“Inside, two boys [Howard and Buglar] bled in the sawdust and dirt at the feet of a nigger woman [Sethe] holding a blood-soaked child [Beloved] to her chest with one hand and an infant [Denver] by the heels in the other. She did not look at them; she simply swung the baby toward the wall planks, missed and tried to connect a second time…” (page. 149).

One of the first things a baby sees when they are born is their mother. A baby can be certain their mother loves them more than anything because they are of the same flesh and blood. What is a baby to think when their own “face” decapitates them with a hacksaw? It is only natural for the baby to be confused as to how to react to that woman that is suppose to love them. Toni Morrison includes a stream of consciousness chapter in Beloved to express Beloved’s confusion about everything she sees as a baby.

Without reading the chapter, the first observation made is the lack of punctuation. Even though Beloved is physically a women, she has many childlike qualities. Beloved has skipped the developmental period between birth and adulthood. “how can I [Be

loved] say things that are pictures” (page 210). Beloved only sees things as a baby does. For this reason, she does not know how to form sentences. The only word that is consistently punctuated correctly is “I.” The only thing that Beloved is truly sure about, is herself. Everything else has the power to deceive her.

“we are all trying to leave our bodies behind the man on my face [Halle] has done it it is hard to make yourself die forever” (page 210). Beloved has been amongst the living and the dead. According to her, the purpose of life is to become dead. Halle, the man on her face, has accomplished this through disappearing. Nobody knows anything about him, so he is as good as dead. Contrarily, Beloved has always been on Sethe’s mind. Killing her own daughter is memory that she can not forget. Beloved is brought back to life because she can not be forgotten. “What I remember is a picture floating around out there outside my head” (page 36). It is impossible to forget the memory of Beloved because she was murdered in the shed right outside 124Bluestone Road. The memory stays right in the place where it happened. Halle’s death is back in Sweet Home since he never made it to 124Bluestone Road. Sethe has never gone back to there, so she can not pass by the place to bring back her rememory and so he stays dead.

“ I wait on the bridge because she [Sethe] is under it” (page 212). Beloved is above the ground watching over Sethe. Sethe is down on the ground and Beloved must go down there because she needs Sethe. Set

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Approximate Word count = 1080
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)