“Rememory” – used as both a noun and verb in Beloved – is one that Morrison coins for this novel. It is richer than “remember” and suggests the opposites of “forgetfulness.” It emphasizes the need for connection with the past and the inability to deny that connection. Why does she create it? What does it mean? And in what ways is it the pivotal idea of the story?
Rememory is stronger than a memory. Morrison created rememory as a way to show that the past haunts all those who experienced slavery in a stronger way than just memories reaching the forefoot. Rememory is a memory not just coming back to the forefront, but reliving and almost being reexperienced by the former slaves. Because the rememory is so strong and feels so lifelike to Sethe, the author included Beloved as a memory to show that it cannot be defeated by one person. The gruesome past of slavery cannot be overcome by one person. It takes all the slaves and people involved in order to conquer the haunting yet lifelike memory of their slave past.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Marina when she says that Morrison created this word to stress that the haunting of slaves past is more than just memories. Rememory is a memory that stays with one forever, specifically relating to experiences of slavery. To say that slavery is just a memory of the past is such an understatement of what if feels like to those who have experienced it. Sethe’s past felt so real when thinking out slavery, making it a rememory, versus a memory. Morrison creates this word to demonstrate how scarring slavery was which is why it will never be forgotten.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning, I though that the word rememory was used to emphasize slavery. Slaves are mostly forbidden to read and to write, and I do not remember Sethe possessing these skills. Hearing in conversation, remember, would lead me to think, as an un-educated slave, that the object would be called rememory. However, in my lit circle, we discussed about how while these memories have past for Sethe, the always follow her and she constantly thinks of them on a day to day basis. Constantly REmembering her those thoughts from her MEMORY.
ReplyDeleteRememory is much more than a memory. Morrison creates this word to emphasize how the a slave's past is haunting and it often leaves a lasting impact on them so much such that the memory is imprinted in their minds forever to such an extent that it is no longer a memory but a rememory. Sethe's slavery is not just a memory and it is not just something she randomly remembers, it is actually engraved in her mind for the rest of her life, contributing to her rememory.
ReplyDeleteMorrison uses the term “rememory” not to show that she is remembering things from her past, but too show that she has recurring memories, the reperted come back and hold a grip on her life. As Marina and Steph said, these memories are haunting; she is not merely thinking about a time in the past but she is reliving the horrific periods of her life through her memories. She created this word to emphasized the importance of Sethe remembering the events from the past as they aren’t just memories but rather parts of her past that have shaped her entire life.
ReplyDeleteIn this novel, Sethe often tries to forget her past with the pain of slavery and the sinful act of killing her daughter, Beloved. She doesn’t want to remember all of the pain in her life that she had to endure to get to where she was, but due to how traumatic the experiences and the actual haunting of Beloved, it was nearly impossible to forget. Sethe was meant to come to terms with her past and face them, which is why Beloved arrived at her doorstep. Sethe was meant to connect with the past to stop denying the truth. She creates this idea of rememory to show that the past will never stop following you, no matter how much you want to forget it. The past effects everything in your present and future and it’s important to understand this fact.
ReplyDeleteRememory is very different from a memory. Like Katherine, I also thought that the word rememory was an emphasis on slavery and how they were not allowed to be educated. But as I read further, I realized that it was much more. Like Marina said, a rememory was created to show how much the past can haunt people. In the novel, this rememory takes the form of Beloved and comes to represent slavery. Sethe is forced to relive this gruesome part of her past life.
