Revisions, rememories, and exorcisms by Cynthia S. Hamilton

Revisions, rememories, and exorcisms by Cynthia S. Hamilton

For my second look at a critical lens expert’s writing, I chose Revisions, rememories, and exorcisms by Cynthia S. Hamilton. This particular essay focuses on the literary style of “Beloved” and how it is an embodiment of how to tell the American slave story. Hamilton discusses how specific word choices were made in writing on the subject in the past, that were solely made so as not to anger the white readership. In “Beloved” more freedoms could be taken to show the institution of slavery as brutal including allusions to rape, descriptions of murder and brutality, all true elements of life in slavery that had to be overlooked in the past. The importance of the setting in which the novels on slavery are written in effects the novels almost as much as the writers own ideas on the subject. This is due to the fact that for a writer in the age of slavery to use any kind of negatively charged language to describe slavery they would be putting themselves at risk, not only because their work would most likely not be published. If their work was to be published, to be publicly outspoken against slavery in that time could be physically dangerous, in 1851 an anti-slavery Senator was brutally beaten on the floor of the senate for opposing slavery. Toni Morrison is able to take many liberties that allow her to more fully, and more accurately tell the story of Americans who had their freedoms taken from them and were in turn treated as tools on a farm.

Ms. Hamilton also chose to focus on the historical accuracy of “Beloved” as part of her review on the novel. The level of detail that comes into play about the underground railroad, the treatment of ex-slaves, and even into the mindset of racists at the time. Toni Morrison obviously spent a large amount of time researching in order to provide details like schoolteacher’s disappointment in not being able to “reform” Sixo, instead of coming out and just killing Sixo for running. While writers in the time period would have had a more accurate representation of these parts of the times, Morison provides an astonishing accurate account of an escaped slaves life. For me the level of detail that is present in this novel is what captivates me and draws me in, for something that happened over one hundred years ago, Toni Morrison is able to make the experiences feel close and real.

Nothing in Life is Ever Easy

There has been a saying that you must go through the dark times before you can reach the light at the end of the tunnel. This is the exact notion that most of the characters went through during the book.

All the characters have some kind of “darkness” that holds them back from truly being happy. Each one has different kinds of obstacles, but they all want to be happy in the end. As I keep reading through Beloved, the issues keep on piling on, but the characters keep trekking on. For Sethe, one time that was apparent was when she ran away from “Sweet Home” to become free and was laying to her death in the middle of a field. She had conceded to the idea that she was dead and that would be a blessing from where she was then. She was lucky that a girl stumbled upon her and helped her health to a point to where she could get through that period of time and caused her to have the motivation to survive. That girl, Miss Amy Denver, and her baby, Denver, were the two things that were the light at the end of her tunnel.

The other character that I noticed with the same issue was Beloved. Beloved was executed as a baby and never felt the love from her mother like Denver had felt. For more than a decade, she was in a different dimension feeling all sorts of pain, but after she crossed “a bridge” she was able to come back to where she initially came from and seek that happiness and love she had been loathing for so long. Her darkness was loneliness for years and after enduring that for so long her light is being with the person she has been loathing for, her mother, Sethe.

Morrison made it apparent that her message that things will get better as time goes on. This is, in fact, true for almost any circumstance that has arose in my life and other people’s lives. Times will get rough and become desperate, but facing the challenge face on will help the situation at hand. Just like the saying, hard work and perseverance will reward you in the end.

The Return of Beloved

“Suddenly Denver, who was sitting cross-legged, lurched forward and grabbed Beloved’s wrist. ‘Don’t tell her. Don’t let Ma’am know who you are. Please, you hear?’

‘Don’t tell me what to do. Don’t you never never tell me what to do.’

‘But I’m on your side, Beloved.’

‘She is the one. She is the one I need. You can go but she is the one I have to have.’ Her eyes stretched to the limit, black as the all-night sky.

