Terry Otten, in The Crime of Innocence in the Fiction of Toni Morrison (Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 1989, 86-87) says, “Sethe’s first willful act, the escape from the Garner estate, imitates the quest for freedom from a degenerate garden. Sweet Home echoes again the Romantic view of a flawed Eden, where black slaves tolerated the loss of freedom because they lived in ignorance of their condition.” Comment on this interpretation of the novel as a fall from grace and innocence in the Garden of Eden.
With this parallel to the Garden of Eden, at a basic level, this biblical allusion is actually straight on. At Sweet Home, yes the men overlook their loss of freedom because they are treated with some semblance of human decency. Schoolteacher could be perceived as the forbidden fruit of the garden. He and the slaves should never have existed together, they should have been separated for their personalities and privileges were clashing. However, once these two forces' worlds came together, the true people made in the image of God, the slaves, awoke and their ignorance fell from their consciousness. Rather than being banished, they attempted to escape Sweet Home. This parallel is less a fall from grace and more a loss of innocence.By no means were the slaves of Sweet Home children, but their perception of the world outside their plantation was. In a ways, Sethe's escape and journey to Cincinnati is almost her coming of age story, as is Paul D' trials and tribulations after escape. The parallel also serves to make the readers understand and sympathize with the slaves, just like they did with Eve and her sense of curiosity about the world.
ReplyDeleteOut of all the other farms, Sweet Home is compared to the Garden of Eden from the Bible, where Mr. Garner reigns over like a God. Under Garner, slaves are seen as workers with rights, in which Morrison explains that the slaves "were believed and trusted, but most of all they were listened to" (147). While most masters abuse their slaves, Garner treats his workers humanely. Under his rule, the slaves feel as if they are more than just property because they believe that they are human beings. Mr. Garner's relationship with the slaves mirrors God's relationship with Adam and Eve, showing Morrison's Biblical allusion in this sense. As everyone knows, God allows for Adam and Eve to live in the garden with no repercussions, similar to how Garner allows the slaves to work his farm. However the only rule that God gives Adam and Eve is to not to touch the forbidden tree, in which they follow through with this command until Eve is deceived by the snake in the garden. This presence of evil destroys the illusion of paradise in both Eden and Sweet Home because in "Beloved" Schoolteacher's arrival after the death of Mr. Garner,is compared to that of the arrival of the snake in the Garden of Eden.
ReplyDeleteI think Sarah is spot on with this explanation. I would like to add to the idea of Schoolteacher being compared to the snake once Mr. Garner passes away. In addition to being as evil and deceptive as a snake, I think Schoolteacher also has traits of the Devil in him. This is most notable when he promoted the raping of Sethe. Even though Black and White people were not viewed as equal during that time, Mr. Garner would not have promoted the sexual act between white men and Sethe. He and Mrs. Garner even recognize Sethe and Halle as being spouses and encouraged them to produce children (for their benefit). Therefore, it was sinful of Schoolteacher to promote such an act because it goes against the commandment God would have recognized: "Thou shall not commit adultery" or "Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's goods".
DeleteThere is a lot of similarity between Sweet Home under Garner’s rule and the Garden of Eden. Sweet Home ends up as a place of cruelty and torture, yet under Gardner’s rule the slaves weren’t treated like animals. Garner can be compared to God with this biblical allusion since they both created humane places. While Garner created Sweet Home, God created the Garden of Eden. However when Garner dies and schoolteacher takes control everything changes. I like the comparison that Sarah makes between the snake coming into the Garden of Eden, and schoolteacher taking over Sweet Home. When the devil convinces Eve to eat an apple from the forbidden tree, he allowed sin to enter the world. This is similar to schoolteacher’s influence on Sweet Home since he created a place of harm when he took over the slave plantation. One can also argue that Eve represents Sethe. Eve was living her life in the Garden under God’s rule, until she was manipulated by evil. Similarly, Sethe was taken advantage of by a monstrous man (schoolteacher) while living in the place she was bring up her children.
