In Beloved , Toni Morrison has colors play a role throughout the book. Describe the role of each color and discuss its significance throug...
Friday, April 8, 2016
Color symbolism
In Beloved, Toni Morrison has colors play a role throughout the book. Describe the role of each color and discuss its significance throughout the story.
I want to leave some colors for everyone else, so I'm going to focus in on red and green. The color red has many different connotations but in "Beloved" it seems to represent life. With Amy's velvet (Carmine is a shade of red)its her dream. It is the future that Amy has laying out in front of her and no matter the futility, she is going to spend all of her life and energy to get some. With Paul D and his red tin heart, that is full of all the emotions and memories that he has locked away for a long time and is finally letting spill out. Beloved's baby blood, even that represents life, even just the loss of it. It represents that life is not forever and that we are all mortal. The red roses that line the road to the carnival, they are supposed to represent the new life of Paul D, Denver and Sethe, albeit its snuffed out in a few hours. Green is more of a safe color in this book. Denver has her emerald closet that she goes to, to play and dream, away from the malevolent force inside 124.
I think Kate's comment was actually so eye opening. For the color red, Immediately I thought of Beloved's death and the taking of a life, as well as the red roses which were Sethe and Paul D.'s relationship which got cut short. I never put the pieces together to relate Amy's velvet to be a positive connotation to red. Her dreams, her promising future, being driven and represented by the red velvet. I loved that comment Kate!
Red is a recurring color throughout the novel. While it sometimes relates to death, other time it relates to hope. This color can signify many different things and I believe it’s meaning changes depending of the character it correlates with. For Sethe, it seemed like red symbolized death. The most memorable mention of red, relating to Sethe, was after she killed her baby, and had red blood all over her. However, when Amy looks for the red velvet, I believe that is signifying hope and desire. At one point in the novel it mentions Paul D’s “red heart.” The symbolism of the color red is changing again since it is talking about Paul D’s emotions. Overall, red was very symbolic throughout the story, helping the reader connect certain characteristic to specific characters.
Morrison purposely uses many colors throughout the course of her novel. One color that immediately stands out from the rest is the color red, which seems to be a recurring color throughout the novel. What is so interesting about this color is that it refers to many things in the novel, such as death, love, and even hope. The color red represents death because of the killing of Beloved. When Sethe murder her daughter, she slices her neck, and blood begins to drip down Beloved's corpse. This signifies her death by means of the fresh exposure of her blood all over her. Red also signifies hope in relation to Amy Denver when she was out searching for carmine velvet, which is red velvet. She had been looking for it for quite some time and she is determined to get it as she remains hopeful, even if she has to trek across many different areas to find it. Overall, Morrison's skillful implementation of the color red in her novel definitely is evident.
The color the Morrison uses most often and is seen the most throughout the novel is the color red. We see the color red in many ways from the delicate petals of a rose to the blood spilled all over the floor of the shed where Sethe killed Beloved. Generally speaking the color red is known to hold many different meanings such as love, anger, death, power, and desire, and in the novel it captures many of these themes. Most specific to this novel are anger and death; the death of beloved is central to the entire story, and her anger upon return to 124 is made apparent to all the readers. The rotten rose petals on the way back to 124 where they see Beloved for the first time is symbolic of her anger. While red roses usually symbolize love, Morrison uses rotting roses to show that it is not love but rather another emotion the color can symbolize.
Many colors are mentioned throughout the novel, but the one that's mentioned the most is the color red. This color is significant to the novel in different ways, having many meanings depending on the context. Overall, red represents life and death. Amy’s red velvet, Paul D’s heart and Stamp Paid’s red ribbon all represent life, strength and hope. However, the subtle mentionings of red when referring to Beloved especially, represents blood and death, having a negative connotation.
During this time period, everything was seen in black and white; physically speaking as there was slavery and racial controversy. As we know, Baby Suggs, Sethe, and others suffered through the physical and psychological damage of slavery. Baby Suggs, however, took a different approach on the effects. She wanted to make sure that nothing in her eyes was ever seen as black and white. She was sick of things being seen as just black and white, so she always added color to her life; she had an "appetite for color." Such as the bright orange patches on her blanket and “bringing in the lavender.” Color is also seen when Paul D enters the house. It was mentioned that, “A pool of red and undulating light that locked him where he stood.” This first reflected the threated that Beloved felt towards Paul D, as this was the first encounter the ghost of Beloved had with Paul D.
Part of the red family, the color pink is mentioned in the novel and associated with a specific event. Pink is a delicate color that is associated with babies, sweetness, playfulness, and tenderness just to name a few. This is the color of the mineral used for Beloved's headstone. It is when choosing this headstone that the engraver bargains having sex with Sethe in return for the free engraving of letters. Not only has her daughter died because of the power a white man held over Sethe, but now a white man is using his white privilege over Sethe and is taking advantage of this black woman who lost her child. This sexual act is not done out of love and is just another example of how black people were treated unjustly even after they were free. This event that takes place around this headstone is anything but tender, playful, or sweet. This image of the gravestone haunts Sethe and is part of her rememory.
A color that is often mentioned in "Beloved" would be the color red. In one instance, this color can symbolize a new life. The velvet that Amy was talking about happened to be red. As she was talking about this, she was headed to Boston and a better life. Amy also describes the velvet as clean and new. The color red also represents blood and the killing of Beloved. This color is also used to describe Paul D's heart and is the color of Stamp Paid's ribbon of courage. Another color that was mentioned a lot by Baby Suggs around her death was yellow. This color came to represent life.
