This is a novel about relationships—maternal; marital; slave-owner to slave; abolitionist to freed slave; white to black; guard to prisoner; employer to employee. Choose one or more relationships in the novel and analyze how each functions in the overall view of the novel.
There are many relationships in "Beloved" Toni Morrison, especially when it comes to the relationship of Beloved and Denver. Between Beloved and Denver, their relationship with one another is a little peculiar because Denver cares for Beloved greatly, whereas Beloved cares for and only Sethe. But for Denver, because she has suffered from emotionally isolation her whole life, the arrival of Beloved progresses the plot of the novel, in which Denver develops into her own person, who realizes she does not need people as she once thought.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the relationship with Paul D and Sethe is one for the books. As I continued to read, I understood that both characters do truly love one another because of all the pain and suffering that they have been through together because they share similar scars but still there is this disconnect in their relationship because Paul D is somewhat afraid to show his true emotions to Sethe as Morrison explains by using the metaphor of his heart in the tin box. However, when Paul D has that sexual encounter with Beloved it seems as if he finally opens up, which really got me thinking about how the relationships in the novel intertwine with one another and how complicated each one is. Though, I think Morrison does this for a reason because towards the end of the novel, the reader can see that Beloved slowly drains the life out of Sethe physically and emotionally, somehow killing her.
The first relationship I want to focus on is that of Denver and Sethe. Even after Howard and Buglar have left 124, and Beloved has been physically laid to rest, Sethe still has one daughter. Denver is much like Beloved in that Sethe is the only person she has truly ever known, and has been a constant in life. Yet, Sethe is too busy drowning in the blood she drew to see that Denver needs her more that the dead child. It's not that Sethe is neglectful, she agreed to help Denver pay for school when she was daring enough to attend, and Denver always had a meal and a bed, but emotionally, it doesn't really seem like Sethe was present. That kind of absence can be just as damaging as loneliness and peculiar as well.
ReplyDeleteThe second relationship I think as peculiar is the one between Beloved and Paul D, or lack thereof. When Beloved is trying to isolate Sethe, she drives away Paul D by making him do things that, well, he just doesn't want to. It seems strange that a woman who forces Paul D to commit non consensual acts, and alienates him from the woman he loves, can open up his red tin heart of true feelings. How is it that a man who cannot reveal how he feels to Sethe and be opened up by someone like Beloved? She doesn't help him in any way. Perhaps it is because she brings the past out of everyone, including Paul D.
The first relationship I’d like to highlight is the unique one between Denver and the rememory of Beloved. As she comes back into their lives, Denver strives to create a friendship and relationship with Beloved. She is interested in her as a new face. Yet, Beloved does not desire the same relationship, as if the two are on different pages. Specifically, Beloved has more of a heolohs and angry attitude toward her. She wishes that she was the one saved and was able to live. This relationship helps readers establish that Beloved is the rememory of the baby that was killed and is present to get revenge, not create bonds.
ReplyDeleteThe second relationship that is highlighted in the novel is between Paul D and Sethe. When he begins in her life, we see how he yearns for her effective and sex, something he has wanted since his time at Sweet Home. As he makes that connection and relationship with Sethe, we see how the two together work toward forgetting of the past. At the beginning of the novel he feels her scars, recollecting their past at Sweet Home. By introducing the two characters together, the readers are able too see how the past is brought back to life, bu5 ultimately worked toward being forgotten.
Although there are so many relationship in Beloved, one that I think is mainly focused on is slave-owner to slave. The control the owners had over their slaves created an unsafe and inhumane environment. Sethe was scarred for life do too the things that she had to encounter between her owners, particularly schoolteacher. These experiences lead her to be frightened to leave her own home and raise her children. Paul D’s relationship with the slave owner also haunts him. Schoolteacher burned Sixo alive, right in front of Paul D.
ReplyDeleteNot only were the slaves affected by their owners, but the owners were affected by the people they owned. Stamp Paid explains the environment this relationship created on page 234 when he says, “It was a jungle whitefolks planted in them. And it grew. It spread. In, through and after life, it spread, until it invaded the whites who had made it…Made them bloody, silly, worse than even they wanted to be, so scared were they of the jungle they had made (Morrison 234). The environment the owners created made them scared of their own slaves, in turn making them more cruel.
Overall, the events slaves had to live through while being owned were things that would stick with the slaves for the rest of their lives. These relationships gave the novel a darker tone, which helps said the message that slavery haunts everyone involved.