ReplyDeleteAt Sweet Home the slaves acceptance for the conditions of life they lived in came from the belief that there was very little they could do to change it. Slavery was what they were born into, and they had very little knowledge of what life outside of slavery was like. When Sethe began her attempts and journey to leave Sweet Home and find freedom, it has some parallels to the biblical allusion where, as Kate also said, they began to stop ignoring the rest of the world and curiosity began to grow. Sethe’s curiosity and desire for a life outside of slavery is similar to Eve as her curiosities began to grow in the Garden of Eden.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I think there is a lot of similarity between Sweet Home under Garner’s rule and the Garden of Eden. At Sweet Home, Mr. Garner can be representative of God as they both created a place that seemed humane, as Steph said. While under Mr. Garner's ruling, the slaves were not treated like animals, which again can emphasize how he might be portrayed like that of God. However, when Mr. Garner dies, the slaves are left with schoolteacher, who is like the snake in the Garden of Eden in that they are both villainous and cruel. The snake tempts Eve to eat the apple and she does, which causes sin to enter the world. This is just like schoolteacher's ruling over Sweet Home as he turns the place evil and cruel.
ReplyDeleteUnder Garner, sweet home allows the slaves to live in ignorance of how their lives could have been both better and worse. Then, like Ben said, when schoolteacher came, they began to wonder what their lives could be like outside of sweet home, and their curiosity grew as to what their lives could be. This parallels Eden because of how they were under the impression that everything was good until schoolteacher (the snake) came and made them question their lives and become more curious.
ReplyDeleteI can agree with all the other comments that the Garden of Eden can specifically parallel Sweet Home under Garners rule. Garner is a parallel of God as he kept Sweet Home as pure and harmless as he possibly could. Like Ben said, Garner allowed the slaves to live in ignorance and without curiosity, not knowing what their life could be like in an escape to freedom. When Mr, Garner is replaced, his replacement is the evil, inhuman school teacher. This represents the snakes of evil taking over the garden of Eden. Because the snake releases the idea of ignorance and provokes curiosity in Eve, she eats the apple and gives into his temptation, releasing sin to the world. To me, this is similar to Sethe’s case as she is a parallel of Eve. The school teachers torture and ways are so harmful that she becomes curious about a life of freedom. Therefore, the school teacher indirectly influences her to escape slavery. changing her life to become one of sin from murdering her daughter to have the rememory haunt her life.
ReplyDeleteThe life at Sweet Home does have a connection to the Garden of Eden. As it has been previously stated, Mr. Garner made the slaves feel humane and like they weren’t animals. However, that all changed when the snake, the schoolteacher, took over Sweet Home. This led to slaves feeling like they were animals. They were in fear and they became curious about their life outside of Sweet Home; what could they be?
ReplyDeleteI think that there is great similarity between Sweet Home and the Garden of Eden. Garner can be compared to God in this scenario. He treated his slaves humanely and listened to them. Like Sarah said, Garner allows them to live on Sweet Home just like God allows Adam and Eve to live in the Garden of Eden. When Garner dies, Schoolteacher takes over. His is very cruel to the slaves and can be compared to the snake. Because he is so evil, the slaves are tempted to run away, just like Eve was tempted to eat the apple.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what everyone is saying about Sweet Home representing the Garden of Eden. God being Garner and schoolteacher being the snake. Now the only thing I'm trying to figure out is what the apple represents. The snake tells Eve that if she eats the apple she will be like God. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Maybe this represents Sethe trying to figure out whether killing Beloved was the right thing to do, which is why she was tempted to eat the apple in a sense?
ReplyDeleteI agree with those you feel that Sweet Home is strongly related to the Garden of Eden. For your question of the apple, I feel as though it might be symbolized by the actual killing of Beloved. After Sethe killed Beloved, her life was changed forever, similar to Eve when she took a bite of the apple. The killing of Beloved represents both the good and evil. The good would be Sethe's intentions of protectiong her daughter, and the evil could be the killing of a helpless child. Sethe had to pick her poison, similar to Eve in the Garden of Eden. Also the red color of the apple can be tied to the red blood of Beloved that stained Sethe once she killed her daughter.