The colors in "Beloved" are important for the interpretation of the novel. Since colors are associated with human emotions, they have different effects on each character in "Beloved". In my opinion, colors are like hidden messengers that Morrison uses to convey a certain point. The color red, throughout the novel, makes it presence known with different meanings. For example, Amy’s red velvet that she gives the baby, stands for hope and future. She described the velvet to Sethe as something “like the world was just born.... clean and new and so smooth”(Page 41), overall representing a new life. Amy is an escaped slave trying to look for a new life and a brighter future in another place and for Sethe, the life ahead is also supposed to be a better one, so I believe that that is one interpretation of the color red. On the other hand the color red could also represents blood and death which associates with the ghost of Beloved and her miserable death. The other colors in the novel, such as yellow, blue and green, most likely symbolize nature and life. To Baby Suggs these colors represent her outward feelings and appearance toward life, whereas the color red remains as an inside color representing blood and emotions. When it comes to the color orange used in the quilt Sethe has, Morrison explains that it brightened the dull room in such a way that it was uncomfortable, which is metaphor I think. I think that the color orange, in someway, symbolizes Beloved and the illusion of happiness and joy she brings Sethe. Or maybe something else I really don't know but Morrison's application of color symbolism enhances the messages in the novel. Since the colors have psychological effects on the characters, the readers can see how effective they are.
In Beloved colors are constantly mentioned throughout the book. Some colors she mentions are orange, red, pink, lavender. Colors are often associated with human emotions. Specifically the color that stood out the most to me even though only mentioned a few times was the color orange. The two patches that were sewn into the quilt in the kneeling room where Sethe goes she mentions that she now understands why Baby Suggs craved colors as much as she did. She mentions that when she catches a glimpse of the orange, it truly showed how barren 124 was. Sethe specifically states "So, kneeling in the keeping room the morning after Paul D came, she was distracted by the two orange squares that signaled how barren 124 really was". When I read how arbitrary the color orange was in comparison to the other dull colors of 124 it stood out to me because the color made the room appear more dull rather than brighten it up. At this time Sethe was pondering the possibilites of a life with Paul D and Denver. A sense of normalcy. If the color orange in this instance represented the "new life" Sethe was fantasizing about then I think the color orange represented the illusion of happiness. The color orange then appeared when Denver was caring for Beloved. Beloved was fond of the two orange patches because she is what the two orange patches stand for. False Hope. When Sethe discovers Beloved's true identity she blissfully spends days with her daughter. Yes, Beloved made in those moments made Sethe happy but she did not bring happiness to the rest of 124. Toni Morrison uses colors as metaphors since it is able to give the readers a better visual on Morrison's portrayal of the story.
As almost everyone else has already wrote, Morrison’s most widely used color syllogism is obviously the color red. Red is the color of blood from suffered heart as a slave and experiencing such detrimental changes in life. But blood is also the color of love and hope for a new beginning. I think that’s what shows the power in Sethe’s writing and work. She not only picked a color with multiple interpretations, but it left the readers thinking about all the ways the color could symbolize aspects of the novel. In my opinion, I see red as a symbol of the blood suffered after a war, such as Sethe’s internal war after slavery or her physical war to kill her child in hopes to save her from slavery. However, after war comes new neginnimgs. That’s what makes red powerful like the red of a Beloveds blood. It not only foreshadows her reincarnation and new beginnings, but the way that Sethe herself will come to be a new, stronger woman after defeating the rememory.
Color is such an important part of this novel. Morrison writes that at the end of her life, Baby Suggs would always ask Sethe to bring color into the house. As Cassidy mentioned, all of Baby Suggs’ life, everything had been divided into the categories “black” and “white.” She was tired of the lack of color and was eager to incorporate more hues into her life. Throughout the novel, red is often associated with death, haunting, and pain. When Sethe slits Beloved’s throat, red, warm blood (“the hot thing”) gushes out. She was the “red and undulating light” that shone on Paul D; she haunted Sethe’s family following her death (Morrison 10). Stamp Paid hopes that Baby Suggs “stuck to blue, yellow, maybe green, and never fixed on red” (Morrison 213). The horrific color red always comes back, however. When Baby Suggs is bedridden, she asks for Sethe to “‘bring a little lavender in, if you got any. Pink, if you don’t’” (Morrison 4). I agree with Alexis that pink is supposed to be associated with sweetness. I also agree with her that when Sethe has to have sex with the engraver in order for “Beloved” to be written on the pink gravestone, all of the tenderness associated with the color pink are contradicted. Pink is a combination of the colors red and white. As stated before, red is associated with pain. The color white is associated with the suffering brought on by white slave owners on African Americans. Thus it makes sense that the color pink is associated with a shameful act because it is a combination of white and red. Morrison’s use of color in the novel is purposeful; each color plays a role in the story.
In my interpretation of red, I disagree with it having a positive connotation. "He hoped she struck to blue, yellow, maybe green, and never fixed on red."(213) Red is a reminder of Beloved's blood and the pain of slavery. I think of the term "All I see is red" which implies that what happened was so gruesome and horrible. I don't think that the carmine velvet is the same meaning, I think that since its a whole different shade it can represent desire. I think that white also has a meaning. The white stairs can represent a lot of things, they were painted so that Beloved could see her way to the top. I immediately thought of the stairway to heaven which I found ironic since Beloved can't get to heaven. She's stuck in this limbo and inside 124. I also see red and white to be contrast colors in this sense, representing opposite sides of the spectrum. To me, I think of Beloved and the color of slavery as red so by trying to get up the stairs, she is trying to forget slavery.
The one color that stands out in this entire novel is Orange, its also the first color that comes to mind when asked about Morrisons use of color. There is a quilt with two orange squares on it. “Kneeling in the keeping room where she usually went to talk-think it was clear why Baby Suggs was so starved for color. There wasn’t any except for two orange squares in a quilt that made the absence shout.…In that sober field, two patches of orange looked wild–like life in the raw”(Page 46). I looked up the meaning behind the two orange squares, and they are an illusion of a better future, just a little bit of color in a drab room, its false hope. Morrison used the color orange as false hope for Sethe.