‘I didn’t do anything to you. I never hurt you. I never hurt anybody,’ said Denver.

‘Me either. Me either.’

‘What you gonna do?’

‘Stay here. I belong here.’

‘I belong here too.’

‘Then stay, but don’t never tell me what to do. Don’t never do that.’” (Morrison 89)

In the quote above, Denver is talking to Beloved about her past and who she was and Denver just realized that Beloved was the child that Sethe had lost in the years past when her other daughter was executed. Beloved had come back from the afterlife and Denver wants to help Beloved conceal her identity from their mother.

The way that Beloved turned so coldly and had such rage that Morrison was trying to show us that those who have been suppressed for so long no longer want to take orders from others and aim for what they want. Through the line “Don’t tell me what to do. (Beloved) (89)“ and “Her eyes stretched to the limit, black as the all-night sky. (89)”, their purpose was the create a deeper feeling of rage towards commands. There seems to create tension between the characters and makes it difficult for the same relationship to be in order. It seems as though Beloved’s only purpose there is to be with Sethe when she said, “She is the one I need. You can go but she is the one I have to have (89)”. Denver’s thoughtfulness and forcefulness caused a stir that could jeopardize their relationship.

Beloved never felt that affection that Denver had for all those years that Denver has been alive. Beloved was lost for so many years and since she’s back in the picture, she now wants that feeling of love. A couple of years before Sethe and the rest of the black community were all slaves and had to take orders without hesitation. They didn’t receive the same kind of love that Beloved had missed out on. Now that they both are in situations that they could benefit from, they will strive for what they want terribly and won’t let anything interfere with what they want.

Trauma is Universal

Beloved is, in essence, a representation of how messy real life can be, especially for people who have faced brutally traumatic treatment. For the former slaves, their past life will never fully leave them, which is shown throughout the novel with its unannounced flashbacks that leave the reader feeling as though the entirety of the story is not told entirely by a narrator, instead it gives the feeling that the reader is in the head of each character. For Sethe, the smallest thing can shock her into a deep memory that should would rather pack away like Paul D. Paul D. manages his terrible memories by packing them away into a “tobacco tin” which he chose to ignore instead of dealing with his painful truths. These differing methods of coping with their brutal treatment allow Sethe and Paul D. to live their lives relatively painlessly, these methods also highlight the psychological damages faced by people in stressful environments. There are relatively few modern Americans who face this same level of trauma and stress, with those who do generally being soldiers who have experienced violence in some way. For these Americans their traumatic experiences left them with PTSD, causing them to undergo many of the same symptoms as Sethe and Paul D.

Although the two seem strikingly different war and slavery are not two entirely different things that the world faces. Both bring unnecessary violence, trauma, and hatred into fruition. Both leave the survivors with deep psychological and emotional wounds that can never be fully healed. The difference comes in the treatment they receive, while American veterans do not receive the proper treatment for their services, they receive far more assistance than Sethe and Paul D. could ever hope of being provided. In the late 1800s, the science behind PTSD had not been discovered, it was still a time where cocaine or opium would be sold as headache or cold medicines. In modern times, we can help reduce, but cannot end the suffering from those who are facing the same trauma. The other enormous difference for these two groups is that while a soldier serves a few tours of duty lasting roughly a year or so, slavery was for life, and there was no way to be excused from it. The real lesson here is the importance of making sure that we support anyone who undergoes a traumatic experience, otherwise they may be forced to emotionally distance themselves from those around them, similar to Paul D. Or they may have to face their experiences over and over again similar to Sethe.

