The structure of each of the three parts of Beloved shows a similar beginning: “124 was spiteful;” “124 was loud;” “124 was quiet.” Discuss the structural purpose of this repetition, the differences in focus of each part, and the purposes of this technique.
Each of these sentences begins the next section of the novel. Part One begins with, "124 was spiteful", an indication of Beloved's personality as a ghost in the beginning. It was expressed that the only person Beloved wanted was Sethe. Beloved was spiteful because of all the love she perceived Sethe's other children receiving while Beloved was murdered. To get Sethe all to herself, Beloved acted in spite, and drove off all the people from 124, Howard, Buglar and Baby Suggs. In Part Two of the novel, "124 was loud", this might be owing to the fact that now Beloved was back in the flesh, she had a real voice, but also questions as she came to know Sethe and her life after Beloved. As such, the house became loud because Beloved wanted Sethe all to herself and nothing more. In Part Three, in which, "124 was quiet", this owes to a sense of calmness. Paul D has been driven away and Denver is excluded from the duo. Indeed Beloved has Sethe all to herself and Sethe is practically desperate to please Beloved, driving herself to ruin to do so. In this, draining Sethe of all she has, Beloved is content. The purpose of this repetition at the beginning of each part is to tell the audience how the dynamic of 124 has changed, and the repetition also provides structure to a rather unstructured novel.
ReplyDelete124 has always been a “haunted place”, both literally by Beloved, and metaphorically by the family’s bad luck and past. However, in this sense, Beloved represents 124. Beloved is 124; the house in its entirety. Beloved takes over. “124 was spiteful” in the first part of the novel, because she wasn’t yet in complete control. She was still trying to win the love and trust of Sethe, but she was still new to the world after she left the bridge. A stranger was entering a family’s world, but little did anybody know, she was not a stranger. This is what Beloved was frustrated with the most. She needed all the attention from Sethe. “124 was loud” in part 2 because this was when Beloved was really desperate from the love of Sethe, and Sethe was desperate to win the love of Beloved. Sethe knew exactly who Beloved was, and she would do anything for her, because after her murder, she felt as if she owed her the world. Resulting in so, “124 was quiet.” Beloved got exactly what she wanted from Sethe. Sethe was drained completely of everything she had from her, so Beloved no longer needed to be spiteful or loud. Beloved was happy with her duties. The purpose of this is to slowly show the development and revealment of Beloved and what she is truly capable of--absolute chaos.
ReplyDeleteI believe this structure was used to highlight the importance of the number 124. This number was brought up many times in the novel, particularly in the beginning of each section. The number 124 is used to represent Sethe’s children. The two boys are 1 and 2, since they are the first born, while Denver would be 4, who is the fourth born. The three is missing because it represents Beloved, who was taken from this home. The first part starts off saying “124 was spiteful,” to represent the haunting spirit in the house and eventually Beloved herself. The first part really focuses on different terrors of slavery through stories of the past. Then, part two starts with “124 was loud” since it was finally known to Sethe that Beloved was her daughter. Now that Sethe and Denver know who she is, the house is full “happiness”. In this part, Sethe, Denver and Beloved express their deep feelings to the reader and answer many questions, such as Sethe's feelings of Beloved's murder. The clarity given to the reader through each of these characters finally expressing themselves makes this part “loud.” However, part three then says “125 was quiet,” since Beloved starts to become controlling of Denver and especially Sethe’s life. Eventually, Beloved leaves the house to make the house clear of all ghosts that were previously present. In the last part, the feelings of each character is less clear, making them “quiet.” Overall, I believe the beginning of each part represents the impact Beloved had on the house, and everyone that lived in it.
ReplyDeleteTo begin, I agree that the structure of saying "124 is blank" is references how Beloveds character is progressed or scene in that section. "124 is spiteful" describes the introduction of Beloved haunting the house. it creates 124 to be ominous, spiteful, and haunting. When it is said that "124 is loud", this is referring to Beloved finally having a voice, her rememory coming to the surface. 124 is quiet refers to the rememory of Beloved and slavery finally being exiled from the house, no longer giving it the power for a voice. More importantly, the structure of using three words references Beloveds death, as she was the THIRD child. That three letter structure indirectly references Beloved. Overall, the technique to begin each section with this offers readers insight as to how that section will play out in terms of Beloveds prescence.