The first relationship that I would like to discuss is the one between Beloved and Denver. This relationship is interesting because in the beginning of the novel, Denver states that she does not hate 124 because of Beloved's ghost haunting the home, but because of the way in which Sethe presents the house through her actions. This was interesting because in later scenes, Denver seems to strive to make a friend of out Beloved. However, when Beloved is reincarnated, she shuts Denver completely down. This is because she is envious of Denver for remaining alive while Sethe only managed to kill her before being stopped from murdering Denver. While Beloved is on her quest to seek and isolate her mother's love and attention, she also strives for no one to get in her way, which is inclusive of Denver.
ReplyDeleteOf all the relationships in the novel, the relationship that sticks out the most to me is that between Sethe and the slave owner at Sweet Home. Although it was not entirely addressed, we can see the severe influences that being a slave has had on Sethe. The fear resulting from her time at Sweet Home is clear evidence that her owner wasn’t her best friend. Slave owners were people who felt entitled and better than the people who worked their fields, punishing them whenever they didn’t meet expectations. Sethe’s scars and mistreatment at Sweet Home shows that her owner didn’t care for her, but only the work that she did. Her experiences, most directly influenced by her owner, made her fear slavery so much that she chose her daughters death over sending her somewhere to be overworked and mistreated for the rest of her life.
ReplyDeleteThe relationship between Sethe and Sweet Home carried a very strong role throughout the novel. As she was taken advantage of and abused there, she was very traumatized. This resulted in her great loyalty and love she has for her family. She never wanted any of her daughters to undergo the pain and self-degration she felt during that period of time. She always made sure she did what she thought was best for Denver and Beloved, even going as far as to literally kill her child. Each decision she made in her life was directly affected by her past at Sweet Home.
ReplyDeleteOf all the relationships in the novel, the relationship between Sethe and Beloved stands out to me the most. Beloved is the reincarnation of Sethe’s dead daughter. She demands so much attention from Sethe, even to the point that she loses her job. However, Sethe gives it to her because she feels obligated to make up for giving up he daughter. In other words, she kind of seeks a second change to mother Beloved.
ReplyDeleteBeloved also looks at Sethe as a maternal figure and seeks a second chance to be her daughter. She wants to be like Sethe and have all of her attention, resembling how a young child is with their mother.
Yet, Beloved also holds a lot of anger for her mother murdering her so she tries to seek revenge. She often takes actions to hurt Sethe. She sleeps with Paul D, she tries to strangle her mother, and she takes all of her mothers food while her mother waste away to nothing.
Overall, I believe that their relationship is a pull between a second chance to a mother daughter relationship as well as a plot for Beloved to get revenge on Sethe.
One relationship that I would like to focus on would be between Denver and Beloved. All her life, Denver has been scared of her mother. She would act like she loved her only so she would not get killed too. Denver would wait for her father day after day so that he could protect her and eventually live together. While Denver was thinking this, she had the presence of the Baby Ghost to keep her company while waiting for their father. When the Baby Ghost (Beloved) took her human form, Denver thought that they could become friends. She thought that Beloved had come for her and for her only. Eventually she realized that Beloved only came for Sethe and wanted to get revenge.
ReplyDeleteA crucial relationship in this novel is the one between Sethe and Amy Denver, a white woman who comes across Sethe on the wrong side of the Mississippi river. Sethe was in the middle of escaping from Sweet Home when her feet, swollen from her pregnancy, gave out on her; her back, bloody and broken from being whipped, hurt so bad that she could no farther. Until Amy Denver appeared. Amy massaged Sethe’s feet, gave her shoes, aided her childbirth, and helped her get as far as she needed to be able to escape. Without the relationship that Sethe and Amy develop in that short amount of time, Sethe never would have crossed the river and made it to her children.
ReplyDeleteI think that the relationship between Sethe and Denver is interesting. You would think that since Denver is the one that never left Sethe, they would be the closest but they aren't. Sethe doesn't have the emotional side that Denver needs from her. I think that when Beloved came back, Denver was so eager to be her friend because she wanted someone to care for her and appreciate her like Sethe should have. I also think that its very cool how Morrison intertwines the relationships of Beloved, Denver, and Sethe like in the monologues. "I swallowed her blood right along with my mother's milk." It presents this bond beyond words that they all share.