The Great Institution

“This one will never be suitable.” … The fire keeps feeling and the white men put out with themselves at not being prepared for this emergency. They came to capture, not kill… He [Sixo] laughs… Sixo interrupts his laughter to call out, “Seven-O! Seven-O!” (266)

This passage takes place right after Paul D’s attempted escape from Sweet home, which led to his capture and Sixo’s death. For the escapees, this was a once in a lifetime chance for them to be able to get away from their owners and be able to make it into free territory. When Paul D. and the others made it to the dry creek where they had stored all of their resources for the journey, School teacher and his “pupils” were waiting for them. Sixo’s lover and another slave Paul A. ran one direction, while Sixo and Paul D. ran the opposite. It is unknown what happened to Paul A. or the Thirty-Mile Woman, but  when Sixo and Paul D. are captured they are tied up and beaten brutally. Sixo quickly grabs one pupil’s gun and begins to sing until he is knocked down by another pupil. The schoolteacher then decides that Sixo is too wild and  must be put down.

This an unsurprising punishment for a slave who is caught trying to escape, but in this case, it wasn't the running that caused Sixo to be put to death. In this case, it was Sixo’s rebellious move of rejecting his situation and actually singing. In the schoolteacher’s mind, Sixo and Paul D. are farm property, equal in value to a few cows. Therefore, much like a lame horse who cannot be fixed, Sixo, who cannot become “suitable”, must be put down for the sake of the farm. This fits in with the Southern mindset in this time period, where the institution of slavery was in place to allow for whites to their holy and unspoken duty to help save the slaves from themselves. In history it was viewed as “the White Man's Burden” to take in those who did not have the same “culture” or who they viewed would not be competent to lead themselves, and to enslave them. Their logic being that the more time that they spent in the presence of people who were more cultured the more they would learn what it means to be a “real person”. The other aspect of their mindset was that if the slaves were not out free in the world, it meant that they could not perpetuate their “savage cultures”, instead they would have the opportunity to learn to live properly.

This passage provides a window into the mindset of the great institution as a whole, and into the mind of a typical slave owner. Whose duty it was not to see his slaves as people, but a natural resource that needed to be exploited for the survival of the entire “Southern way of life”.

Bonds of Slavery and Chains of Motherhood

In “Slavery and Motherhood in Toni Morrison’s Beloved” by Terry Paul Caesar, the author is explicit in how she means to analyze feminism in Beloved. Caesar begins by saying that the “infanticide” depicted in Beloved is a product of the “fundamental concerns of contemporary feminism, such as abortion and abuse.” This angle to look at Beloved is one that the reader does not usually think about when analyzing from the feminist lens; a reader uses just thinks about gender roles and how they impact the theme. Caesar looking at Beloved from this perspective not only opens this perspective to the readers, but introduces a whole new component of feminism: motherhood.

Caesar writes a lot to compare motherhood with slavery. In Beloved, Sethe is never truly “free” from the chains of slavery; as a reader we infer that is because she killed her child and has that pain and despair looming over her head. In this analytical piece, Caesar continually compares Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and the equivalence of motherhood and slavery made in that novel, to this same comparison made in Beloved. Caesar writes, “If motherhood and slavery are equatable, then a mother can feel she is, exactly, a slave to her daughter, just as a daughter can to her mother.” Caesar then writes that this is part of the justification for Sethe killing her child because it not only save the child, but would free Sethe herself. 

Caesar then makes the point that there are “profound differences between being a woman and being a mother” in Beloved. She highlights that when Paul D asks Sethe to bear another child, she is scared and thinks “motherlove was a killer.” (Morrison 132) This is yet another instance where being a mother is equivalent to being a slave. Caesar writes that being a slave “contaminates” being a mother so the two are inseparable. In Beloved, Sethe is never freed from the wrath of the baby that she killed, and therefore is never freed from neither the chains of slavery nor the chains of motherhood.

Tensions and Role Reversals

In the novel “Beloved”, the theme of black on white tension very strongly portrayed through several different scenes. The first of which being when Sethe, Paul D, and Denver go to the carnival and are treated as second class citizens by the people who are running the carnival, being forced to face racial slurs throughout the day. Through the historical lens this is unsurprising because at the time African-Americans were not seen as equals. Even President Lincoln, the person responsible for emancipating the slaves, didn't sleep the slaves as equals, instead he saw them is less than white Americans.

