Beloved
In Toni Morrison's Beloved, the core is made up of happenings in order to show how hard a time it was. Letting the memories go would be either very hard, or very easy. The main character, Sethe, has problems with life because she has no concept of time, and cannot grasp reality. At many times flashbacks cause her to abandon present responsibility, leaving her flustered and unable to move on. The woman named Beloved represents a time in Sethe's life that she needs to forget, and Beloved's return makes it impossible for Sethe to continue with life. With an unfinished relationship with her husband, the possibility of what might happen is another thing holding Sethe back. In Sethe's case, it is experiences in the past that provide a significant basis for explaining her rough attitude towards life. From the beginning the story rides on memories that seem confusing, but begin to piece together as it goes on. Not only is it an effective style, but it also portrays how hard it is to forget the past. One of Sethe's first memories is the pain she suffers during her pregnancy and birth of the only child she still has. The memory ends with: "Anything dead coming back to life hurts"(55), which is a line her friend says about her swollen
Beloved was killed by Sethe in order to save her from slavery, but she comes back to Sethe without Sethe knowing her true identity. Beloved becomes a constant subliminal reminder to Sethe of her past. Sethe does not realize that Beloved is her dead daughter so she does not see the obvious signs of yesterday. "...Sethe learned the profound satisfaction Beloved got from storytelling. It amazed Sethe (as much as it pleased Beloved) because every mention of her past life hurt" (58). Beloved is making Sethe tell her stories about the past, which is making it impossible for Sethe to move on. Beloved's presence keeps Sethe at the bad state she is in as well as stopping her from moving past that state. When Beloved finally leaves, most of Sethe's worries disappear. The constant reminder is no longer around, and her only problem is letting go of Beloved's memory. The story ends with a little insight from Paul D. about how Sethe's life will change. "Me and you. We got more yesterday more than anybody. We need some kind of tomorrow" (273). With that line alone, Sethe's mind frame shifts, and a whole new world is in the future for them. It ends with some kind of a possibility of what could happen, something Sethe has never thought about before. This story is a very sad one
Some common words found in the essay are:
Sethe Sethe's, Finally Paul, Morrison's Beloved, Sethe Sethe, Beloved Sethe, Toni Morrison, Paul Sethe's, holding sethe, sethe's life, impossible sethe, possibility happen, mind frame,
Approximate Word count = 857
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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