ReplyDeleteThe novel Beloved is most definitely full of many different types of relationships. One important relationship that may be overlooked is Beloved and Denver. When Beloved first arrives, Denver immediately feels a connection to her. Denver continues to care for Beloved when she is sick and even after the fact. However, even when Denver gives Beloved her utmost attention, Beloved is obsessing over Sethe. Still wanting to protect Beloved, Denver tells Beloved that she only loves Sethe out of fear and that Beloved should be careful as well when it comes to getting attached to their mother. In a sense Denver acts more like a mother figure to Beloved as opposed to a sister, trying her best to protect her at all costs.
ReplyDeleteSlave-owner to slave is a prominent relationship in the story. Slave owners had such a hold on their slaves, making them uncomfortable and abused. The relationship between Sethe and Schoolteacher in particular are quite harsh. Schooteacher was abusive and made her feel more animal than human. She was whipped and beaten, her scars still remaining as a constant reminder of her troubled past. He felt like he was entitled over Sethe because he was a white man and she was basically owned by him. His impact on her will stay with Sethe for the rest of her life and make her feel worse about herself. Her abuse made her less selfish by making sure none of her children will ever have to endure the pain she did.
ReplyDeleteI think that one of the most important relationships in “Beloved” is the maternal one that Sethe has with Beloved. Sethe cares for her daughter so strongly that she was willing to kill her to keep her from a life of slavery. Sethe was willing to sacrifice anything for her daughter, and because of that she earned the ridicule of the townspeople as well as a haunted house. Then when Beloved returns to Sethe, Sethe puts all of her time and energy into trying to make things up to her. Sethe’s past continues to haunt her throughout the whole novel, but the one thing that truly stays with her is the maternal relationship that she missed out on with Beloved, but wants to have.
ReplyDeleteThe first significant relationship I’d like to point out is between Sethe and her memories at Sweet Home, as an enslaved woman. Through Morrison’s use of flashbacks, we learned about the long lasting impact that slavery had on Sethe, both physically and mentally. The schoolteacher was harsh, and put Sethe through physical and emotional pain. She was whipped, raped and had scars covering the body from the cruelty. This treatment was bad enough to make her kill her own daughter, in order to save her from such a life. Another relationship that hold much prevalence is between Sethe and Beloved. Her arrival can be believed to be Sethe’s dead daughter coming back to her, however Beloved truly seeks a mother-daughter relationship with Sethe. This attempt at a closely knit relationship I think is a way for Beloved to get revenge on Sethe.
ReplyDeleteOne very important relationship in the novel is between Sethe and Beloved. In my opinion, this is a parasitic relationship in which Beloved is the parasite and Sethe is the host. Sethe allows Beloved to live off of her, and in the process she grows physically and emotionally weak. Beloved wears Sethe down on her quest towards revenge. She initally hopes to form a loving relationship with Sethe and understand what it is like to have a mother. However, eventually she has more and more desires. Beloved grows fat as she eats a great deal of food leaving Sethe with next to nothing. Therefore, Sethe becomes thin and frail as a result.
ReplyDeleteThere are many relationships present in Beloved by Toni Morrison. The one that stuck out the most to me however, is the relationship between Sethe and her children. This relationship is curious because it can be interpreted in multiple ways. Many people will call Sethe a horrible mother for attempting to kill all of her children and successfully murdering one. They will argue that no good mother should be able to kill her own children. However, this relationship could also be interpreted in another way. It can be said that Sethe is actually a good mother for her actions. She tried the ultimate sacrifice to make sure that her children never had to suffer the way she did. Although it was extremely difficult for her to do, she feels like death would be a better option for her children than suffering through the horrors of slavery.
ReplyDeleteOne relationship that sticks out to me in this novel is the relationship between Sethe and Beloved. I believe that Sethe's attempt at being merciful for her daughter to prevent her from enduring the beatings, whippings and the rape that are associated with slavery show how much Sethe loved her child. While many will say that Sethe's actions were terrible I believe that was she did was fully within reason. Ones duty as a parent is to protect their children from pain and suffering. By giving Beloved a quick death instead of allowing her to live a life of misery Sethe fulfills this duty, demonstrating her willingness to sacrifice everything as well as her extreme love for her children.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the relationship between Sethe and the slave owner is the most prominent and brings forth the theme of slavery and the horrible effects it has or previous slaves and their future generations. When Mr. Gardner died, the schoolteacher came in and turned Sethe’s life upside down. She was beaten, raped, and overworked. These memories will always be present in her mind and she will never be able to forget them. He left both mental and psychical scars of Sethe which showcases the impact that these horrible owners had on their slaves at the time. Morrison uses this relationship to show how much slaves went through and how they wanted their children not to have the same life as they had to endure.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the relationship that was the most interesting was the one between Denver and Beloved. At first, it seemed all nice and happy between them. Denver would take care of Beloved and Beloved would keep Denver company. However that is not the case, Beloved has a goal to seek Sethe’s love, and she believes Denver is in her path. She begins to shut out Denver. It is ironic that Denver is trying to become friends with Beloved when in the beginning of the story, Denver is irked by by Beloved’s ghost haunting 124.
