyDeleteI don't really think you can say that Sethe "had it good" during the time when she received the earrings and dress for her marriage. She was still a slave. Yes, Mrs. Garner was nice enough to acknowledge her marriage to Halle and gift her a pair of earrings. But she never let Sethe have a formal wedding, like white people did and she laughed when Sethe asked if there would be one. Also, Sethe had to stitch the dress herself so it was probably far from glamorous. Compared to most slaves during that time, Sethe knew she was lucky to be owned by Mr. and Mrs. Garner. This time was one of the bright spots in Sethe's life and she was in a hopeful, happy state of mind.
DeleteI believe that the most significant description of Sethe is the one of the chokeberry tree on her back. The tree can represent many different things. There is no question that the scar is a reminder of Sethe’s strength. During slavery Sethe went through events that could easily break someone, yet Sethe went on to raise her family. This is why I like what Cassidy said above about the tree acting as a family tree that is a constant reminder that her family always comes first. I also think it is ironic that the tree is described as a “chokeberry tree,” since she slit the neck of her own daughter. While the tree is be a reminder to her that family is the most important thing, it is also act as a reminder of slavery. The reason the chokeberry tree occurred is part of what lead Sethe to slit the neck of her own daughter.
ReplyDeleteSethe's character is one of kind. Morrison shows that her character is no longer able to trust people, because she was taken advantage of and hurt at a young age. Sethe, when the reader first meets her, see that she is strong independent woman who has seen and dealt with things that no person should ever have to, which is why she tries to forget the past. Sethe's life is affected heavily by the killing of her daughter Beloved, and because of this she struggles to move forward in life because of Beloved's ghost. Sethe's actions accommodate to her character and who she becomes and because of this, Sethe soon begins to deteriorate emotionally and physically as a person.
ReplyDeleteI can agree with Alexis that Sethe never “had it good”. Yes she was treated well by the Garners and was supported, but that does not take away from the fact that she was in slavery none the less. The most important description of Sethe was the scars on her back. The scars represent her torture and the pain she suffered as well as how they stick with her. As Paul D looks at her back, he describes the scars to maintain the shape of a chokecherry tree. A tree in any sense represents growth and branching out to new experiences. At the beginning of the novel, she is not nessesarily in a point to grow or create new beginnings. The tree is invasive and is a representation of racism and the past of slavery spreading over her life. I think it changes her mindset that she has to invade the invasive. It is hr job to stop the tree from growing and invading her life. And at the end of the novel, she does just that and takes over the invasive idea of the tree.
ReplyDeleteSethe was a woman full of strength. Similar to the other comments, one description that I noted was the tree on her back. Like a tree, she is incredibly strong and can withstand a lot. She lived through the horrible time of slavery and endured the brutal treatment bestowed upon her. SHe is a woman of enormous strength. But as the novel progresses and Beloved gets stronger, Sethe starts to whither away. Towards the end of the novel, she is very thin and appears very ill.
ReplyDeleteA determined woman, Sethe is strong, both physically and mentally. However she does endure hardships, and at times shows signs of weakness. Yes she kills one of her children, but one she fought to keep alive. She carried Denver in her for a good part of her journey to Ohio, before finally giving birth to her on a boat. She also survived being a slave, and escaping from being a slave. when we reach the end of the novel however, Beloved has stolen most of that strength from Sethe, and she is withered away.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the story Sethe is described in many different ways. I got the opinion that when she was young and naive, living on Sweet Home that she was quite beautiful. However, when you skip to the more current time, especially around Paul D’s arrival, Sethe is no longer described as very pretty. They draw emphasis to her pretty eyes a lot, but Paul D does not see her as attractive. A big part of her appearance comes in the form of the scars on her back that someone once said looked like a chokecherry tree. While Sethe thought the tree was okay for a while, as time goes on, those around her see how ugly it truly is. It seems that when Sethe lost her innocence on Sweet Home she also lost her looks. I also think that Cassidy’s point about the tree being a “family tree” of sorts is extremely interesting.