The color that stood out most to me in the novel was the red. Morrison made red symbolic of many things including life, death, and opportunity. To begin the color red can indicate death. When the protagonist tries to murder all of her children, the wooden shed is covered with blood. This represents the gruesome act of taking someone’s life. Red also is symbolic of life. When Paul D experiences passion and love he gains a “red heart” which reminds him he is alive. Additionally, Stamp Paid’s red ribbons is a reminder to live life with courage. Morrison also uses the color red to represent new opportunities. The character Amy sets out to find red velvet. This shows character setting out for new opportunities in their life. I also think that pinks and purple carry comfort throughout the novel. I agree with Beth that pink and purple can be seen as colors of sweetness, as Baby Suggs requests it from Sethe. Also Beloved’s gravestone is a gentle pink, suggesting her innocence.
The color red always seems to have some significance in literature, as it is seen in Beloved. I believe it holds the symbolism of life in the novel. To start, Amy Denver’s red velvet gives an image of hope for life and the future of it. She helps Sethe give birth to Denver, which is a new life to the story. The red of Beloved’s blood that Sethe is met with after her murder represents the loss of life. On the way into the carnival, the road is lined with red roses. This symbolizes the start of a new life with Denver, Sethe, and Paul D. In relation to Paul D, it is said that he gains a “red heart”. He is reminded that he is alive and begins to feel love.
A color that haunts me and will forever burn a hole in the back of my mind is red. That is the color that I will walk away from this book with correlating it to Beloved. When Beloved had asked Paul D. to call her name, Paul D. could only shout "Red Heart". The color red was also used to describe the richest of materials in the book, for example Beloved's blood and Amy's red velvet. Red is such a busy color and has so many meanings to life; love, death, sensuality, war, spiritual meanings, etc. However, the red used in this story sparks business and life into the characters lives.
I agree with Marc about the use of the color red within “Beloved.” Red is most commonly used to symbolize death in relation to blood in this novel, especially when Sethe kills Beloved, and then when a baby Denver drinks from her mothers breast, covered in blood. I had not made the connection between Amy Denver wanting red velvet, but I now think that it is interesting that to one of the few white characters in the book red represented hope whereas for most of the former slaves it represented death. However, since Sethe thought she was saving Beloved when she killed her, there is the chance that the red blood is also symbolic of Beloved being freed from the potential horrors of slavery.
The color red represents blood and death throughout the novel. For example, the baby's red blood and pink mineral of the tomb stone haunt Sethe. The color is associated with Sethe's daughter and her miserable death. Additionally, the red ribbon in Stamp Paid's pocket represents courage and strength. As he waits outside of 124, he clutches it in his pocket for strength. Colors like yellow, green, and blue represent life and nature. Baby Suggs thought about these colors during the last days of her life. She could not enjoy these colors before so she thought about them before her death.
Toni Morrison uses many colors as symbolism in Beloved, but she strays away from the traditional meanings of colors. For example. The most common color is red. But instead of using it to represent love, Morrison uses the color red to symbolize pain and death. She uses red to describe the baby's blood in the murder scene, as well as the scars on Sethe’s back from the whippings she received. Another example is orange. Instead of symbolizing hope, orange in Beloved symbolizes a false illusion of hope. In the colorless room, there are a few patches of orange on the quilt. This color adds a sharp contrast to the dull room and actually makes the room look more colorless.
I agree with Scott, and many before him, who stated that the color red used throughout the novel is symbolic of blood, death, and pain. These three concepts are mentioned over and over again throughout Beloved, straight from the beginning. Sethe murdering her daughter, her pain felt as a slave, and being sexually and physically abused all tie the color red into the novel, and provide a deeper meaning behind it. It can be pictured as the blood that was shed repeatedly whether it be by Beloved, or Sethe.
I agree with those before me who said that the color red is used through out the novel. In this novel it is used to represent blood, pain and death. Over the course of the novel these themes recur, an example being when Sethe murders beloved. This color also represents Sethe's struggles as a slave and the abuse she had to endure at Sweet Home. It can be said that these examples deepen the meaning of the color red throughout the story.
The use of colors is very prominent throughout the novel. For example, Morrison uses red to represent the negatives of blood and death and positives of life. The scenes that stand out are when Sethe kills her daughter in the shed, her chest is covered in blood as Denver drinks milk, and Amy’s red velvet. The red velvet that Amy searches for shows that Denver and Sethe may have had an opportunity to begin their life again. I agree with what Madi says about how being a white woman searching for red symbolizes life and freedom where the red in the slaves has a negative connotation.
I believe the color red is related to blood and death. In the novel, the baby's red blood and pink mineral of the tomb stone haunt Sethe. Red was used in describing Sethe’s murdered daughter and that’s why I believe the red correlates to blood and death. In addition, red could also have a positive meaning since the red ribbon in Stamp Paid's pocket represents courage and strength. Other colors in the book like yellow, blue, and green could portray life. Before Baby Suggs passed away, she thought about these colors and how she was unable to experience them during her life.
The color red definitely plays a big role in this novel. Red is the color that is most commonly associated with death, blood, love, and war. Sethe kills Beloved and the color red is represented. Also Denver drinks from her mothers breast, covered in (red) blood.
