More on Beloved

I was intrigued by Toni Morrison's way of presenting this story. Just when you thought you had a handle on what may have happened, another flashback will come and give you more of the picture. That's part of what kept me reading. I rarely felt like I'd heard all the details so I had to keep going to find out what had really happened. (That's why I also avoided reading the summaries Sarah had linked to until I finished the book - I wanted to read and draw my own conclusions before I had it handed to me. But the links were great after I'd finished the book!)

I also thought Morrison was very subtle in telling her story while at the same time presenting so many different topics to the reader. At the very beginning she gives a description of Sweet Home that sort of summed up a major theme of the book for me, that things aren't always how they seem. "It never looked as terrible as it was and it make her wonder if hell was a pretty place too. Fire and brimstone all right, but hidden in lacy groves" (page 6). (And don't you think hell probably is really like that? Deceiving?)

There are many themes running through the book that we could discuss; in the interest of length I think I'll only touch on one more here and perhaps save the others for another post. It is sad to think of what people are capable of doing to other people. The animal theme ran throughout the book. Sethe and other slaves were treated, spoken of, valued like animals. The schoolteacher not only referred to her as "the breeding one" and her babies as "foals" but also had his pupils list the animal characteristics of slaves. In the case of people like Amy Denver, talking about and seeing slaves as animals may purely be the result of education and environment. That's all she's ever seen or heard; she doesn't treat Sethe like an animal though, helping her with the birth of her baby and caring for Sethe's wounds. But I wonder if some of the other people, and perhaps how it all started in the first place, decide that slaves are like animals simply to excuse or justify their behavior. In order to make it okay to treat a person so cruelly, they have to dehumanize the slaves or servants. So instead of employing an actual person, an animal is used to do the work, making the slaveowner feel a little more at ease with whipping or overworking or whatever. (Not that cruelty to animals is okay. Calm down PETA!)

Any one else have any thoughts along these lines? Or on any other theme?

-Carly

Thoughts on Beloved

I have been having contractions over the past week and I am getting nervous that the baby will come before the book deadline and then I will miss out on the whole discussion! For those of you who have not read past the first about 50 pages don't read on or I will spoil it for you. I went to a play last night called "Civil War" and the whole time I was thinking of how much that story correlates to Beloved that we are reading. In the book Sethe thinks that the Master has shown up at her house, so she takes her children out to the wood shed to kill them because she is so passionate about protecting her children and not alllowing them to be put into slavery like she was. It would be better for them to die than to live that life. I cannot imagine, as a mother myself, how Sethe must have felt to get to the point that she was willing to take the life of her children to protect them from the life of a slave. In the play last night it talked about the war our country went through all in the name of freedom for the Negros. There were 240,000 white men that died fighting for the cause of an equal rights for all men. Sethe decided to take matters into her own hands and stop slavery in her family. I cannot imagine living in fear of being taken back to Sweet Home, or of getting turned in for a cash reward since you escaped from your Master. ALways looking over your shoulder and never knowing if you were going to be safe. There are so many things that living in this country at this time, I know I take for granted. Waling down the street by myself, giving birth to my children in a hospital and not in a field. I don't have to worry about being traded as a slave to someone and having to succomb to all their needs and whims they desire. I guess as I am reading this, I am realizing that this life is so much more than just myself. We are so connected to the past. I have such a greater appreciation for our freedom and for those who went before and fought for the rights that we enjoy everyday, but at times forget they were even fought for becuase they are so commonplace now. Anyhow, that is enough of my soapbox for now. I am interested to know what others have to say...
--Michelle Jamison

Some help

Since this is a harder book to read, Mable suggested that I post a couple of websites that will help out. So ... see below:

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/Beloved-About-the-Novel-A-Brief-Synopsis.id-32,pageNum-4.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/beloved-novel-2
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/beloved/summary.html

You can browse around and read about the characters, a synopsis of the story, and chapter by chapter analysis. (I found the Spark Notes site particularly helpful while looking for a summary.) Even if you haven't read the book (or don't plan on reading it), it might be worth reading the synopsis to get a feel for the book and the themes. You can still participate in the online discussion having just read the synopses. Good luck with the reading and feel free to post stuff as you go along - like if you are having a hard time with a particular section, you can post your thoughts and see if anyone else has any comments. Posting doesn't have to wait until you get to the end of the book for you to write some thoughts or feelings. You can post as you go along. Happy reading!

~Sarah

About "Beloved"

Just a small bit of warning -- this book is about slavery and other weighty topics -- it is definitely not considered “light” reading. I don’t want anyone saying they didn’t know what they were getting into -- so for a synopsis of the book, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beloved_%28novel%29
~Sarah