The second scene where racial conflicts are portrayed is the scene where  schoolteacher captures and then burns alive Sixo for not being able to be changed. In the schoolteachers mind institution of slavery was set up for the whites to do their job to help African-Americans and Native Americans to grow and adapt to white culture, whereas for the slaves it's a restriction of their freedoms and it destroys their lives. After having tried to escape sweet home Paul D is been taken back, then forced to sit down and work with an iron bit in his mouth. This is so that he could be degraded is a person just so that he wouldn't be treated as an equal because slave owners at the time were so scared that if their slaves were viewed as equal people that they would leave them, and they would have no one to work the plantations, which was quite a problem because slavery was the system of free labor that provided the backbone for plantations.  

All in all, for the time the book is set in, the racism is normal and expected. However by modern new standards this racism would be far more than any sort of backwoods, cartoonish caricature of a racist. This does not prevent any of the African-American characters in the novel actually from enjoying or living a life the only true conflict but as mentioned where African-Americans fear for their lives would be if the Ku Klux Klan were to come for the other night they don't view white people as dangerous anymore even control it because after emancipation the freed slaves were given their lives back or give me a life for the first place which is new freedom I couldn't be taken away from them this time.

A Man's World... Even Today

Beloved  has been the most difficult book for me to read, ever. Not because of length, style, or tone, but because of the content of the book. Slavery, and the long-term mental impacts that it has on slaves is so foreign to me that it makes writing, talking about, and trying to make connections with the book so difficult. One aspect of the book that I have been able to make some connection with and have developed a deeper understanding for is how the treatment of women and gender roles have remained so similar throughout the years.

Today, women and girls struggle to have a voice; the United States still has not had a female president, and the majority of CEOs in Fortune 500 companies are male. But besides not having positions of power, women struggle on a basic social level to be shown respect by both men and women. In Beloved, Sethe’s decisions are criticized and doubted by several characters in her town. Denver disapproves of Paul D being welcomed into the house, and Paul D disapproves of Beloved being welcomed into the house. It did not matter that Sethe welcomed either of them into her home with kind intentions and thoughts, she was criticized.

Another aspect of Beloved that I believe still exists today is the belief that there is a “man of the house” and that men are supposed to solve any problems that arise in the household. This concept is directly addressed when Paul D is surprised and confused when he realizes that he did not make 124 “safe” for Sethe and Denver (193). Men making a home “safe” and “secure” for women is a stereotype that is completely false. Trust, love, and family make a home “safe” in my opinion. Without these things, men have no impact on the safety of a household. 

The fact that these realities are still existent for women today says something powerful about our society: it’s a man’s world, and if we want that to change, then men and women are going to have to work together.

"How men are needed to have a balanced society" #7

Expert Post 2 

 “Motherhood in Toni Morrison’s Beloved: A Psychological Reading”

When I read this article, I saw several theories about feminism and it's context in Beloved. One theory that stood out to me was the argument that " the condition of slavery, even after slavery was abolished in the United States, became the metaphor for the relations between men and women in this country." This argument suggests that feminism reached it's growth during the post-slavery and post-war era. I agree. Women have been objectified for centuries, but the end of slavery didn't stop this. Even today, women are incorrectly seen as inferiors, attacked when they attempt to fix gender inequality. Before Morrison's very few writers could recreate and stimulate the maternal and feminine feelings of slave women. Moreover, this article suggests another argument: that Paul D. destroyed the "imaginary union between child and mother". This article suggests that Paul D's "entrance" represents world order, that men represent a balance in society. I agree with this fact. A mother and child have a unique bond, and the child belongs to the mother. If their unique, innate bond is distracted by the father, is this necessarily fair to the mother? This article again allowed me to see several sides of feminism. It showed me that feminism goes farther than rape or gender inequality. Feminism isn't about superiority, it's about removing inequality.