ReplyDeleteSethe is described in many ways throughout Beloved. Initally, as a child, she is described as beautiful. At Sweet Home, all the men fight over her, and she is portrayed as very attractive. However, as the novel progresses and Paul D arrives at 124, he is surprised by her appearance. Her physical attractiveness has diminshed, and Paul D sees the scars on her back which looks like a chokecherry tree. The branches on her back spread and represent her memories of slavery taking control of her life. She needs to prevent the tree from growing and relieve herself of her past memories.
ReplyDeleteSethe’s appearance that sticks with me most are the scars on her back. They are described as the relative of a chokecherry tree. She got the scars from being beaten and whipped while at Sweet Home. The way I picture the scars is very jagged, winding, and sharp. The appearance of the scars represent the hardships Sethe went through. The scars still being there is a reminder of her past that will never be forgotten.
ReplyDeleteThe most noticeable changed I noted with Sethe was how when she was a young woman at Sweet Home, all the men competed to get with her because they were in awe by her beauty. Yet, years later, when one of these men (Paul D) finally has the opportunity to have sex with her he doesn’t see her beauty.
ReplyDeleteAnother change that I noticed in Sethe is how she starts off as a strong woman who had endured a lot as a slave. However, when Beloved is introduced she begins losing weight, and withers away. Essentially all that strength she built up gets taken away from her and for a time she is a weak character in the novel. Sethe has never been one to let someone else control her. Hence why she was so invested in escaping the plantation. But when Beloved is seeking revenge, she doesn’t try to stop her control.
Morrison provides various descriptions for Sethe, regarding her physical appearance, throughout Beloved. At first we seen to believe she is an attractive woman - all of the men at Sweet Home fight over her and want to be with her. However, when Paul D is introduced we learn about her scar, in the shape of a chokecherry and his disgust by it leads readers to draw a new conclusion. Personally, I picture Sethe to be weak, despite her endurance to her treatment as a slave. She is unable to move past what she previously dealt with as a slave, and is hurt over and over again, as she deals with isolation. By the end of the novel, I feel as though she almost reaches a point where if she is kicked down once more she won't be able to recover.
ReplyDeleteSethe is described in many different ways throughout the novel. At Sweet Home, Sethe was very attractive as she had a group of men fighting over her. As the novel progresses however, Sethe begins to lose her physical attractiveness. When Paul D, one of the men who had fought over her, saw her years after Sweet Home, he was surprised how different her appearance was from the last time he saw her. Sethe is also very strong initially as she was able to withstand the hardships of slavery which included being whipped and raped. However when Beloved returns, Sethe grew weaker and skinnier like she was ill.
ReplyDeleteThere are many descriptions of Sethe throughout the novel. As a child, Sethe was described as beautiful. A little while later at Sweet Home, Sethe was described as attractive and all the men fought over her. the men fight over her. As the novel moves on, Paul D arrives at 124 and he is shocked by Sethe. Her attractiveness as gone and she has scars on her back which resemble a chokecherry tree. The scars of slavery are forever with her and slavery is slowly taking her personality from her. She is miserable and she believes a ghost of Beloved is haunting 124.
ReplyDeleteThroughout this novel Sethe is described many different ways. The first time she is described is when she was still a Sweet Home. Sethe was described as very beautiful and even had a group of Men fighting Men over her, however over time her beauty veins to fade. When Paul d, who previously was kne of the men who fought over Sethe, was disgusted by Sethes scars and appearance when he arrived at Sweet Home. I feel as if Sethe was described as weak throughout the story, as she is unable to move away from her past as unable to properly be a member of the community.
ReplyDeleteThe imagery used to describe Sethe scars on her back really stuck out to me. The scars tell a story from her past. A story that will never go away. Although Sethe may not be able to see it personally because it is on her back she will always know it is there. Sethe is a character who portrays a strong brave woman that over time gets weaker and weaker because of everything she goes through.