ReplyDeleteMorrison starts each of the three parts of her novel with sentences referring to 124. In part one, "124 was spiteful" refers to Beloved's ghost being spiteful towards Sethe for killing her as she is missing out on experiencing her mother's love and affection, making her feel cheated. In part two, "124 was loud" refers to Beloved actually coming back to the house in the living flesh, meaning that now she can obtain Sethe's love by making her presence known in a loud and bold manner as she wants Sethe all to herself. In part three, "124 was quiet" refers to Beloved finally receiving Sethe's love and getting her all to herself by driving everyone else away from the house. Therefore, this makes Sethe frail and weak as she does mostly everything to please Beloved, who know appears to be thriving as Sethe suffers.
ReplyDeleteWhen Morrison begins by describing the house as spiteful, loud, and quiet, she is using the house to describe aspects of the story and the characters lives, Beloved in particular. Throughout the novel the house was haunted by the ghost of Beloved who brought a dark and gloomy feeling and atmosphere to the house, that caused everyone to avoid it or pass by quickly. Describing the house as loud describes Beloved’s newfound voice and the opportunity to come back and respond to what happened to her, apparent when she arrived at 124. Finally quiet refers to the novel towards the end, when people begin to leave 124 and it seems as if Beloved has finally achieved what she came back for.
ReplyDeleteMorrison intentionally includes structures of threes in her novel to emphasize the presence of the ghost and memory of Beloved. Beloved was the third child. The house is called 124 for the first two sons, #1 and #2 and the fourth child Denver. The number 3 is missing because the third child is dead. However, the repitition of threes emphasizes that her present is still lurking.
ReplyDeleteThe description of 124 is also simple: “124 was spiteful”. This definitively describes the house as a dark, haunted place. This coveys to readers the overwhelming eerie atmosphere of the scene, making it a universal scary place.
I never even considered the significance of the numbers themselves, but it is brilliant!! I agree with what everyone else has said about how the opening sentence represents the progression of Beloved's character. It also foreshadows the vibe the house will have by the end of the section. That particular part of the book will be centered around rememories and events that explain why 124 is spiteful, loud, and quiet.
DeleteBy referencing the number 3, Morrison is referencing Beloved and her presence, as well as how it relates to other characters. First, 124 is spiteful. Before Paul D came, and while Sethe and her children were all in the house, Beloved was spiteful, because she was the only child who died, and her spirit now occupied the house and chased away the people. 124 was loud. Once she came back, Beloved made her presence known; first by creating a friendship with Denver and getting her out of her shell, then by forcing Paul D out, and later by allowing Sethe to realize who she really is. Once her presence was known by everyone, the house was once again full of the joy it was before the death of Beloved. Then, 124 was silent. As Beloved ate all of the food and took everything from Sethe and Denver, they no longer had the energy to speak, let alone do anything at all. The sound of laughter and joy that had originally filled the house when Sethe realized who Beloved was had been replaced by silence and the occasional fight between Sethe and Beloved over her death and the absence of Sethe's love.
ReplyDeleteMorrison intentionally uses the number 3 throughout the book. Like everybody else was saying, how Morrison begins each part is a reference to how Beloved would behave. When she starts the first part with "124 was spiteful," she is referencing how the baby ghost was acting towards the family. The baby was very angry at his point and would act out violently. The number three itself also has significance. This number represents time. Past,present future and beginning, middle, and end are some examples. The way Morrison sets up the novel showcases how Beloved and the family progress throughout time.
ReplyDeleteFor those that commented the significance of 124 having to do with Sethe's children and how Howard and Buglar are 1&2 and Beloved would be 3 but she's dead and 4 is Denver, wow! That makes so much sense and I love the symbolism! Now I do agree that 124 represents Beloved's actions since she is the spirit of the house, but I also think that it shows a timeline. The house is there during the whole story so it's a good way for Morrison to present how the different parts are going to be and the mood of each. Also I just realized 124 is quiet because this is the chapter where Beloved finally leaves and Sethe isn't the same anymore so that's my interpretation. Also I was reading around and someone said that the book was written 124 years after the Emancipation Proclamation which is actually really interesting. I don't think that's what Morrison intended to do necessarily but I just wanted to put that out there!
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the novel is separated into three parts purposely because Beloved character is progressing. In the beginning, Beloved is spiteful that Sethe has left her twice - the first time, Sethe went into the sea, and the second time, Beloved lost Sethe’s face after she saw her face in the water under the bridge. So she haunts Sethe’s house. In the second part, Beloved is loud because she is consuming Sethe, forcing Sethe to pay attention to her and not move on. In the last part, Beloved is satisfied with how much she has drained Sethe, though she does continue to take whatever she can from Sethe: food, attention, and Sethe’s own lifeforce. Morrison wrote the novel in this way to give the plot a structure to show Beloved’s development as a character.