Morrison references colors in a variety of ways throughout the novel, but it is most notable when it is referenced with the character Baby Suggs. While Baby Suggs is nearing the end of her life, she wants to see even little bits of color. She would change the colors she was obsessed with often; pink, purple, yellow, green, and blue are listed. These colors were meant to be bright and peaceful, something to bring joy to an otherwise bleak environment. They represented joy and hope. Baby Suggs may have wanted color because everything else seemed black and white to her as a result of the pain she is feeling. Often throughout the book, Sethe feels as if her life is lacking color too. She feels like all the colors have faded away due to the torture of her past. The color that she does see - as well as the only color that Baby Suggs never wanted to see - is red. The color is used to describe Beloved’s blood when she was killed or the open wound on Sethe’s back. In Beloved, red symbolizes anger and violence. This is the same type of feeling that Sethe’s memories of the past evoke, and it makes sense that both she and Baby Suggs avoid red because they have seen too much of it.
The color that stuck out the most to me in this novel was red. The color red played a significant role throughout the story as it could symbolize many things such as death or love. While reading, I made some connections to this color. A disturbing scene with the color red was the murder of Beloved. Sethe was covered in Beloved’s red blood, which in this case red symbolizes death. Red is a symbol of hope for the future. In Chapter 11, there us an unique reference to the color red. In this point in the novel, Beloved offers to have sex with Paul D and he agrees. After he has sex with her his tin opens up and there is an overflow of emotion which represents that he finally felt love. His heart is exploding, and is no longer dark, he finally found happiness. It is described as a “Red Heart” and therefore in this case the color red symbolizes that Paul D finally found love and a passion.
Of all the colors mentioned in the novel, the one that stands out the most is the color red. Most commonly red represents danger, fear, and love, which is exactly what it means in the novel. Lets start out with the most obvious, the red blood staining Sethe after she murdered her child. Although this blood represents death and the loss of life, it also represents love. Sethe did what she did, out of love. She never wanted her children to experience the pain she did in slavery and although this was the ultimate sacrifice, Sethe did what she did out of love. Paul D’s “red heart” represents the love his feels for Sethe, but his stupidity of having sex with Beloved shows he’s free of his fears and emotional burdens. Amy’s red cloth represents represents her love for a better future. Like velvet, she hopes for a smooth and rich future. Lastly, Stamp Paid’s red ribbon was from the scalp of a girl, most likely that of an escaped slave. This represents the danger of slavery, but also his hope for a better life.
The three colors that seem to have the most meaning in the story are the colors black, white, and red. For the more obvious reasons, black and white represent slavery and segregation. However more importantly, black and white are all Sethe and Baby Suggs could see before they were free. Baby Suggs was so focused on colors before her death because of her inability to see and truly appreciate the colors when she was enslaved. The same goes for Sethe, except she finally sees colors the way they are meant to be viewed when she thinks she's free but isn't really. Sethe only really saw in black and white prior to Beloved's return as a human because she felt guilty enjoying things like that when her daughter wasn't there to enjoy them with her. Then, like everyone else has mentioned, red is another color that Morrison uses often. From the blood that poured from Beloved after Sethe killed her to the velvet that Amy Denver was searching for, to Paul D's red heart, red is a color that represents life and richness.
Color is widely used in Beloved to add meaning and symbolism that ties together events throughout the novel. In agreement with a majority of the blog posts, I feel the most impactful color used by Morrison was red.The scene in which Sethe kills Beloved. Morison uses imagery to describe Sethe’s clothes that were stained in the red blood of Beloved. This use of the color stands for death, whereas in a different scene we are presented with Amy’s red velvet. In this context red is perceived with passion and courage as she is hopeful for new opportunities. Morrison uses differing examples to present differing meanings to the same color.
In literature, the color red proves time and time again to be such a strong color. Depending on the novel, red can mean a multitude of things. In “Beloved” I agree with Maria that the color red has a mostly negative connotation. Red, the color of gushing blood, is a constant reminder to Sethe about the murder she committed. Sethe didn’t suffocate her child with a pillow, or poison her. She slit her child’s throat with a blade, inducing probably the most bloody death one can have. Morrison describes Sethe as being completely covered in Beloved’s blood, which pertains to why Sethe dislikes the color so much. Also, red relates to Paul D’s tin can heart, for he says his heart is locked up and can never be opened. I also appreciated Maria’s interpretation of the white staircase, as I had never given that detail much attention. Furthermore, I was greatly inspired by Beth’s comment about the color pink. Being a hybrid of red (death of child) and white (caucasian power), the otherwise very cheerful and feminine color pink contains a mixture of negative colors. I think that including this color on Beloved’s headstones speaks wonders, as it truly encompasses Beloved’s characterization. Beloved, like her blood, serves as a constant reminder to Sethe about the acts she committed, and white also serves as a reminder of the pain she endured at the hands of her slave owners. Lastly, I acknowledge that in a world full of rich colors, Baby Suggs prefers to focus on that vibrancy, rather than simply view the world with a black and white perspective.
One of the first things I noticed about colors in Beloved was in the very beginning when referring to Baby Suggs it says that “Her past had been like her present-intolerable-and since she knew death was anything but forgiveness, she used the little energy left for pondering color.” It mentions that she always asked Sethe for lavender and pink, which are bright, happy colors, the colors of Spring (season of change). Later, when I learned how Baby Suggs was once an inspirational speaker but had fallen into depression, I made the connection that her thirst for colors was how she held on to her freedom. This analogy is driven home by how Paul D was told to "follow the flowers" when he was running north to freedom (flowers are often pink/lavender). Bright colors representing freedom works even more soundly in the novel when mixed in with the symbolism of black and white. Black and white are not just the opposite of bright colors, but they represent sadness and despair, like a life of slavery. By leaving behind a life of black and white, where status is determined on whether you are black or white, where discrimination is based on blackness or whiteness, a life full of bright colors is representative of a life full of freedom and happiness. A trail of colorful flowers is symbolic of the trail of freedom to the north.