“Morrison's feminist perspective” # 6

Expert Post 1 “Figuration's of Rape and the Supernatural”

When I read this article, I agreed with its viewpoints. It showed that women were treated as "property", like objects. Through a feminist lens, I agree. In this book, we see the dark past of Sethe, Baby Suggs, and Sweet Home. The feminist lens also relates to the time period of the book. In the historical period where women were seen as inferior, sexually assaulted by their owners on plantations, it is clear that women didn't have many rights in the post-Civil War era. This article also shows us Morrison's feminist perspective when she "challenges the idea that that sexually subjected bodies fall within clear gender parameters". I definitely agree with Morrison's point of view; women shouldn't be subject to gender discrimination, especially if society wants to become more gender equal. The article also defines how Beloved is a representation of racially-based rape, where "all men keep women in fear". Though suggesting that "all" men is an overstatement, Beloved is seen as an embodiment of whites' assaults on blacks. In comparison to the article, I believe women should be treated as equal. In fact, why aren't we equal? If we drive the same car, eat the same food, and walk the same world, why can't women and men live the same, equal life? Is it logical to abstain women of their rights, because they're female? This article allowed me to see new layers of gender discrimination, and how the feminist lens isn't limited to a book- it's limited to our way of life.

"Women should be treated equally" #5

Responding and Reflecting

Reading Beloved through a feminist lens helped me see the global oppression of women, through a narrative. I don't consider myself a strong feminist, but I do understand that women are experiencing inequality. Before I read Beloved, I only saw it as: women aren't equal to men because of several factors. But Beloved allowed me to understand those factors, and the history of female oppression. Reading Beloved through a feminist lens was interesting; it helped me see a new side of not only Beloved, but also books in general. It connected a real-world event, to a fictional narrative, and pressed out a major theme. Even in other texts, like Macbeth, Catcher in the Rye, Hamlet, etc., we see many examples of oppression. But one thing that struck me is that feminism isn't about pushing away from oppression, it's about pulling towards equality. However, I also see some contradictions of feminism, to my own beliefs. To me, feminism is too strong; extreme feminists often resort to violence to spread the idea of feminism. Like many civil rights advocates, each will have it's fair share of oppositions. I believe men and women should be equal, but I don't support the idea that one should be stronger or better than another. Many men who verbally battle feminists (who verbally battle mostly extreme feminists) call themselves meninists (derived from meninism). These people (who I haven't necessarily heard of until recently), advocate for issues that men face, from women, including sexual assault (from women), and even to stand up against being blamed for "every human problem, be it war, colonialism, racism, homophobia and capitalism." (goo.gl/FP4qJQ), according toTelegraph.ukIn my opinion, women should be treated equally, indeed; however, I don't support the idea of extreme advocates (on either side). It forces our society to look one way, and doesn't allow humans to think freely. We all need peaceful equality.

Men & Women Scared of Sethe

“‘I stopped him,’ she said, staring at the place where the fence used to be. ‘I took and put my babies where they’d be safe.’

The roaring in Paul D’s head did not prevent him from hearing the pat she gave to the last word, and it occurred to him that what she wanted for her children was exactly what was missing from 124: safety. Which was the very first message he got the day he walked through the door. He thought he had made it safe, had gotten rid of the danger; beat the shit out of it; run it off the place and showed it and everybody else the difference between a mule and a plow. And because she had not done it before he got there her own self, he thought it was because she could not do it. That she lived in 124 in helpless, apologetic resignation because she had no choice; that minus husband, sons, mother-in-law, she and her slow-witted daughter had to live there all alone making do… This here Sethe talked about love like any other woman; talked about baby clothes like any other woman, but what she meant could cleave the bone.” (193)

This excerpt from Beloved is a pivotal point in the novel; Sethe tells Paul D she “saved” her children in the most unthinkable way. Paul D, like the rest of the people in the town, struggle to cope with the fact that Sethe actually murdered her child out of love and protection.