ReplyDeleteI think that Steph's idea about 124 representing the children is extremely interesting. I had never considered how the three was missing and could be representative of Beloved being the third child. I think that is an extremely interesting way of looking at it. I think that Morrison may have broken the book into three different parts because there are three parts of life: birth, life and death. Beloved is born, but instead of living she dies first and and then comes back to life. The three parts now represent Beloved being reborn, living, and then dying/disappearing at the end. It is as if the book is symbolic of her receiving a second chance at living out her life cycle.
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ReplyDeleteThe repetition of 124 has a very interesting structural purpose. Describing 124 as spiteful, loud and quiet resembles to the stages of Beloved’s presence. Toward the beginning of the story, Beloved is spiteful towards Sethe and haunts the 124 household. Then, the “reincarnated” Beloved gains a voice. Even though this physical character is not real, she still symbolizes that everyone is still affected by the cruel acts of slavery. Then, in the last part Beloved is quiet because she is content with the attention she has received from Sethe. The interesting part about this repetition is that it is split into three parts. Sethe’s two boys were her first two children, 1 and 2, and Beloved is her 3rd and Denver is her 4th. 124 is missing the 3 just like Sethe’s 3rd child is no longer alive. Therefore sectioning this book into three parts further shows this structure’s purpose is to focus on the third child, Beloved and her progression throughout the novel.
ReplyDeleteStarting off each part of Beloved with an observation of the house is very significant to the story. It not only gives the reader an overall view of how the story is going to progress but in some ways describes Beloved’s actions, specifically, within each part. “124 is spiteful” is referring to the house being haunted by Beloved’s ghost, due to the fact that Sethe had killed her. “124 is loud” refers to Beloved, now that she came back as a person, who is overtaking both the house and Sethe, after being mellow throughout the first part. Lastly, “124 is quiet” refers to Beloved no longer being a part of 124, allowing everyone and everything to go back to normal. By personifying the house, the reader becomes curious about what will happen moving forward in the story and will get a better grasp of the events and situations that are going to take place.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Sam because by doing this Morrison grabs the reader's attention right away. To be honest I was so confused when I read the first line of the novel which states "124 was spiteful" (Morrison, 1) but Morrison uses this repetition for effect that has a lasting impression on the reader because 124 has such a powerful meaning and a stronger one to Beloved. When I go back and re-read parts of the novel about 124 I am shocked because I fully understand what Morrison is truly trying to say about 124 because it is what drives Beloved to come back and haunt the house.
DeleteIt completely shocked me that the house number “124” had such a meaning in the novel. The lack of the number “3” is representative of the lack of Sethe’s third child presence, after she killed her. I would have never thought to have found deeper meaning in something as minute as a house number, but then again if the book starts out with it, it must have a significant meaning! Morrison was extremely clever in doing so. In regards to the repetition of the house being described, I think that is done to emphasize what the house truly serves as. “124 was spiteful” I believe refers most directly to the presence Beloved’s ghost has on the house, how she may have spite towards Sethe for her actions. 124 being loud referred to Beloved’s new arrival to the house, where her presence livens the mostly empty house. Lastly, “124 was quiet” demonstrated the tranquility that fell over the house due to everyone being driven from it out of fear. Thus, Beloved was successful in accomplishing her goal.
ReplyDeleteThe use of such repetition emphasizes the fact that the house and the state it was in at the beginning of each part to the novel was impacted by Beloved and her effect on Sethe and her family.
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ReplyDeleteThe repetition of 124 is to highlight the progression of Beloved throughout the novel. The story sets off saying “124 was spiteful.” This refers to the behavior of Beloved when she haunted Sethe. Beloved was a malicious presence in the house because of Sethe’s murder of Beloved. She is getting back at Sethe for doing her so wrong. “124 was loud” refers to the return of Beloved into Sethe’s life. She made her presence known and gave lasting impressions on all of their lives. She forgave Sethe for murdering her those years ago, but she also began to drain Sethe of everything she had. Beloved grew as a real person, but at the same time tore down Sethe for her own benefit. “124 was quiet” refers to life after Beloved is gone. She made a very big impact on Sethe and Denver’s lives, and now that she's gone it's like everything has become quiet. Everything is able to go back to normal.
I like the idea that theres the connection between 124 and the children Sethe has. But I thought that she killed Beloved first, cause she was the oldest child, so it would've made more sense to make the number 234. thats just a thought. Although I read Marias about the emancipation proclamation taking place 123 years before, and how Morrison might have done that on purpose or not, that one seems kind of cool. “124 was spiteful.” is how the story begins, and this is because of how Beloved was acting towards her death, spiteful, so she was haunting the family. “124 was loud” has to do with Beloved returning home to Sethe becoming part of her life, and eventually trying to steal her life. “124 was quiet” has to do with beloved leaving the home for good, so Sethes life is not as exciting as it had been (exciting in a bad way, like commotion), everything is back to normal.