I want to leave some colors for everyone else, so I'm going to focus in on red and green. The color red has many different connotations but in "Beloved" it seems to represent life. With Amy's velvet (Carmine is a shade of red)its her dream. It is the future that Amy has laying out in front of her and no matter the futility, she is going to spend all of her life and energy to get some. With Paul D and his red tin heart, that is full of all the emotions and memories that he has locked away for a long time and is finally letting spill out. Beloved's baby blood, even that represents life, even just the loss of it. It represents that life is not forever and that we are all mortal. The red roses that line the road to the carnival, they are supposed to represent the new life of Paul D, Denver and Sethe, albeit its snuffed out in a few hours. Green is more of a safe color in this book. Denver has her emerald closet that she goes to, to play and dream, away from the malevolent force inside 124.
ReplyDeleteI think Kate's comment was actually so eye opening. For the color red, Immediately I thought of Beloved's death and the taking of a life, as well as the red roses which were Sethe and Paul D.'s relationship which got cut short. I never put the pieces together to relate Amy's velvet to be a positive connotation to red. Her dreams, her promising future, being driven and represented by the red velvet. I loved that comment Kate!
DeleteRed is a recurring color throughout the novel. While it sometimes relates to death, other time it relates to hope. This color can signify many different things and I believe it’s meaning changes depending of the character it correlates with. For Sethe, it seemed like red symbolized death. The most memorable mention of red, relating to Sethe, was after she killed her baby, and had red blood all over her. However, when Amy looks for the red velvet, I believe that is signifying hope and desire. At one point in the novel it mentions Paul D’s “red heart.” The symbolism of the color red is changing again since it is talking about Paul D’s emotions. Overall, red was very symbolic throughout the story, helping the reader connect certain characteristic to specific characters.
ReplyDeleteMorrison purposely uses many colors throughout the course of her novel. One color that immediately stands out from the rest is the color red, which seems to be a recurring color throughout the novel. What is so interesting about this color is that it refers to many things in the novel, such as death, love, and even hope. The color red represents death because of the killing of Beloved. When Sethe murder her daughter, she slices her neck, and blood begins to drip down Beloved's corpse. This signifies her death by means of the fresh exposure of her blood all over her. Red also signifies hope in relation to Amy Denver when she was out searching for carmine velvet, which is red velvet. She had been looking for it for quite some time and she is determined to get it as she remains hopeful, even if she has to trek across many different areas to find it. Overall, Morrison's skillful implementation of the color red in her novel definitely is evident.
ReplyDeleteThe color the Morrison uses most often and is seen the most throughout the novel is the color red. We see the color red in many ways from the delicate petals of a rose to the blood spilled all over the floor of the shed where Sethe killed Beloved. Generally speaking the color red is known to hold many different meanings such as love, anger, death, power, and desire, and in the novel it captures many of these themes. Most specific to this novel are anger and death; the death of beloved is central to the entire story, and her anger upon return to 124 is made apparent to all the readers. The rotten rose petals on the way back to 124 where they see Beloved for the first time is symbolic of her anger. While red roses usually symbolize love, Morrison uses rotting roses to show that it is not love but rather another emotion the color can symbolize.
ReplyDeleteMany colors are mentioned throughout the novel, but the one that's mentioned the most is the color red. This color is significant to the novel in different ways, having many meanings depending on the context. Overall, red represents life and death. Amy’s red velvet, Paul D’s heart and Stamp Paid’s red ribbon all represent life, strength and hope. However, the subtle mentionings of red when referring to Beloved especially, represents blood and death, having a negative connotation.
ReplyDeleteDuring this time period, everything was seen in black and white; physically speaking as there was slavery and racial controversy. As we know, Baby Suggs, Sethe, and others suffered through the physical and psychological damage of slavery. Baby Suggs, however, took a different approach on the effects. She wanted to make sure that nothing in her eyes was ever seen as black and white. She was sick of things being seen as just black and white, so she always added color to her life; she had an "appetite for color." Such as the bright orange patches on her blanket and “bringing in the lavender.” Color is also seen when Paul D enters the house. It was mentioned that, “A pool of red and undulating light that locked him where he stood.” This first reflected the threated that Beloved felt towards Paul D, as this was the first encounter the ghost of Beloved had with Paul D.
ReplyDeletePart of the red family, the color pink is mentioned in the novel and associated with a specific event. Pink is a delicate color that is associated with babies, sweetness, playfulness, and tenderness just to name a few. This is the color of the mineral used for Beloved's headstone. It is when choosing this headstone that the engraver bargains having sex with Sethe in return for the free engraving of letters. Not only has her daughter died because of the power a white man held over Sethe, but now a white man is using his white privilege over Sethe and is taking advantage of this black woman who lost her child. This sexual act is not done out of love and is just another example of how black people were treated unjustly even after they were free. This event that takes place around this headstone is anything but tender, playful, or sweet. This image of the gravestone haunts Sethe and is part of her rememory.
ReplyDeleteA color that is often mentioned in "Beloved" would be the color red. In one instance, this color can symbolize a new life. The velvet that Amy was talking about happened to be red. As she was talking about this, she was headed to Boston and a better life. Amy also describes the velvet as clean and new. The color red also represents blood and the killing of Beloved. This color is also used to describe Paul D's heart and is the color of Stamp Paid's ribbon of courage. Another color that was mentioned a lot by Baby Suggs around her death was yellow. This color came to represent life.
ReplyDeleteThe colors in "Beloved" are important for the interpretation of the novel. Since colors are associated with human emotions, they have different effects on each character in "Beloved". In my opinion, colors are like hidden messengers that Morrison uses to convey a certain point. The color red, throughout the novel, makes it presence known with different meanings. For example, Amy’s red velvet that she gives the baby, stands for hope and future. She described the velvet to Sethe as something “like the world was just born.... clean and new and so smooth”(Page 41), overall representing a new life. Amy is an escaped slave trying to look for a new life and a brighter future in another place and for Sethe, the life ahead is also supposed to be a better one, so I believe that that is one interpretation of the color red. On the other hand the color red could also represents blood and death which associates with the ghost of Beloved and her miserable death.