ReplyDeleteSethe and Beloved's relationship is most prominent to me. To Sethe, her haunted home is normal yet, to outsiders, its terrifying. Beloved's presence is comforting to Sethe and makes her feel less guilty for the murder. However, it seems Beloved's ghost is more of a priority than Denver's well-being. This twisted relationship between a mother and deceased daughter is most interesting.
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ReplyDeleteOne of the most important relationships within the novel is Sethe’s maternal relationship to Beloved. Although Sethe was the one who killed her, she loves her daughter very much. Before Beloved appeared at 124, Sethe spent years haunted by the memory of the murder and grieving the loss of her daughter. Once she realizes who Beloved is, Sethe becomes a more motherly figure who is willing to do anything for her child. She is overly caring and kind and will put up with Beloved’s tantrums and complaints in order to make sure she is happy. Sethe is entirely devoted to Beloved, even if it ends up hurting her. This is very unlike her relationship with Denver. Possibly because Sethe was so worked up with guilt, Denver always felt neglected by her mother. She is jealous of the attention that people get from Sethe when they visit the house. She only likes Sethe’s stories when it’s the one about her birth. Denver feels as if she has been lonely and isolated her whole life. When Beloved appears, Denver is both happy that she finally has a sister but also craves the motherly attention that Beloved is receiving that she has never gotten. Denver does love her mother though. Once she realizes that Beloved is making Sethe suffer, Denver leaves 124 and does as much work as she can to help provide for her mother.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Steph that the relationship between slave owner and slave creates a dangerous environment. Which leads Sethe to do unthinkable things like killing her baby or leaving her home. The slave owners did things to and in front of the slaves that tortured and scared them. Relationships such as this one are what haunt these slaves for the rest of their lives.
ReplyDeleteOne of the relationships that I found to be the most interesting in the novel is the relationship between Sethe and Amy Denver. Amy was a white woman who happened to run into Sethe at the Mississippi River and saw her struggling. Amy assisted Sethe through her pains and even her pregnancy. Sethe named her fourth daughter Denver after this woman. I found this to be an unique relationship as Amy, a white woman, did everything she could to help get Sethe, a black woman, to safety and good health, because this occured during a time period of such cruelty and discrimination against blacks. Another relationship in the novel was Beloved and Denver, and it was unlike any other. Denver was drawn to the rememory of Beloved and wanted to build a relationship. However, Beloved did not want much to do with Beloved, as her focus was on Sethe. This resulted to Beloved having an envious attitude towards Denver as she was the daughter that was able to live and her main goal was to get revenge.
ReplyDeleteOne interesting relationship within “Beloved” is that between Sethe and Stamp Paid. Both runaway slaves, they have that in common between the two of them. On Sethe’s journey to 124, he helped her cross the river, but he’s played a huge role in her life. He knows all that she’s risked to run away and find freedom, as he did himself. He feels a responsibility to protect Sethe and her family as they live on 124. When School Teacher came to capture Sethe, he’s the one who saved Denver and although he does not like what Sethe did that day, he does not abandon her like everyone else in the town. He stands by her and her family when no one else does. He had to give up his wife for his own freedom and he understands what Sethe had to give up. Although he is a minor character in the novel, his relationship with Sethe is an important one as he stands beside her even after knowing all that she has done.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, one of the most important relationships in the novel and the most interesting was between Mr. Garner and his slaves. He listened to their ideas, let them get married, let them stay with their families, and he even let Halle buy out Baby Suggs so she wouldn't have to work anymore. This relationship is surprising to me for two reasons. The first is the fact that Mr. Garner treated his slaves so well. In that time period, there was a lot of controversy about slavery and whether or not it should be allowed, and although he supported it, he treated his slaves better than anyone, which angered his neighbors and other slave owners. This leads into the next point; It is surprising to me that he wasn't an abolitionist. However, his kindness towards his slaves played a big part in allowing them to have somewhere to go when they escaped because he rented a house for Baby Suggs, and it showed them that even as slaves, they could have better lives than what schoolteacher gave them. This kindness is what helped Sethe carry on when she escaped and it gave Paul D and the others motivation to escape as well.