DeleteAfter schoolteacher arrives, Sweet Home falls from grace and innocence and becomes a degenerate Garden of Eden. I agree with Sarah’s interpretation that Mr. Garner is merciful and loving like God with his slaves, allowing them to feel more humane. I also agree with Alexis’ interpretation that schoolteacher is like the snake and the Devil with how he treats his slaves. He pushes them to the edge, making them feel the need to try to run away. He shows no mercy with Sixo, who he thinks is not valuable or useful enough to keep around, so instead he burns him to death. He had Sethe whipped after she told Mrs. Garner that his two pupils raped her. It is clear that Sweet Home fell from grace and innocence following Mr. Garner’s death and schoolteacher’s arrival.
ReplyDeleteSweet Home can definitely be seen as an Eden of sorts, as Adam and Eve were ignorant at first, similar to how Sethe and the men were when Garner was in charge. However, when Schoolteacher took over, he acts as the snake that caused Eve to partake in sin by eating the apple. Sethe was fairly innocent when she was at Sweet Home, but when Garner died and Schoolteacher took over the home descended into chaos and ignorance was completely lost. Sethe was no longer innocent because she technically sinned when she ran away and again when she killed her daughter, regardless of the reasons. Sethe's real fall from grace came when she lost her sense of ignorance and innocence when Schoolteacher's pupil's abused Sethe in the barn.
ReplyDeleteSweet Home and the Garden of Eden do reign some similarities. Mr. Garner would be God in this case, and that comparison is pretty accurate. He does control the workers of Sweet Home, but he makes them feel more humane than other slave owners do. Like others mentioned before, Garner lets them live in Sweet Home like God lets Adam and Eve live in the garden. After Mr. Garner’s death, the schoolteacher steps in and he exhibits some snake like qualities in comparison to the Garden of Eden. He treats them like animals. He also makes Sethe take away her innocence by basically being the reason she kills Beloved.
ReplyDeleteA parallel can definitely be drawn between the Garner Estate and Sweet Home. Both places were created for good, however turned out differently than intended. While Garner was in charge, the slaves were not treated as poorly as they were after he died. It was not a place where the slaves were brutally treated, however Sweet Home under rule of the schoolteacher turned into something much darker. God’s Garden of Eden was made for Adam and Eve, and her actions when she ate the apple caused sin to enter the world, depleting it of its pure innocence. Likewise, the schoolteacher allows Sweet Home to become a place where danger exists. The schoolteacher is comparable to the devil, and how he is responsible for driving cruelty in a world that God, like Garner, intended for peace.
ReplyDeleteTheres a very biblical correlation to this story. Sethe was very carefree, and the men on Sweet Home had no self control. There was no structure and no one paid for their sins. That is, until the Schoolteacher took over Sweet Home following the increase in punishments and obedience. This all reminds me of Adam & Eve, who were careless until punished by the snake.
ReplyDeleteSweet Home was exactly what Terri Otten described it to be. The slaves lived in ignorance of the way slavery was outside of their world because they lived in the lesser evil of slavery. Their slaveholders treated them like human beings, and despite the fact that they still were enslaved, the conditions were much better than what they could've been. The biblical correlation ties into the Garden of Eden because to Adam and Eve the garden seemed perfect. It wasn't until the serpent made them question their normal lives that they made decisions which resulted in them having to flee the garden. School teacher, from Beloved, is that snake. He causes the slaves to have to flee the Garden of Eden because it is no longer an good environment.
ReplyDeleteThere is some similarity between “Sweet Home” and the Garden of Eden. When Mr. Garner is in charge of “Sweet Home”, the slaves are treated humanely and they do not ponder of how different their lives would be outside of the plantation. Garner can be representative of God since he treated the slaves fairly. When, Garner dies, the schoolteacher is in charge. He can be representative of the snakes in the Garden of Eden since he appears to be evil. He makes “Sweet Home” unpleasant and the slaves begin to think of lives outside of the plantation. The schoolteacher is evil, just like the snakes in the Garden of Eden.
ReplyDeleteMany similarities can be drawn between Sweet Home and the Garden of Eden. When Garner is in charge of Sweet Home, it isn’t that horrible of a place and the slaves are not treated that bad. So in this aspect, Garner can be compared to god. Then then Garner dies, school teacher takes over and makes Sweet Home a horrible place where slaves are beaten and raped and the slaves want to escape. Schoolteacher can be compared to these that comes into the garden and tempts Eden to eat the apple and disturb the peace.