ReplyDeleteWhen Sethe is described during her time at Sweet Home, she is described as having beautiful hair. She is the epitome of sexiaulity during her time at Sweet Home; all of the men desire her but do not dare to touch her. Morrison depicts Sethe this way to showcase her innocence. Eighteen years later, Sethe is described much differently. Paul D no longer has much of a sexual attraction toward Sethe. In fact, he is repulsed by the scars on her back. He describes Sethe as having iron in her eyes, meaning she has closed herself off and she is no longer as innocent as she once was because of the horrors she experienced from slavery - being whipped, raped, and driven to kill her baby. Morrison describes Sethe’s appearance differently throughout the novel to reflect her changing mind.
ReplyDeleteSethe description changes throughout the novel. She is seen as a beautiful woman throughout her whole youth and used to be fought over by men in Sweet Home. When having sex with Paul D, we see that she is scarred with marks that were caused from being beaten in Sweet Home. We see that this beautiful woman carries a layer of unappealing sights. She may seem to be of well standing but is a woman whose feet are crumbling beneath her. At the end of the story she appears so weak that she could never recover.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the novel, Sethe’s description changes as her character changes. At first, she is marked by her choke-cherry scars, leaving her a physical reminder of her slavery. She has escaped and made it free, but her past has always characterized her. She was broken down and tortured as a slave, but she grew into a strong and independent woman who makes her own decisions, regardless of how people judge her.
ReplyDeleteThere are many different ways in which Sethe’s appearance is described throughout the novel and it does reflect her changing states of mind. At Sweet Home, Sethe is abused and tortured, including being whipped. In result of the whipping, Sethe is left with scars on her back that resemble the shape of a tree. Trees are symbolic of growth, healing and comfort. This is ironic as the scars on Sethe represent pain and torture. The whipping and the scars that remain serve as a reminder to Sethe that she is still human even when the cruel acts of slavery are dehumanizing. Moreover, the scars on Sethe’s back are more specifically in the shape of a chokecherry tree, which is invasive. This is symbolic as a chokecherry tree never stays in one place, just like racism. Slavery has taken over Sethe’s life and she will forever carry the horrors of slavery with her. Along with her appearance, her state of mind, regarding her strength, decreased over the course of the novel because the toll of slavery was overbearing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone else in the fact that Sethe's physical discription of the scar shaped like a tree on her back portrays her as strong and able to withstand anything. Another description that showed her strong side was when she was in the shed with Amy and her feet were cut up and her back was bleeding. Not only was she physically exhausted and hurt, but she was pregnant on top of it. Her dedication to get Beloved her milk and to get Denver to 124 showed her as a strong and dedicated mother, unlike what other scenes may have portrayed her as.
ReplyDeleteOnce beautiful and desired by all the men a Sweethome, Sethe's appearance decays throughout the book. As a young girl, she was beautiful and that carried on until Sweethome. When Paul D came to see Sethe and they had their encounter, he saw beauty in her scars, but those scars stopped looking like a tree and became gruesome and ugly. Amy said her back looked like a chokecherry tree which can represent her family and the scarring she went through. It also says there is iron in her eyes which means that she is strong and has gone through a lot. This is because of events like the rape, whipping, and killing of Beloved.
ReplyDeleteChronologically, one of the early descriptions of Sethe is when she is escaping from Sweet Home. She is pregnant, messy and dirty from running, has swollen feet that she can barely walk on, and is bleeding from open wounds from whips on her back which are described as a chokecherry tree. This appearance is pitiful, it is clear that she is in immense pain and she is lucky to have someone like Amy help her along. Although Sethe is physically described as weak at this point, she is still alive, young and full of determination to reach Cincinnati. Towards the end of the book, however, Sethe is suffering in a different type of way as result of Beloved. She is becoming thin and fragile, appearing weaker every day that Beloved stays with her. Sethe appears to have given into this pain at its worst, resorting to laying in the bed where Baby Suggs died. Both descriptions of Sethe show that she was close to death, but for entirely different reasons. The first was purely physical, however the second instance of a total lack of strength is due to her past weighing too heavily on her and tearing her apart both physically and mentally.