Paul D realizes that “safety” is non-existent from 124. In a “man’s world” the men bring about safety and security to the home, so Paul D naturally expects that he is the one to bring the safety into 124. He assumed that Sethe was unable to make 124 safe, not necessarily because she is a woman, but because there were no men or savior-like figures present in her life like “husbands, sons, [and] mother-in-law”. When Paul D had arrived at 124 he was seen as the “savior” for Sethe and Denver, and the realization that this was not true hurt him deeply. Along with dealing with the horror of Sethe killing her own child, Paul D has to cope with the fact that he was not their saving grace.

“But what she meant could cleave the bone,” and it scared Paul D terribly. As a man, Paul D does not have the capacity to understand the “motherly-instinct” that woman can understand, although even the women in the town do not understand Sethe’s decisions. But, as irrational as it was, Sethe’s decision is rationalized in her head. Baby Suggs would have been in a similar position to Sethe, but she did not understand or accept it. While the reader struggles to understand and cope with the fact that Sethe killed her own daughter, that uncertainty is made even worse by the fact that no character in the book can understand such a thing. The beginning of this excerpt is the first time that the reader explicitly hears that Sethe killed and “saved” her daughter, so Paul D’s reaction is the first one the reader is explicitly shown. The reader might think that another woman may understand the kind of love that forces you to kill, but because there is no character that does it makes understanding Sethe's actions so much harder.

How did people respond to racism! #4

"I wouldn't have no nigger men round my wife."

This quote defines a major theme: women are capable of taking care of themselves. Modern society leans towards the idea that women should be guarded, like treasure. In my opinion, this is extremely wrong. Women are not objects that need to be protected, like a wallet or a treasure chest. Though some women enjoy the company of someone protecting them, feminists argue that this is wrong, and simply adding to the severe oppression that women experience globally. The historical context may also add to the impact of this quote. In a period where women couldn't even vote, they were seen as babies, that needed to be protected from the n-word, what others thought were dangerous, but were just human. The geography of this text may allow us to see a higher impact of this quote; given the book was written in the South, a heavily conservative and gender-oppressive area, we know women were seen as property, shackled to their "owners", which were men. Even today, when men hold the door open for females, it's often seen as polite. However, feminists argue that this is “wrong”. Females are capable of taking care of themselves; they're not toddlers that need constant supervision. This rise of feminism may have also inspired the hashtag, #ineedfeminismbecause; this hashtag defines why certain women need feminism, and how their background inspired them to become advocates for gender justice. Feminism has also introduced new perspective on gender issues, such as abortion, in which two sides are buoyed up. One side, the feminist side, argues that females are capable of making their own decisions on abortion, since the body is theirs, and not belonging to any man. The other side, what some call the meninist side, argue that babies are life, and the destruction of life is against all that society stands for. Thus, this raises the tip of the iceberg. Should females be protected against the dirt of the world, or should they be allow the protected themselves? My personal opinion I believe women should not be oppressed and they should be treated with the same rights as men do have granted,regardless of race or political stance color nor race gives the advantage of any human being over any other person.although our society know see men as the providers of their households women are as capable of doing these jobs to maintain living on their own or with a family.

Truth in Timbre: Morrison’s Extension of Slave Narrative Song in “Beloved” by Peter J. Capuano

Truth in Timbre: Morrison’s Extension of Slave Narrative Song in “Beloved” by Peter J. Capuano

For my first examination of an expert’s opinion, I chose to focus on Peter Capuano’s text Truth in Timbre, an analytical essay with a concentration on the importance of slave songs in “Beloved”. Capuano chose to compare the importance of slave songs in Toni Morrison’s “Beloved”, and Frederick Douglass’s “Narrative”. Both Novels focus on slavery and its numerous injustices to the slaves, as well as former slaves in the time period just prior to and just following the emancipation of slaves. The key difference that Capuano focuses on is the differing audience’s for the two texts. For Douglass’s novel, the audience was majority white, the burden was on him to justify why slavery was harmful to people and the nation. For Morrison’s novel, the audience is wider and more diverse, which changes the message from ending the damages of slavery to reflecting as a whole on how these damages need to be repaired.