ReplyDeleteParallels between Sweet Home and the Garden of Eden can definitely be drawn. Like many other have said, Mr. Garner, like God, treated the slaves in a fair and just way. However when Garner dies, this all changes. It can be said that the person who took over after Garner, schoolteacher, is representative of the devil, or the snake, in the Garden of Eden. This is because compared to Garner, shoolteacher is pure evil just like the devil compared to God. When schoolteacher takes over life at Sweet Home becomes intolerable and the slaves begin to think of life outside the plantation.
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ReplyDeleteI believe that Sweet Home can definitely be compared to the Garden of Eden under Garner's rule. For example, Adam and Eve were initially ignorant similar to the Sethe and other slaves when Garner was in charge. Schoolteacher functions as the snake that made Eve to eat the apple and sin as well. Sethe was living a solid life until Schoolteacher took over Sweet Home when Garner died. Disorder and pandemonium arose at the home as well. Schoolteacher taking over causes Sethe to wonder what life is like outside of the home. However, with Mr. Garner she didn't question it and just lived out her life. This is similar to the Garden of Eden as the world was fine until Eve listened to the snake.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Sweet Home definitely has similarities to the Garden of Eden. When Mr. Gardner was in control, Sweet Home was a place where the slaves were treated with care and more as a servant instead of property. The Garden of Eden that God created was also a positive and humane environment. When Mr. Garner dies, Sweet Home falls into the horrors of other plantations and treats the slaves as if they are not people. This compares with the Garden of Eden when the snake enters and causes Eve to release sin into the world. The school teachers released sin (cruelty) into the once humaine plantation.
ReplyDeleteSweet Home does resemble the view of the Garden of Eden and the characters correlate each other. When the slaves were under Garner’s rule, he treated the slaves like humans. However, Mr. Garner was replaced by school teacher and he was inhumane and torturous. Curiosity began to grow under school teacher’s rule about what life would be like with freedom. This relates to the story of the Garden of Eden as the snake intrigued Adam and Eve’s curiosity. The snake resembles to school teacher as both characters introduced evil.
ReplyDeleteSweet Home could definitely be interpreted as the Garden of Eden, especially because it is described almost like a paradise when compared to other slave plantations. Even the name, Sweet Home, implies that it is a wonderful place to be. Certainly “Sweet Home” doesn’t sound like the name of a place that would be plagued by the cruelty of slavery. The Garners do not dehumanize their slaves like many others do; in fact, Mr. Garner prides himself on the fact that his slaves are real men. They are not treated as poorly as other slaves are, but that does not excuse the fact that they are still slaves and are treated as less than white people. It wasn’t until Sethe escaped from Sweet Home that she truly realized the horrors of slavery. After she left, Sethe was more aware of her right to freedom as a human being and she valued that freedom above all else. She wouldn’t let it be taken away from her or any of her family, the exact reason why she killed Beloved. By escaping the “Garden of Eden”, Sethe was no longer living a life of ignorance and could clearly see how life on Sweet Home had been so limiting and cruel.
ReplyDeleteSweet Home definitely resembles the Garden of Eden. Sweet Home was a caring place up until Mr. Garner died. When he dies the Sweet Home becomes a terrifying place. This is like when the snakes enter the Garden of Eden. The Snakes and the Schoolteacher resemble each other since they both bring in “sin” and horror.
ReplyDeleteIn relation to “Beloved”, this Garden of Eden comparison makes perfect sense. As a reader, I never thought of the novel in that way, but it relates perfectly. In the garden, Adam and Eve are told to do what’s right, but when tempted by sin, they give in. At Sweet Home, Mr. Garner is a God like figure, treating Sethe and the other slaves as people, rather than animals. They know that they’re slaves, but they are unaware of the harsh treatment of other slaves and never think about running away (committing sin). Once School Teacher takes over, the slaves are tempted, just like an Adam and Eve, by what they can’t have (their freedom). Under Mr. Garner, the slaves were ignorant to the harsh treatment of other slaves due to how well they were treated. Once they got a taste of how bad other slaves had it, they wanted out. Sethe was raped and lost her innocence and was able to see the world how it truly was. By running away, Sethe committed a sin, but she also gained her freedom by doing so.