ReplyDeleteSethe’s appearance is described in various ways throughout the novel. The first physical description of Sethe was of the scar on her back showing what she had been through while enslaved at Sweet Home. However, the scar is described as a tree, usually having a positive connotation. Accepting her scar, Sethe didn't really feel ashamed of it; until Paul D saw it and didn't think of it as anything special. As the novel progresses it is quite clear that Sethe is changing. The last description of her is weak and vulnerable, showing everything that has happened to Sethe after she escaped from Sweet Home. Beloved coming back and sucking the life out of Sethe, really took a toll on her causing her appearance to unfortunately change for the worse.
ReplyDeleteSethe's appearance was run down. This was a direct result of the life she lived. Her life as a slave left her brusied, battered, and scarred. The scars on her back initially were referred to as a tree. A tree is life, it is growth, this could possibly mean hope In Sethe's future? Well not exactly. Paul D. comes into her life which is at first a good thing for her, but when he sees her scars on her back he is repulsed. To him they do not represent a tree of growth, promise, and hope. At the end of the novel Sethe looses the energy and life about her. Beloved sucks the energy out of her in order to gain vengeance from the past actions of her mother. Sethe's life never really had a big hopeful moment because her past and her position in life would not permit her to be happy or at least enjoy the life she did have. Her appearance was hurt
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the novel, I imagined Sethe to be youthful and beautiful. The proof behind this is supported by the fact that the slaves around her competed for her love and attention, and when Halle won Sethe’s heart, the remaining slaves bowed down in defeat. While she was still captive, her life at Sweet Home under the authority of Mr. Garner was the best treatment she ever received. When schoolteacher arrives and takes over, Sethe’s physical deterioration mimics her mental deterioration (this decline also takes place when Beloved arrives at 124). The chokecherry tree of scars she is branded with mark the lasting effects of abuse that have been literally carved into her skin. The branches of the tree resemble balance and stability, something Sethe has never known. When Paul D arrives to 124, he almost doesn’t recognize Sethe. After years of coping with trauma, Sethe’s physical appearance had greatly declined. Also, once Beloved sucks the life out of Sethe by the end of the novel, her appearance is at an all time low. She is sickly, withered down, and low in energy, just the way she was when she left Sweet Home, only this time, rejuvenation seems much less likely. Overall, I can conclude through Morrison’s descriptions that Sethe’s strength and moral deflates from her time as a slave to a free woman, which seems odd, but is unfortunately true. One would think that after achieving freedom, Sethe would be able to revitalize her spirits, but this is not the case.
ReplyDeleteWhen Sethe is at Sweet Home and it is still being run by the Garner's, her appearance is representative of her innocence and ignorance. On her "wedding day" she wears a dress and earrings and appears youthful, and therefore oblivious to what life as a slave can really be like. When schoolteacher takes over, she becomes marked with scars on her back from being whipped. The scars that look like a cherrychoke tree are symbolic of how she has been exposed to reality and she is both physically and mentally scarred. The invasive nature of the cherrychoke tree is a metaphor for how the schoolteacher invaded Sethe's innocence. When she decides to leave Sweet Home, she is pregnant and becomes tired quickly, her spirits withered. With the help of some people along the way though, she gets healing and makes it to the north. At 124, Sethe is almost comforted by the hauntings at first and she lets her hair down and has legs that shine with chamomille. For a short time, especially when Paul D first arrives, Sethe's appearance seems to represent someone who is comfortable with life. However, once her rememory becomes worse and Beloved reappears, Sethe 's appearance changes drastically. She loses weight and becomes frail and looks like she is withering away. She looks like Baby Suggs, and theres a chance that with the help of Paul D and Denver, she might gain a healthy appearance once again.
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