ReplyDelete"Spiteful...loud...quiet..." These all directly voice Beloved's part in the story. Beloved's ghost rattled the house when angry, tried to push Paul D. out by making a commotion, then quiet once she departs from 124 Bluestone Rd. "124" numbers Sethe's kids. She had 4 kids, one of which was murdered by her own hands in order to salvage it's life, therefore skipping the number "3" as she was no longer alive. Sethe was a prisoner here, forever daunted by her children's fate.
ReplyDelete124 is clearly missing the number 3. During group discussion it was concluded that the number 3 was for Beloved. As the child that lost her life she was not present through out the lives of the other children. The first sentence is "124 is spiteful." Beloved is mad, she is spiteful, and upset because her life was robbed form her. Though it may have been with good intentions, her life was no one's to take. This sentence starts off the beginning of the book because Beloved feels this way at the beginning of the novel. Sethe and Denver are aware of a presence but they don't know that it's her and this maddens her. Leading to the next sentence, "124 is loud." Beloved is done going unnoticed, she makes her presence known to Denver and Sethe, they realize that it is in fact Beloved. Beloved wants Sethe to understand how much she hurt her. Lastly the end of the book has the sentence, "124 is quiet." Beloved is satisfied, she is done taking the energy and life out of Sethe because she knows that Sethe understands the reason for her coming, and the can all be at rest now.
ReplyDeleteThe house number 124 is representative of Sethe’s children. Children 1 and 2 were Sethe’s sons and 4 was Denver. However, the missing 3 represents Beloved since Sethe killed her and she is “missing” from the family. When the novel says, “124 is spiteful”, this represents the beginning part of the novel when the ghost of Beloved was haunting the house. Depression and negative feelings were the only thing in the house. When the text says, “124 is loud”, it means that the memory of Beloved is coming back to life and the family is whole. Sethe and Beloved are finally reunited. However, Beloved leaves and “124 is quiet” which represents that Beloved is taking the haunting ghost of 124 with her and can be at rest.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of this repetition is to describe the differences at particular stages of the novel. In the first section, 124 is spiteful and full of a baby's venom. This is because the presence of Beloved is not solid, but her spirit rages on inside the house. Beloved only knows how to inflict physical harm, and her spirit indicates a childlike behavior. In the second section, 124 is loud which shows that Beloved is a central character in the work. Beloved possesses an ever-growing hanger in this portion of the novel, and her presence becomes more dangerous. Finally, in the third section, 124 is quiet because Beloved is removed from the home. She is not only physically removed, but emotionally and mentally removed as well. Morrison starts off with these sentences to foreshadow what is to come in each section.
ReplyDelete124 is representative of Sethe's children, 1 and 2 being the boys who ran away and 4 representing Denver. 3 is missing because Sethe, in order to be merciful, murdered her 3rd child, Beloved, in an attempt to spare her from a life as a slave. The number 124 is meant to emphasize the fact that Sethe's 3rd child is no longer alive. “124 was spiteful” Is referring to the presence of Beloved’s ghost has on the house. "124 being loud" referred to Beloved’s new arrival to the house, where her presence livens the . Lastly, “124 was quiet” demonstrated the peace that fell over the house due to everyone being driven away from it.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the number 124 represents Sethe’s children and the 3 is missing because her third child is dead is something I never would have realized on my own. Then Morrison builds on this by including the number 3 throughout the novel to symbolize Beloved’s presence. Morrison uses 124 to start each part in the novel to explain the ghost of Beloved’s attitude toward the family. “124 was spiteful” demonstrates how Beloved is spiteful towards Sethe for her actions. “124 was loud” describes Beloved’s new found voice as she makes her presence flt in the house. Finally, “124 was quiet” demonstrates that beloved was content after everyone was driven from the house in fear.
ReplyDeleteMorrison uses the structural repetition to develop the character of Beloved. In the beginning, the house is spiteful as it is full of negative emotions that Beloved holds in spirit and the negative thoughts of both Denver and Sethe. 124 becomes loud when Beloved arrives as a real woman and interacts in the house. I feel that Morrison uses the word “loud” to represent the rising actions that occur when Beloved is living in the home. The end where the house is quiet is when Beloved is gone and the haunting and stress is now gone. The differences of focus showcase I do find it interesting now that they would relate to Sethe’s children and the absense of the 3 as a symbol of Beloved not being there. I feel that Morrison wanted to show the timeline of what occured in the home with a simple sentence that changes as the story progresses.