ReplyDelete“Sethe’s first willful act, the escape from the Garner estate, imitates the quest for freedom from a degenerate garden. Sweet Home echoes again the Romantic view of a flawed Eden, where black slaves tolerated the loss of freedom because they lived in ignorance of their condition.” Is Sethe killing the baby like when Adam and eve destroyed their ignorance in the world by listening to the snake or something like that? Im not that familiar with the Bible. But I do believe that Sweet Home is a graden of eden type thing, in which the slaves have no idea how the real world is, and that they live in ignorance. Sethe killing her baby symbolizes her freedom from being a slave I feel.
ReplyDeleteThe allusion of Sweet Home under the Garners’ power to the Garden of Eden is one that I had not noticed at first glance. The Garden of Eden is known as a holy, pure, and beautiful place where God placed Adam and Eve. Sweet Home, when Mr. and Mrs. Garner are the owners, is very similar to such. Yes, slavery was still taking place, but at least the Garners’ treated the slaves humanely. When schoolteacher took over, however, he can be compared to the snake who convinced Adam and Eve to touch the forbidden tree, even though God’s only rule was not to touch it. Schoolteacher treated the slaves disgustingly and scarred them for life. Showing the allusion of the quest for freedom from a degenerate garden and Sethe’s escape from Sweet Home gives the reader a connection to a familiar outside source, explaining the importance of such an event.
ReplyDeleteIt is plausible to compare life at Sweet Home under Mr. Garner’s watch to be as heavenly as life in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve’s time in the Garden was nothing but amazing; they lived under the best conditions possible- they had food, shelter, and companionship. Like Adam and Eve’s compromise with God (don’t eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge and this great lifestyle will remain), the relationship between the slaves (Adam and Eve) and Mr. Garner (God) was the same. Life for the slaves at Sweet Home was as good as it could possibly ever be, considering they were slaves, for they lived in peace as long as their work was accomplished. However, while Adam and Eve’s consequences were a result of their disobedience, the slaves did nothing to deserve the punishment of receiving Schoolteacher as their new supervisor when Mr. Garner dies. Like Ben said, I do agree that Sethe’s curiosity of life outside the plantation is similar to Eve’s interest in the fruit from the tree. Similarly, Eve is easily swayed and persuaded to eat the fruit when she encounters the evil snake, and Sethe is more inquisitive about the outside world when life at Sweet Home begins to decline and Schoolteacher holds authority.
ReplyDelete*** I’ve posted this blog about 5 times but it keeps disappearing, if this is me just being stupid with technology, please do not make fun of me***
ReplyDeleteOverall, I think that there is a parallel between Sweet Home and the garden of eden. Sweet Home used to be one of nicer plantations where the owner, Mr Garner, was a “god” like figure who treated the slaves like humans and not pieces of property. They were treated with compassion and respect. Sethe even recalls his wife lending her a pair of earrings when she got married, a luxury for a slave.
However, when Mr. Garner passes away, the schoolteacher gains power. He is the serpent who inflicts sin and pain on the slaves. He is okay with the slaves being abused and raped. He whips them and treats them like property. Like the garden of eden, Sweet Home transforms from a place of compassion to a place of shame.
Sweet Home is absolutely an idiom for the garden of eden. In Eden, Adam and eve's fall from grace is a fall from a state of innocent obedience to God to a state of guilty disobedience. The "guilty disobedience" that Sethe feels is how she remembers Sweet Home as a romanticized version of what it really was (i.e the trees). In reality, when Mr. Garner was the owner of Sweet Home, Sethe, Paul D, and the others did live in blissful ignorance because they thought since they weren't treated like total animals they had it good, and did no rebelling. The School Teacher's entry into Sweet Home is symbolic of the snake's entry into Eden, it is an entrance of evil and it snaps Sethe out of her innocent obedience. Just like how the snake sends Adam and Eve into their ultimate fall from grace, School Teacher sends Sethe into hers. The only irony is that if Sethe hadn't "fallen" from the grace of Sweet Home, she never would have had the chance to fall into the grace of freedom. While Eve was banished, Sethe ran.
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