The essay itself has a historical grounding in the difference in the time periods that both novels were written, and the wildly different social situation that impacts the author’s mindsets. Frederick Douglass’s “Narrative” was published in 1845, eighteen years prior to the Emancipation proclamation, and almost one hundred and twenty years prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act. For Douglass the audience was hostile regardless of what Douglass’s message was, at that time for African Americans were essentially muzzled. Whereas for Toni Morrison, the atmosphere was far more open, “Beloved” was published in 1987 following the key events Douglass preceded. This Allowed for Toni Morrison to take a more aggressive stance in her display of the brutality of slavery, where Douglass chose to censor himself for the sake of his audience, Morrison chose to expand and go deeper on sensitive subjects.  
In “Beloved”, slave songs are a means for characters to deal with, and express, their inner anguish caused by the institution of slavery. Prior to reading this essay I had not considered how telling these songs were, they act as a coping method for the former slaves to deal with the trauma they faced and overcome its impacts.

Is the Past that easy to forget?

Looking back on the colonization period we can see that that caused colonized nations to fall behind in technology and economy compared to the rest of the world. Specifically in Africa there are many nations that are in difficult situations economically, but that isn’t the worst hinderance to that area. What causes more harm is the mental state that is affected.

As I keep reading through Beloved, the characters always revert back to the past where they felt the most pain. The characters that lived through slavery seem to be stuck in a time warp where they can never break free. Paul D knew that bringing the past back to the present would, “push them both to a place they couldn’t get back from” (84). The mind can only take so much damage that it can handle and once it exceeds that amount, it begins to blocks out to make it more manageable.

In history classes, we learn the facts about what happened during time periods and what were the consequences afterwards, but what we don’t see is the individual stress and damage it has done to the affected people. Our way to see and feel the situations that people are placed in is through literature. We can imagine how the people feel by hearing what happened, but we can’t actually feel it unless we immerse ourselves into their shoes.

For the characters Sethe and Paul D, the feeling of oppression can never leave their emotions. For a long time they struggled with having to take order after order after order while also taking punishments and being exploited that are etched into their minds. They’ve tried to recuperate for all the time that they have been free, but nothing can ever push away the times of misery. In today’s world people have the same issues with forgetting about hurtful events that have plagued them. Even though times have changed same characteristics are still relevant to today.

A "Murderous Love" We Cannot Understand

In “The Bonds of Love and Boundaries of Self in Toni Morrison’s Beloved” by Barbara A. Schapiro, a “motherly-instinct”, and (more deeply) the love between all of the characters is analyzed. Schapiro talks of a “murderous love” that exists between many of the characters but literally exists between Sethe and Beloved. A situation Schapiro quotes from the beginning of the book introduces this “murderous love” extremely well: Denver comments about the ghost in 124, “‘For a baby she throws a powerful spell,’ to which Sethe replies, ‘No more powerful than the way I loved her’(4).” Schapiro goes on to explain how the wrath and anger of the ghost baby is equally as strong as the love that Sethe had for the baby. The murder of baby Beloved is something the reader, along with Paul D, Ella, and countless others, struggle to understand; how could a mother, no matter how much danger her child is in, kill her own child? 

Schapiro writes a little to the impact slavery life has on the “mental freedom” of Sethe and the other characters. In summary, the chains that slavery has on Sethe’s mental state is what eventually leads to her killing her own child. Sethe actually says “if I hadn’t killed her she would have died and that is something that I could not bear to happen to her” (200). In Sethe’s mind, murdering her child was showing mercy to her; if she hadn’t killed her, Beloved would have grown into slavery and never have been truly “free” just like Sethe. This concept of “murderous love” is one that a reader of Beloved would struggle with immensely; the chains slavery would have on slaves like Sethe does not exist in this time, so the reader really has no way of making that critical connection to that “murderous love” that would “save” Beloved.