ReplyDeleteThe other colors in the novel, such as yellow, blue and green, most likely symbolize nature and life. To Baby Suggs these colors represent her outward feelings and appearance toward life, whereas the color red remains as an inside color representing blood and emotions. When it comes to the color orange used in the quilt Sethe has, Morrison explains that it brightened the dull room in such a way that it was uncomfortable, which is metaphor I think. I think that the color orange, in someway, symbolizes Beloved and the illusion of happiness and joy she brings Sethe. Or maybe something else I really don't know but Morrison's application of color symbolism enhances the messages in the novel. Since the colors have psychological effects on the characters, the readers can see how effective they are.
In Beloved colors are constantly mentioned throughout the book. Some colors she mentions are orange, red, pink, lavender. Colors are often associated with human emotions. Specifically the color that stood out the most to me even though only mentioned a few times was the color orange. The two patches that were sewn into the quilt in the kneeling room where Sethe goes she mentions that she now understands why Baby Suggs craved colors as much as she did. She mentions that when she catches a glimpse of the orange, it truly showed how barren 124 was. Sethe specifically states "So, kneeling in the keeping room the morning after Paul D came, she was distracted by the two orange squares that signaled how barren 124 really was". When I read how arbitrary the color orange was in comparison to the other dull colors of 124 it stood out to me because the color made the room appear more dull rather than brighten it up. At this time Sethe was pondering the possibilites of a life with Paul D and Denver. A sense of normalcy. If the color orange in this instance represented the "new life" Sethe was fantasizing about then I think the color orange represented the illusion of happiness. The color orange then appeared when Denver was caring for Beloved. Beloved was fond of the two orange patches because she is what the two orange patches stand for. False Hope. When Sethe discovers Beloved's true identity she blissfully spends days with her daughter. Yes, Beloved made in those moments made Sethe happy but she did not bring happiness to the rest of 124. Toni Morrison uses colors as metaphors since it is able to give the readers a better visual on Morrison's portrayal of the story.
ReplyDeleteAs almost everyone else has already wrote, Morrison’s most widely used color syllogism is obviously the color red. Red is the color of blood from suffered heart as a slave and experiencing such detrimental changes in life. But blood is also the color of love and hope for a new beginning. I think that’s what shows the power in Sethe’s writing and work. She not only picked a color with multiple interpretations, but it left the readers thinking about all the ways the color could symbolize aspects of the novel. In my opinion, I see red as a symbol of the blood suffered after a war, such as Sethe’s internal war after slavery or her physical war to kill her child in hopes to save her from slavery. However, after war comes new neginnimgs. That’s what makes red powerful like the red of a Beloveds blood. It not only foreshadows her reincarnation and new beginnings, but the way that Sethe herself will come to be a new, stronger woman after defeating the rememory.
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ReplyDeleteColor is such an important part of this novel. Morrison writes that at the end of her life, Baby Suggs would always ask Sethe to bring color into the house. As Cassidy mentioned, all of Baby Suggs’ life, everything had been divided into the categories “black” and “white.” She was tired of the lack of color and was eager to incorporate more hues into her life. Throughout the novel, red is often associated with death, haunting, and pain. When Sethe slits Beloved’s throat, red, warm blood (“the hot thing”) gushes out. She was the “red and undulating light” that shone on Paul D; she haunted Sethe’s family following her death (Morrison 10). Stamp Paid hopes that Baby Suggs “stuck to blue, yellow, maybe green, and never fixed on red” (Morrison 213). The horrific color red always comes back, however. When Baby Suggs is bedridden, she asks for Sethe to “‘bring a little lavender in, if you got any. Pink, if you don’t’” (Morrison 4). I agree with Alexis that pink is supposed to be associated with sweetness. I also agree with her that when Sethe has to have sex with the engraver in order for “Beloved” to be written on the pink gravestone, all of the tenderness associated with the color pink are contradicted. Pink is a combination of the colors red and white. As stated before, red is associated with pain. The color white is associated with the suffering brought on by white slave owners on African Americans. Thus it makes sense that the color pink is associated with a shameful act because it is a combination of white and red. Morrison’s use of color in the novel is purposeful; each color plays a role in the story.
ReplyDeleteIn my interpretation of red, I disagree with it having a positive connotation. "He hoped she struck to blue, yellow, maybe green, and never fixed on red."(213) Red is a reminder of Beloved's blood and the pain of slavery. I think of the term "All I see is red" which implies that what happened was so gruesome and horrible. I don't think that the carmine velvet is the same meaning, I think that since its a whole different shade it can represent desire. I think that white also has a meaning. The white stairs can represent a lot of things, they were painted so that Beloved could see her way to the top. I immediately thought of the stairway to heaven which I found ironic since Beloved can't get to heaven. She's stuck in this limbo and inside 124. I also see red and white to be contrast colors in this sense, representing opposite sides of the spectrum. To me, I think of Beloved and the color of slavery as red so by trying to get up the stairs, she is trying to forget slavery.
ReplyDeleteThe one color that stands out in this entire novel is Orange, its also the first color that comes to mind when asked about Morrisons use of color. There is a quilt with two orange squares on it. “Kneeling in the keeping room where she usually went to talk-think it was clear why Baby Suggs was so starved for color. There wasn’t any except for two orange squares in a quilt that made the absence shout.…In that sober field, two patches of orange looked wild–like life in the raw”(Page 46). I looked up the meaning behind the two orange squares, and they are an illusion of a better future, just a little bit of color in a drab room, its false hope. Morrison used the color orange as false hope for Sethe.