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ReplyDeleteA relationship that sticks out to me is the one between Sethe and Beloved. Their relationship began in a loving way but then quickly grew violent as Beloved reacted to her murder. Beloved has mixed feelings toward Sethe. When she returned from the dead, Beloved sought out to seek revenge on her mother for killing her. Although her motivations are mostly negative, we see at times a happier Beloved as she enjoys what she has always longed for. In the scene where Denver Beloved and Sethe are ice skating, Beloved enjoys what she would have had and possibly returned in search of Sethe’s love. Despite the joy expressed, Beloved’s revenge got the best of her as she took away all that Sethe valued. Sethe quickly becomes consumed by her need to sever Beloved and keep her content. Their relationship changes very drastically throughout the novel, and we watch as Beloved drains the life from her Mother.
A relationship that is eye catching to the reader is between Denver and Beloved. When Beloved started to really make herself known, Denver was one of the first ones to really notice. She also recognized that the peculiar presence was a small child before Sethe even realized it. When Beloved came back to reality as a "person" her and Denver got very close. Denver longed for someone to have to herself, and this showed the loneliness that Denver experienced. Her relationship with Sethe, her mom, was also interesting. Sethe was always present but wasn't really there. She had things on her mind constantly and things to do that Denver was not her main focus. Denver wanted attention and Beloved gave it to her. But, Beloved becomes jealous because Denver is the daughter that gets to actually be alive and live with Sethe in the real world. The reader can see through this, that Denver and Beloved both struggle with loneliness but neither of them can fully satisfy that longing for each other. Its as if they are so close yet so far.
ReplyDeleteDenver and beloved is a really interesting relationship. Denver for a while was friends with Beloved, but beloved really didn't care for Denver. I was confused as to y beloved was hanging around with Denver if all beloved wanted was together to Sethe. Like in the beginning they were kind of friendly, but as beloved got more close to Sethe, she pushes Denver away and hogs Seth all to herself.
ReplyDeleteTo me, the most prominent relationship in the novel is between Sethe and her slave owners, including Schoolteacher. The trauma they put her through had lasting effects that Sethe could never outgrow. The pain she endured is both mentally and physically embedded in Sethe. No matter how hard she tries, she will never be able to forget the hardships she endured. Also, Sethe’s scars on her back, and Beloved herself are both physical reminders of Sethe’s past. The cruelty Sethe suffers from drives her to commit the most important act in the novel, which is to kill her own child.
ReplyDeleteAnother relationship in the novel that sparks some interest is between Beloved and Denver because of its peculiarity. At first, Denver and Beloved seem to hit it off, for Denver is glad to have a companion, and Beloved is willing to fit that role. However as time passes, it is clear that Beloved does not value the relationship she has with Denver the way Denver does. Beloved is only concerned with winning her mother’s love, and sees Denver as somewhat of a threat.
Toni Morrison's depiction of maternal relationships is very complex. Morrison depicts the love of a mother to her child as the strongest possible entity. In fact, Sethe's connection to her dead daughter Beloved is so strong that it literally pulls Beloved from the "dead world" back as flesh and blood in the living world. The twist that Morrison incorporates is this undying love of a mother to her child in the circumstances of the time and in the presence of the harshness of slavery. The idea of a mother killing her own infant seems so unjustifiable that it is difficult to even see Sethe's point of view. But, Morrison's justifications of the act explains how killing her infant was the ultimate act of sacrifice; that by killing Beloved, Sethe would never be the same and she would be stuck in her rememory forever, but she did it to save her daughter from enduring the kind of traumatizing life that she lived. When Beloved returns, Sethe gives everything she has left to her, all of her time, attention, money, and food goes to Beloved, and Sethe ultimately fades away as Beloved becomes bigger and stronger. Sethe was so blinded by her love and guilt that she could not even recognize what Beloved was doing. it is obvious that Beloved does not understand why her mother killed her, she only sees it as Sethe "leaving her", but this is how Morrison explains the harshness of slavery. Sethe understands it because she lived it, she knew exactly what she was saving her baby from, and this contributes to the novel as a whole because it explains that the reader probably won't understand completely why Sethe killed Beloved either because they haven't lived through the brutality of being a slave.
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