Death and Revival
Toni Morrison’s Beloved is a tale of subliminal messages, explicit themes, and physical hints to the reader regarding the central meaning of the book, in all it’s eeriness. However, as I continue to read through the book, I follow a trail of ingenious irony, regarding one of the book’s many messages. Beloved is a ghost tale with the overarching theme of letting go of the past by facing one’s trauma. However, I believe it is just as much a tale of death and loss as it is a tale of resurrection, as ironic as that may sound.
The spirit of Beloved enters the lives of Sethe, Denver, and Paul D. just as the trio are beginning to see themselves as a family. As they are finally beginning to look into the future from a period of destitution (in terms of social life and love), we see Beloved sitting outside 124, waiting for them. Though Beloved is resurrected and physically present, her spirit reinforces the losses experienced by Sethe, Paul D., and Denver. She pushes them to face their pasts- in interesting ways to say the least. Nevertheless, by Beloved essentially forcing Sethe to confront her trauma, Paul D. to stop locking his feelings away, and Denver to venture away from 124, she has succeeded in a revival of the three characters. Revival can be interpreted in different ways, but I see revival in this context as a reconciliation with “rememory” as explained by Sethe.
Once the three eventually forget about Beloved- doubting if she was ever really there, it can be asserted that the influence of Beloved was a permanent shift in mindset and life for our three main characters. I could write an essay about the many ways Beloved changes the course of life and essentially resurrects Sethe, Paul D. and Denver, which is exactly why I’m writing an essay about it.
Hi Zoya, I really like your interpretation about how Beloved actually helps Sethe, Denver, and Paul D grow and move towards the future. I think it's easy to interpret her spirit as restricting, especially in the scenes in Part 3 where Sethe, Denver, and Beloved are trapped and stuck in their own heads. However, I agree that it's Beloved that makes Denver want to go out of 124 for the first time in a while. Great job on this post!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I think it's a really interesting idea, that Beloved, someone who, quite literally was resurrected, went to 124 and was able to resurrect and family, and resurrect lives, which would have otherwise been destroyed if not for her initial death.
ReplyDeleteIn eighth period yesterday, we were discussing the nature of the confrontation Beloved forces on Sethe: is it just a matter of her "guilt" about what went on in the woodshed? (If Sethe doesn't feel at all guilty, why is she so focused on Beloved "forgiving" and "understanding" and "not being mad"?) Or is she also facing some unresolved *grief* over the sudden and violent and horrifying loss of her child? She is so committed to defending and rationalizing her actions immediately after, for understandable psychological reasons, but it's possible to see Beloved's arrival and interference as forcing Sethe to contend with her grief as well as her guilt. Your description of her as "resurrected" therefore by Beloved's reappearance, which compels her to contend with the death of her baby (beyond justifying her actions) makes a lot of sense.
ReplyDeleteHello Zoya, great post! I think you do a great job of supporting the points you make and agree with you that Beloved contributes to the self growth that sethe, denver, and paul d go through throughout the novel. I think that Beloved forces them to confront their past (specifically sethe) and become vulnerable again. Good work.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I totally agree that Beloved's reappearance was needed for these characters to move on from the past and improve their lives. Without her reappearance they might never have reconciled with the past. If Beloved had never appeared and Sethe, Paul D, and Denver formed a family, and lived at 124 continuing as they had been, they may never have resolved there personal issues. Beloved forced them all to finally do what they needed to to change the course of their lives.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Zoya. I think this concept of Death and Revival is something exclusive to this book so I find it really interesting too. I think Beloved helps Sethe face her trauma head on, except what makes it so interesting is that Beloved takes a physical form to do so. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! I really like the idea that Beloved helps revive Paul D., Sethe and Denver from their past trauma, because of how she forces them to confront it and grow. Another example I can think of is how much of a relief Sethe feels when Beloved forgives her what the decision she had to make about Beloved, which shows how important her return was to the family. Good Job!
ReplyDeleteBeloved was definitely the biggest turning point in the three characters' lives and contributes immensely to their development as characters. In many ways it seems as though Beloved is haunting them, trapping them in the past, yet in a way, each of them are also freed with her help. Great post! I hope your essay turned out well :)
ReplyDeleteReally interesting post, Zoya! I agree with this idea of addressing the past and facing one's trauma to move forward with one's life. As Paul and Sethe are unable to address the past on their own, they need an aid such as Beloved to push them back into their past, in turn making their hope for the future brighter. You did a great job of explaining how Beloved eventually "resurrects" Sethe and Paul in this way. Nice job!!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I think its really interesting that Beloved, a source of trauma for Sethe, is ultimately the one to resolve the trauma. Even though Beloved coming back reawakens the trauma on a new level, her return allows Sethe to come to her senses and resolve the trauma she has been plagued with for quite some time.
ReplyDeleteThis is a super interesting post, I think your concept of the ghost of Beloved "resurrecting" the characters is really cool and unexpected. Personally I saw Beloved as a vengeful ghost, bringing harm to the woman who took her life, eventually forcing Sethe into an action that I perceived as rectifying her wrongs. But I think the direction you're coming from makes a lot of sense, and I honestly like it much more.
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