ReplyDeleteThe color that stood out most to me in the novel was the red. Morrison made red symbolic of many things including life, death, and opportunity. To begin the color red can indicate death. When the protagonist tries to murder all of her children, the wooden shed is covered with blood. This represents the gruesome act of taking someone’s life. Red also is symbolic of life. When Paul D experiences passion and love he gains a “red heart” which reminds him he is alive. Additionally, Stamp Paid’s red ribbons is a reminder to live life with courage. Morrison also uses the color red to represent new opportunities. The character Amy sets out to find red velvet. This shows character setting out for new opportunities in their life.
ReplyDeleteI also think that pinks and purple carry comfort throughout the novel. I agree with Beth that pink and purple can be seen as colors of sweetness, as Baby Suggs requests it from Sethe. Also Beloved’s gravestone is a gentle pink, suggesting her innocence.
ReplyDeleteThe color red always seems to have some significance in literature, as it is seen in Beloved. I believe it holds the symbolism of life in the novel. To start, Amy Denver’s red velvet gives an image of hope for life and the future of it. She helps Sethe give birth to Denver, which is a new life to the story. The red of Beloved’s blood that Sethe is met with after her murder represents the loss of life. On the way into the carnival, the road is lined with red roses. This symbolizes the start of a new life with Denver, Sethe, and Paul D. In relation to Paul D, it is said that he gains a “red heart”. He is reminded that he is alive and begins to feel love.
A color that haunts me and will forever burn a hole in the back of my mind is red. That is the color that I will walk away from this book with correlating it to Beloved. When Beloved had asked Paul D. to call her name, Paul D. could only shout "Red Heart". The color red was also used to describe the richest of materials in the book, for example Beloved's blood and Amy's red velvet. Red is such a busy color and has so many meanings to life; love, death, sensuality, war, spiritual meanings, etc. However, the red used in this story sparks business and life into the characters lives.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Marc about the use of the color red within “Beloved.” Red is most commonly used to symbolize death in relation to blood in this novel, especially when Sethe kills Beloved, and then when a baby Denver drinks from her mothers breast, covered in blood. I had not made the connection between Amy Denver wanting red velvet, but I now think that it is interesting that to one of the few white characters in the book red represented hope whereas for most of the former slaves it represented death. However, since Sethe thought she was saving Beloved when she killed her, there is the chance that the red blood is also symbolic of Beloved being freed from the potential horrors of slavery.
ReplyDeleteThe color red represents blood and death throughout the novel. For example, the baby's red blood and pink mineral of the tomb stone haunt Sethe. The color is associated with Sethe's daughter and her miserable death. Additionally, the red ribbon in Stamp Paid's pocket represents courage and strength. As he waits outside of 124, he clutches it in his pocket for strength. Colors like yellow, green, and blue represent life and nature. Baby Suggs thought about these colors during the last days of her life. She could not enjoy these colors before so she thought about them before her death.
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ReplyDeleteToni Morrison uses many colors as symbolism in Beloved, but she strays away from the traditional meanings of colors. For example. The most common color is red. But instead of using it to represent love, Morrison uses the color red to symbolize pain and death. She uses red to describe the baby's blood in the murder scene, as well as the scars on Sethe’s back from the whippings she received. Another example is orange. Instead of symbolizing hope, orange in Beloved symbolizes a false illusion of hope. In the colorless room, there are a few patches of orange on the quilt. This color adds a sharp contrast to the dull room and actually makes the room look more colorless.
I agree with Scott, and many before him, who stated that the color red used throughout the novel is symbolic of blood, death, and pain. These three concepts are mentioned over and over again throughout Beloved, straight from the beginning. Sethe murdering her daughter, her pain felt as a slave, and being sexually and physically abused all tie the color red into the novel, and provide a deeper meaning behind it. It can be pictured as the blood that was shed repeatedly whether it be by Beloved, or Sethe.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with those before me who said that the color red is used through out the novel. In this novel it is used to represent blood, pain and death. Over the course of the novel these themes recur, an example being when Sethe murders beloved. This color also represents Sethe's struggles as a slave and the abuse she had to endure at Sweet Home. It can be said that these examples deepen the meaning of the color red throughout the story.
ReplyDeleteThe use of colors is very prominent throughout the novel. For example, Morrison uses red to represent the negatives of blood and death and positives of life. The scenes that stand out are when Sethe kills her daughter in the shed, her chest is covered in blood as Denver drinks milk, and Amy’s red velvet. The red velvet that Amy searches for shows that Denver and Sethe may have had an opportunity to begin their life again. I agree with what Madi says about how being a white woman searching for red symbolizes life and freedom where the red in the slaves has a negative connotation.
ReplyDeleteI believe the color red is related to blood and death. In the novel, the baby's red blood and pink mineral of the tomb stone haunt Sethe. Red was used in describing Sethe’s murdered daughter and that’s why I believe the red correlates to blood and death. In addition, red could also have a positive meaning since the red ribbon in Stamp Paid's pocket represents courage and strength. Other colors in the book like yellow, blue, and green could portray life. Before Baby Suggs passed away, she thought about these colors and how she was unable to experience them during her life.
ReplyDeleteThe color red definitely plays a big role in this novel. Red is the color that is most commonly associated with death, blood, love, and war. Sethe kills Beloved and the color red is represented. Also Denver drinks from her mothers breast, covered in (red) blood.
