One thing that makes Beloved different from the other books we have read is that is seems to jump right into the topic. With Invisible Man and Their Eyes Were Watching God the rest of the book is about how they got to the point that is shown at the beginning of the book, but with this, we are right in the moment. Native Son was pretty much like that too, but I don’t really count that book since it was mostly a summer read.
It is interesting that the first thing we learn is that the house Denver and her mother are living in is haunted and that her two brothers have run away. Time doesn’t seem that important in the beginning because it is all over the place. First we see Denver and her brothers when they were younger and learn that they ran away when they were 13. Baby Suggs dies right after that and then we just see Sethe and Denver. Initially, a person would think that the story continued right after that moment, but we get an 8 year jump and then the story continues. The way that Toni Morrison does that so well that the person doesn’t notice at first is amazing. Or it could just be that I didn’t notice at first. Anyway, we then see Denver and Sethe interacting in the present at the same time as Paul D and Sethe are trying to reclaim the past. For what would be chapter 2, the main thing we get are scenes that Sethe remembers from Sweet Home. The way that Morrison interweaves all these different time periods while still keeping it someone coherent is really great.
We are given many different stories with only part of the information and that is an absolute way to keep a reader interested. Even in Invisible Man, we could tell that some parts of his story could be a little exaggerated or that there were a few chapters where there was a dreamlike feel to it, but there is nothing like that happening in Beloved. From all the things we have read so far, there is no sensible way to rule out that the house is haunted because if you did that then you would rule out the whole story. Since in real life we all know that haunted houses are not real, then why would Morrison write a book in which the main characters live in one? I really want to see if there is going to be some sort of message at the end of it or any sort of conclusion.
i think its interesting to think about the supernatural elements in relation to giving a different view to slavery. We see this theme of nothing ever dying with the physical representation of beloved's ghost, which is interesting since ghosts are not seen as real in our world. I think one way to look at this would be to think about the impacts of slavery on people, and how that never really dissipates. Though many people like to dismiss slavery as an event of the past, this is a heavily impactful event that has thousands of years of repercussions still coming. this book allows readers to see slavery in a whole new light that wouldnt be possible without the supernatural element.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how, while Beloved jumps right into the action, lots of the book is about things that happened in the past, and much of the plot has to do with us as readers piecing together how everyone got to where they are now. As you said, we're immediately told about how 124 is haunted, and throughout the book we learn about why that's the case. Slavery and racism are the things that caused Sethe's life to be like this, and I think that sends a message about the horrors of slavery, and how it destroys people's lives.
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