ReplyDeleteThrough morrison’s use of repetition, she is tying together beloved and 124 as a combined entity. The differing adjectives used to describe 124 reflect on different sections of the story. These quotes are placed at the beginning of each section and used to foreshadow the events that will unfold. “124 was spiteful” is referring to the ghost of beloved’s feelings regarding Stehe. Beloved was spiteful towards her mother because she never got to experience life past infancy. Although Sethe killed her to protect her from slavery, beloved may not see the reasoning behind her mother’s actions. “124 was loud” could be referring to Beloved when she returned in a physical form as she was actually to connect with Sethe. “124 was quiet” references how beloved left at the end of the novel.
ReplyDeleteIt is incredible that number 124 seems like just a number but there is so much meaning behind it. The first things that jumped out at me was that the number number 3 is missing, just like Sethe thirds child. However when I started to look at the number again my mind told me to add them up and when you do you get 7, the number of perfection. I also agree with the number and the description on how the house was represents Beloved’s character.
ReplyDeleteThe three parts “124 was spiteful;” “124 was loud;” “124 was quiet.” all have one thing in common, they are missing the number three. Three represents Beloved and 124 represents the absence of her. Until Beloved arrives, Sethe believes that 124 is missing her child and her spirit, but even when Beloved arrives back at the house, 124 remains 124. The three never comes back because even though Beloved is physically there, she’s only seen by those touched by the effects of slavery and she is never actually there, she just represents Sethe’s past. At the beginning, Beloved’s spirit was spiteful, haunting the house in a way to keep her present. She doesn’t want Sethe to forget what she did and she is attempting to ruin her life, just as Sethe did to hers. Beloved drove away Howard and Buglar, and eventually Baby Suggs. When Paul D arrived at 124, the presence of man seemed to have driven Beloved away, but it only made her stronger. A man from Sethe’s past, a glimpse of happiness caused Beloved to come back even stronger, louder, to ruin Sethe’s life. When she realized who Beloved was, she thought that she could be truly happy, but she was wrong. By part three of the novel, 124 became quiet, and finally received Sethe’s love. In the end, she leaves the family, but she is always there, a haunting power over Sethe.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first began the novel, I read “124” as three separate numbers, “1, 2, and 4.” Laugh all you want, but I knew before starting the novel that Sethe’s third child was murdered (thank you to my sister for spoiling it). Anyway, for the first few pages I believed that 124 were representative of the two older boys and Denver, and that the the number “3” was missing because that child was dead. I thought, “wow what a funny way to refer to your own children.” Later, I realized that 124 was the house Sethe occupied. My misunderstanding actually helped me to understand the opening lines of each part of the story a little bit better. Like Katherine, I believe that 124 represents Beloved, and that in the beginning, “124 was spiteful” because Beloved is deprived of the love and affection she craves. This attention she yearns for was abruptly taken for her, and she demands to be addressed. In part two, “124 was loud” because Beloved has entered Sethe’s life and caused lots of commotion and confusion. Beloved is back to claim what is rightfully hers - her mother. In part three, it is said that “124 was quiet” because Beloved had achieved her goal at last. All competition was driven away for Beloved, and Sethe’s full attention was finally focused solely on her. The term “124” (three numbers) is missing the actual number 3 to fully satisfy the pattern, showing that up until Beloved returned (the third child), there was a sense of incompleteness.
ReplyDeleteMorrison didn't just split her novel into three parts for no good reason. Three is a number that represents completeness. Three is a biblical reference: the father, the son, holy ghost (or in this case the mother, the daughter, and their haunting ghost). Three is the number of time frames: representative of the past, the present, and the future. The structure of the three parts is a parallel for the pattern of 3 in the book. Beloved is the 3rd child, the number 3 is missing from 124, they have 3 skates when they go iceskating, there is an equilibrium struggle for there to be 3 people in the house, 3 people come to reclaim Sethe, and they even perform the excorcism at 3 o'clock. I think the main reason Morrison chose to include 3 so much was to show the three sides of slavery. There was the past of slavery (Beloved), which is representative of how the memories of the past are haunting and can ruin the lives of people living in the present. There was the present of slavery (Sethe) who is representative of a group of people of survived slavery and are free, but still are bound by the chains of their past. And there was the future of slavery (Denver) who is representative of the first generation born in to freedom who, although will pass on the history of slavery, has the chance to live freely.
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