ReplyDeleteMorrison references colors in a variety of ways throughout the novel, but it is most notable when it is referenced with the character Baby Suggs. While Baby Suggs is nearing the end of her life, she wants to see even little bits of color. She would change the colors she was obsessed with often; pink, purple, yellow, green, and blue are listed. These colors were meant to be bright and peaceful, something to bring joy to an otherwise bleak environment. They represented joy and hope. Baby Suggs may have wanted color because everything else seemed black and white to her as a result of the pain she is feeling. Often throughout the book, Sethe feels as if her life is lacking color too. She feels like all the colors have faded away due to the torture of her past. The color that she does see - as well as the only color that Baby Suggs never wanted to see - is red. The color is used to describe Beloved’s blood when she was killed or the open wound on Sethe’s back. In Beloved, red symbolizes anger and violence. This is the same type of feeling that Sethe’s memories of the past evoke, and it makes sense that both she and Baby Suggs avoid red because they have seen too much of it.
ReplyDeleteThe color that stuck out the most to me in this novel was red. The color red played a significant role throughout the story as it could symbolize many things such as death or love. While reading, I made some connections to this color. A disturbing scene with the color red was the murder of Beloved. Sethe was covered in Beloved’s red blood, which in this case red symbolizes death. Red is a symbol of hope for the future. In Chapter 11, there us an unique reference to the color red. In this point in the novel, Beloved offers to have sex with Paul D and he agrees. After he has sex with her his tin opens up and there is an overflow of emotion which represents that he finally felt love. His heart is exploding, and is no longer dark, he finally found happiness. It is described as a “Red Heart” and therefore in this case the color red symbolizes that Paul D finally found love and a passion.
ReplyDeleteOf all the colors mentioned in the novel, the one that stands out the most is the color red. Most commonly red represents danger, fear, and love, which is exactly what it means in the novel. Lets start out with the most obvious, the red blood staining Sethe after she murdered her child. Although this blood represents death and the loss of life, it also represents love. Sethe did what she did, out of love. She never wanted her children to experience the pain she did in slavery and although this was the ultimate sacrifice, Sethe did what she did out of love. Paul D’s “red heart” represents the love his feels for Sethe, but his stupidity of having sex with Beloved shows he’s free of his fears and emotional burdens. Amy’s red cloth represents represents her love for a better future. Like velvet, she hopes for a smooth and rich future. Lastly, Stamp Paid’s red ribbon was from the scalp of a girl, most likely that of an escaped slave. This represents the danger of slavery, but also his hope for a better life.
ReplyDeleteThe three colors that seem to have the most meaning in the story are the colors black, white, and red. For the more obvious reasons, black and white represent slavery and segregation. However more importantly, black and white are all Sethe and Baby Suggs could see before they were free. Baby Suggs was so focused on colors before her death because of her inability to see and truly appreciate the colors when she was enslaved. The same goes for Sethe, except she finally sees colors the way they are meant to be viewed when she thinks she's free but isn't really. Sethe only really saw in black and white prior to Beloved's return as a human because she felt guilty enjoying things like that when her daughter wasn't there to enjoy them with her. Then, like everyone else has mentioned, red is another color that Morrison uses often. From the blood that poured from Beloved after Sethe killed her to the velvet that Amy Denver was searching for, to Paul D's red heart, red is a color that represents life and richness.
ReplyDeleteColor is widely used in Beloved to add meaning and symbolism that ties together events throughout the novel. In agreement with a majority of the blog posts, I feel the most impactful color used by Morrison was red.The scene in which Sethe kills Beloved. Morison uses imagery to describe Sethe’s clothes that were stained in the red blood of Beloved. This use of the color stands for death, whereas in a different scene we are presented with Amy’s red velvet. In this context red is perceived with passion and courage as she is hopeful for new opportunities. Morrison uses differing examples to present differing meanings to the same color.
ReplyDeleteIn literature, the color red proves time and time again to be such a strong color. Depending on the novel, red can mean a multitude of things. In “Beloved” I agree with Maria that the color red has a mostly negative connotation. Red, the color of gushing blood, is a constant reminder to Sethe about the murder she committed. Sethe didn’t suffocate her child with a pillow, or poison her. She slit her child’s throat with a blade, inducing probably the most bloody death one can have. Morrison describes Sethe as being completely covered in Beloved’s blood, which pertains to why Sethe dislikes the color so much. Also, red relates to Paul D’s tin can heart, for he says his heart is locked up and can never be opened. I also appreciated Maria’s interpretation of the white staircase, as I had never given that detail much attention. Furthermore, I was greatly inspired by Beth’s comment about the color pink. Being a hybrid of red (death of child) and white (caucasian power), the otherwise very cheerful and feminine color pink contains a mixture of negative colors. I think that including this color on Beloved’s headstones speaks wonders, as it truly encompasses Beloved’s characterization. Beloved, like her blood, serves as a constant reminder to Sethe about the acts she committed, and white also serves as a reminder of the pain she endured at the hands of her slave owners. Lastly, I acknowledge that in a world full of rich colors, Baby Suggs prefers to focus on that vibrancy, rather than simply view the world with a black and white perspective.
ReplyDeleteOne of the first things I noticed about colors in Beloved was in the very beginning when referring to Baby Suggs it says that “Her past had been like her present-intolerable-and since she knew death was anything but forgiveness, she used the little energy left for pondering color.” It mentions that she always asked Sethe for lavender and pink, which are bright, happy colors, the colors of Spring (season of change). Later, when I learned how Baby Suggs was once an inspirational speaker but had fallen into depression, I made the connection that her thirst for colors was how she held on to her freedom. This analogy is driven home by how Paul D was told to "follow the flowers" when he was running north to freedom (flowers are often pink/lavender). Bright colors representing freedom works even more soundly in the novel when mixed in with the symbolism of black and white. Black and white are not just the opposite of bright colors, but they represent sadness and despair, like a life of slavery. By leaving behind a life of black and white, where status is determined on whether you are black or white, where discrimination is based on blackness or whiteness, a life full of bright colors is representative of a life full of freedom and happiness. A trail of colorful flowers is symbolic of the trail of freedom to the north.
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