The actual reality of how men portray women. # 3

" And so they were: Paul D Garner, Paul F Garner, Paul A Garner, Halle Suggs and Sixo, the wild man. All in their twenties, minus women, fucking cows, dreaming of rape, thrashing on pallets, rubbing their thighs and waiting for the new girl-- the one who took Baby Suggs' place after Halle bought her with five years of Sundays."

This quote shows me a deeper feminist perspective. In the book, it appears that women are seen as nothing but dirt. They are abused sexually, and thrown away. Isn't this horrifying? Women should have a stronger voice, and not be pressed like an ant to a shoe. The Sweet Home men, defined several instances of rape and sexual assault in this world. While the men waited, they craved human intimacy. Horrifyingly, they sexually abused cows, to satisfy themselves. Moreover, they often "dreamed of rape", showing us that these men didn't correlate respect and women. They saw women as objects, and as status symbols. Since they didn't have women to have intimate contact with, they sexually abused cows. This passage allows us to see the characters, through a feminist lens. Consider the time period of 1874: women could barely wear dresses; they had very few rights. Thus, they would be often frightened of the men who surpassed them in society, so   wouldn't complain if their husband asked for a favor. Moreover, this time period shows us that women were often abused in areas such as the South. This raises a burning question in feminists: are all men innately "bad"? Feminists don't define that men are "bad", but feminists simply define that men are given several upper hands in society, from jobs to salary, even in court. Lastly, this quote shows us a major feminist theme: In an ideal society, women should be treated the same as men. If we want this ideal world, females have to be treated the same as men. Women should be pushed towards careers of the sciences, where they can not only maximize their potential, but also provide a new perspectives through which we can improve scientific advancements. A more fair society, is one where women are on the same level as men.

The oppressive gender roles in our century # 2

" Then she trailed her fingers through the flour, parting, separating small hills and ridges of it, looking for mites. Finding none, she poured soda and salt into the crease of her folded hand and tossed both into the flour. Then she reached into a can and scooped half a handful of lard. Deftly she squeezed the flour through it, then with her left hand sprinkling water, she formed the dough."

In this passage, we see a clear example of women stereotypes. The book puts the fact, that women are not only oppressed but assigned gender roles. In a time period such as 1874, women were still oppressed. This passage, by showing a woman cooking, shows us that women are still today assigned gender roles. Even though there's legislation that attempts to stop discrimination, we still see women being pushed down. From this passage, we see Toni Morrison as a clear feminist. She wants to show her audience that females are (and might continue to be) oppressed. Why didn't Toni Morrison depict Sethe chopping firewood? Because it wouldn't show a clear path of feminism. This book, through several passages, makes use of imagery and scenes to impress a theme of feminism. On a bigger lens, we see this passage connecting to the post-colonial lens, where the time period relates to the stereotypes. The idea of a woman "assigned" to a role in the kitchen, while the man goes to play golf, is truly horrifying. However, in Beloved, we see several examples of female oppression, allowing the audience to foreshadow towards a climax. Maybe, in Beloved, Sethe will "overcome" her inner pain and fear, to overpower and surpass the men in her life, like Paul D. Lastly, I believe Sethe feels oppressed, not only because of the pain of her baby that passed away, but also because of her experiences and what she saw at Sweet Home.  Moreover, this passage can allow us to see Sethe's motherly character. If she didn't care for Denver or Paul D, she didn't have to make the bread. But, like all mothers, there's a sense of duty for her, towards her family. This "motherly perspective" helped me see Sethe, not only as a unique mother (which some argue, is crazy and rots her daughter), but also as a support system for emotionally distant Paul D. Sethe is not only a mother, but a concrete bridge, that doesn't wither when against  the world.