ReplyDeleteRememory is an important thing. In "Beloved", Toni Morrison describes the way in which Sethe deals with her past while remembering her life in slavery. Morrison further explains that she is trying to rid herself of the memories because it is too hard to deal with. However the reader soon learns that the past is something you can't forget as painful as it can be. As an attempt to enter a life of freedom, Morrison explains that Sethe uses unusual movements to cling to the present because Sethe tries to forget the past. By doing this. Sethe tries to ground herself, and close her mind to all the past events that continue to plague her life, in which Morrison uses a metaphor to compare Sethe to a wheel. A spinning wheel that Sethe has determined to use to escape her memories and begin a life of liberation by distracting herself. The "spinning" is the only thing Sethe knows of because life for her has always been full of chaos and to block out the past events, this is the only way Sethe thinks she can start a new life, but it can't. Morrison does this to show that the past is an unforgettable thing and that no matter how hard you try to run away from it, it will always follow you.
ReplyDeleteMorrison creates the term "rememory" to emphasize the need for connection with the past and the inability to deny that connection. Essentially, slavery is not just a memory to Sethe. It has molded and shaped her entire life. In fact, she kills her child so she doesn't have to experience the cruelty of slavery. Rememory helps the reader understand that Sethe is constantly plagued by her past events and thoughts. For example, Beloved haunts her throughout the novel and makes her relive her past. The past is always with Sethe through the form of Beloved. Therefore, a stronger word for memory must be created.
ReplyDeleteto be honest at first I thought rememory was just a word that the slaves used in lieu of remember, because they weren't taught proper English, so using the words they kinda knew, kind of just got confused and started using rememory. After reading others comments I cant see how a rememory is anything more than just an uneducated way of saying Remember/memory. It sounds cool to try and connect the word to slavery, and if I was to put a little more logic behind it besides it being a "slave word", I would say its a word used for when you can picture and see something in your head that hey smarty pants longer exists, but you can see so vividly and its almost as if its real.
ReplyDeleteI think that Morrison developed the concept of rememory to strengthen the connection between past and present and articulate how the past can affect the future. Rememory is the belief that a past event continuously replays at the spot that it occurred for anyone to watch. It is a pivotal idea of the story because Beloved is rememory. Beloved represents the memories that former slaves have of past their lives of enslavement; these recollections can never be forgotten. At the end of the novel when Beloved disappears, the women who forced her away are not forgetting their pasts; they are simply allowing themselves to move on. Thus, rememory is such a crucial element of this story.
ReplyDeleteUsually, people who have memories only want to remember the ones that are good. Yes, there are bad ones but those usually get buried into a section of one's brain and hopefully never resurface. However, in this case the memories the black people have are all negative and relate to slavery. Thus, I agree with Beth that at the end of the novel, the women, symbolically, are calling out all of their rememories and are standing up to them. They are using their actions to speak to the fact that they will no longer be demonized by these horrific past incidents that shaped their lives.
DeleteMorrison creates “rememory” as a stronger representation of the past and the haunting experiences of slavery. The rememory is being relieved everytime it comes to the forefront of the mind. That is why it is so strong, she relives these memories time and time again as if it was just happening. The rememories she has are generally negative and traumatizing periods of Sethe’s life.It is only fitting for such strong memories to be brought back in such a strong way, it shows that she continues to live with it and will never forget about it.
ReplyDeleteRememory is a word that Morrison chooses to use because it expresses the ability of the memories of the past to mesh with the thoughts and remembrances of a person. It is a strong word that she created to express the idea that Sethe was unable to recall anything without thinking about her past. The word links the past and the present in a manner that expresses how Sethe truly cannot escape the link she has to her past. I agree with both Steph and Marina in their thoughts that rememory expresses something that cannot ever be forgotten, much like our nation’s history of slavery.
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ReplyDeleteRememory is more than just a memory. A rememory is something that when it is remembered it is almost re-lived. A rememory is something that haunts you from your past. Morrison created this word to demonstrate the horrors of slavery. The atrocities suffered by slaves during slavery could not be described as just a memory. They have to be described as rememories because they leave a lasting imprint in the minds of former slaves and they are impossible to forget.
ReplyDeleteWe love to remember old events, ones where we were surrounded by people we love, and reminisce on these old times. To remember something is to slightly recall it, and has a pleasant meaning behind it. For this reason, Morrison dubbed the term "rememory," simply to serve as a distinction between the typical memory we all have. Instead, rememory is haunting, inescapable, and drives Sethe to have flashbacks that she can't get rid of. This idea further establishes the impact slavery had on not only Sethe's life, but the lives of the millions of African Americans battling the brutalities that accompanied slavery.
ReplyDeleteMorrison created the word rememory to emphasize the fact that the horrible flashbacks Sethe had were more than just a normal memory. Rememory is used to describe a memory that is so vivid and cannot be forgotten that it is like reliving the even all over again. The term rememory is an inescapable part of not only Sethe's life but also the lives of all slaves.This term also helps convey the message that one cannot truly escape slavery because the rememories of pain and suffering never cease.
ReplyDeleteThe word “rememory” is a deeper than just an ordinary memory. People have millions of memories over a lifetime, many of them that get forgotten. The ones we remember that stick with us forever, are rememories. We will always carry them with us. Morrison discusses rememories because the abuse that slaves endured will stick with them forever. There is nothing that can ever make them forget the tragedy they were put through. Rememories also shape who a person is. For example, Sethe is shaped by her rememories as a slave.
ReplyDeleteThe word "rememory" was used to describe a strong flashback. The word "memory" would not suffice in this scenario since Sethe is experiencing more than a "memory". Sethe relives her flashbacks repeatedly and has extreme detail to the events. Usually a memory is forgotten, or will be forgotten, but the tortures that Sethe experienced cannot be forgotten. The word was created to correlate with the overall meaning of the novel. Slaves experience "rememories", they cannot forget the tortures done to them so Morrison wanted to emphasizes that they a reliving horrors everyday.
ReplyDelete"Rememory" is a memory one will never stop remembering. Sethe's constantly remembering her past as a slave and her murder of her daughter. Sethe never being able to forget her past only adds to the story.
ReplyDeleteThe word rememory has a stronger meaning than the word memory. Sethe’s flashbacks are stronger than a memory, they haunt her and will always. The flashback are so prevalent it is like Sethe is reliving her past everyday. Slavery will not be apart of Sethe’s memories. It will always be something she has to relive and be tormented from. Morrison wants the readers to understand this, hence the use of the word “remomery” rather than “memory”.
ReplyDeleteI feel that rememory is something Morrison hoped to bring forth to showcase all of the past thoughts that linger within Sethe’s mind. A memory can be brought up in someone's mind but I feel that the use of rememory was used to show that these horrible memories are reoccurring. This emphasizes how these memories of her past continuously haunt her thoughts and make it so she can never get over them. Sethe will permanently be scarred with these images and Morrison wanted to bring that through with the theme of slavery.
ReplyDeleteMorrison creates rememory in order to emphasize the fact that the past will remain with us for the rest of our lives. She uses this in Beloved to emphasize that the devastations and horrors that those enslaved experienced during slavery will forever haunt them. Rememory is richer than remembering and it emphasizes that those who experienced the traumas of slavery will relive the torture. Morrison coins rememory for this novel as it emphasizes the scarring events of slavery and how they are more than just memories. A slave’s past will leave a lasting impact that will affect their present and will have more of an effect on their lives than memories would. Rememory is appropriate for this novel as the harsh act of slavery will forever be implanted in former slaves and how it has negatively impacted their life.
ReplyDeleteUnlike a memory, rememory is reliving your past, rather than just remembering it. When Beloved comes back, it causes all of Sethe’s past to rush back to her. She doesn’t want to remember the life that she used to live, but she cannot run away from it. Beloved is a physical connection to Sethe’s past, even though she is not a physical being herself. Beloved represents the mistakes that Sethe has made in her life and the effects that slavery has had on her life. She may want to forget, but you cannot forget rememories, they are always there with you.
ReplyDeleteThe rememories that Sethe experiences are stronger than memories. When she experiences them, it is as if she is re-living that time in her life - and usually these times are painful. The rememories seem to occur relating to traumatic events that Sethe experienced, things that were so painful and awful that she can still feel them, rather than just remember how they felt. These rememories are like a mental/emotional scar left on her life and are in her head forever.
ReplyDeleteMorrison creates the term “rememory” because so much because her novel so heavily focuses on the way that memories are still intertwined with the present. The term is much stronger than simply using “memory”. Rememory implies that whatever is being remembered is a strong, recurring memory that is almost inseparable from one’s current thoughts. Morrison creates this rememory specifically to refer to slavery. This is important the novel because it further emphasizes that slavery has amplified effects compared to those caused by other traumas. Rememory shows that slavery is not something that someone can learn to forget or something that will fade away; its victims are forced to relive their memories for the rest of their lives.
ReplyDeleteMorrison creates this word to suggest how memories have the strong ability to affect a person throughout their whole life. This word exaggerates the point that the tragic past of those who experienced slavery cannot be forgotten. Their past has scared them and throughout “rememories” continues to haunt them throughout their life.
ReplyDeleteThe term rememory was created because it's way more powerful than just remembering something. Rememory intertwines the past and present, creating a whole new idea. It would be used for something like a war or a traumatic event. PTSD is what I imagine the idea is closest to. Since slavery is such a big idea in this book, Morrison needed a word to describe never being able to forget it, almost to a point where you think it can never go away. She uses it to show how memories can scar you and allow you to see them almost as vividly as the present.
ReplyDeleteAt first, I thought rememory was just remembering the same event more than once. However, it is much more than that. The feeling actually pains people so much that they are literally reliving the same moment over and over again. Every thought they have revolves around that one event, and for Sethe that is the death of her child. Yes, Sethe remembers how painful and traumatizing slavery was, but the act of killing her own daughter will be with her for the rest of her life. A moment in the past that she will never be able to move on or recover from. An overall message Morrison tries to convey is that it is extremely hard to forget about the past, especially the most painful moments, emphasizing the effects of rememory on Sethe, a character who will never be able to do so.
ReplyDeleteRememory happens again and again. It is more powerful than a memory, it comes to life. The past has a gripping hold on Sethe and her rememory of the past is what Morrison wanted to be exemplified in the text. This is because her message is that the past will always follow you and find you no matter where you go.
ReplyDeleteThe coming to life of the rememory in this novel is Beloved. She embodies the past and the grueling events it contained.
ReplyDeleteMorrison creates “rememory” in this novel to express the strength behind Beloved’s reappearance. When Beloved returns, her presence is much stronger than an average memory or deja vu. The idea of rememory is that it is a way of haunting by forcing someone to relive their past. This “rememory” is so real that it doesn’t just live in someone’s mind/memories, it takes them back in time and forces them to face their past. We forget some memories we have, like the first time we ride a bike or try a new ice cream flavor, but rememory is something much more powerful than that- it something you can never forget or outgrow. Rememory can be mental or physical, but in Sethe’s case, the most prominent rememory she experiences is Beloved. Rememories are more vivid and real than average memories.
ReplyDeleteMorrison creates the word rememory because the word "memory" is not strong enough to describe what Sethe experiences. Sethe's need for connection with the past and inability to deny it is what defines Sethe's entire life. Everybody has memories and learns to live with the bad ones, but rememory is crippling and it keeps Sethe perpetually reliving her horrifying past as a slave. It is the rememory that is so strong it brings Beloved back from "the other place" to consume Sethe completely. It is only at the end of the novel that it seems that Sethe has a chance of just memories as opposed to rememory. There are traces of her past (Beloved's dress hanging in the house) that she will learn to cope with, but Beloved as an entity is gone. Rememory contributes to the novel as a whole because it explains the struggle of the generation of people that made the transition from enslaved to freed. It explains that even though slaves were "free", the struggle did not just end. They had to deal with psychological damage and the loss of their identities that made it impossible to move on to a new life.
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