What I take to be the most controversial scene in the book is the part where Sethe decides to take her children out into the shed to kill them when she sees Schoolteacher's hat. There are many different ways to assess the decision that she makes and while it is an extreme thing to do, we know that her reasons were not because she actually wanted to kill her children, but because she loved them too much to let them be treated by Schoolteacher the same way she was treated. In addition, no matter what we say about the decision, it did in fact work and even though Beloved died, Buglar, Howard, and Denver ended up living a life outside of slavery.
This reaction reminds me of how people commit suicide. That has always been a controversial topic and in the past and still today, people don't like the action, but in a way, that act is similar to what Sethe does. People often commit suicide because they feel like death would be the better than continuing to live the way they are living right then. If we don't judge these people harshly, even though Sethe made that decision for her children, then we kind of have no right to judge her the same way. In addition, we have to take into account the different time periods we are talking about. The time period around 1857 didn't offer the help that is provided to people today. Also, even though there are still problems with society today, some things aren't as bad like how there is no law claiming that a person is another person's property and there is no escaped slave law.
In the part of the book when Sethe learns that Halle had seen what happened to her and broke down we learn that, "Other people went crazy, why couldn't she?" (83). She would thought about how good it would've been to just sit there and smear butter over her face like Halle was doing, but she couldn't because, "her children were chewing sugar teat under a blanket on their way to Ohio and no butter play would change that, " (84). She wished that she could just shut down and not care about anything anymore like Halle, but she couldn't because she had her children to take care of. Another way that there is a time gap is now we would see what Sethe went through to save her children as very heartwarming and showing that nothing is as powerful as motherly love, but in the book we see that this wasn't seen as such a good thing with Paul D saying that, "Your love is too thick," (193). It is apparent that many people in the book are appalled at the decision that Sethe makes, but what choice did she have in the situation? Especially when none of the other people assisted her in any way.
Finally, while the ending is a bit confusing, we can see that there is something a bit happy about it. Although she stated earlier in the book that she doesn't get a chance to just be whatever she wants to be, do we see the end as Sethe finally being able to "go crazy"? What do you think?
Morrison represents Sethe's "decision" on that fateful day as hardly a conscious or deliberate decision or reasoned choice at all: in Sethe's own account, all she "thinks" is "No. No. Nonono" and we get that memorable description of the hummingbirds poking at her brain. She doesn't have time to think, and there's no indication that she'd thought this through in advance, as a kind of "plan" in a worst-case scenario. She sees schoolteacher's hat, and she reacts in a reflexive way.
ReplyDeleteBut you're not wrong to describe it as a "decision," largely because she rationalizes it and refuses to express regret or to question her own actions after the fact. She thinks of it *now* as a decision that is ethical, rational, and appropriate under the circumstances. And remember, her "plan" is to take her own life as well--to put herself and her children on the "other side" where schoolteacher can't reach. She just doesn't have time to go through with it.
This coldly rational view of her action maybe keeps her from fully facing its implications, and it does make sense to see the later sections, where she has quit her job and isn't leaving the house or eating and just letting Beloved suck all the life out of her that this represents her "going crazy" like Halle did. Certainly by the end, when Paul finds her in Baby Suggs's bed "giving up," he reacts as if he needs to coax her back into the world. We can look at the 18 years of everyday life as a period where Sethe is in deep denial about what she's done, and Beloved's "reappearance" compels her to face it. But there is an optimistic ending, in that she seems to have come out the other side and is again ready to "make a life" with Paul D, as two profoundly damaged but loving people.
I find it interesting how you connected Sethe's declining health at the end of the book as her chance to finally "go crazy." I didn't make that connection, but once I think about it, it totally makes sense. For one, Howard and Bugler are gone and are adults at that point, if they're still alive. Sethe no longer needs to take care of them. Likewise, Denver is now 18 and independent. She started to go out in public and work. She too can take care of herself. Finally, the baby ghost finally disappeared, no longer requiring Sethe's attention. With none of her children depending on her anymore, I would say that she would now have the chance to "go crazy." Whether or not she does go crazy I think depends on Paul D's actions. With the book done with, we won't know whether Paul D stopped her from further decline or failed to do so, but it is fascinating to consider.
ReplyDeleteBy the end, I think as opposed to Halle's going "crazy," Sethe has given up in the way a mother can. Instead of breaking like Halle, she goes to rest and give up like Baby Suggs. Her life is too hard to even manage every-day things, but she still cannot break or look away like Halle can. I think the fact that both Sethe and Baby Suggs did this as they are both mothers suggests that this is a motherly thing to do but I'm not sure why.
ReplyDeleteThe connection to her declining health and "going crazy" is definitely there but I feel like more than it being Sethe's choice, its her being taken advantage of. The real reason that she's suffering is to atone for what she did to Beloved. Her past becomes a leach and nearly sucks her dry. It's another among many of the 'undying past' metaphors that fills this novel.
ReplyDeleteInteresting comparison to suicide. you made a good point about how in neither case can we judge them because we don't know. We don't know what sethe went through--she told us some of it, but without experiencing it ourselves, who knows how it was. Worse than death apparently. It's the same with suicide--no one can know the unique extent of their pain and reasons.
ReplyDeleteMy initial reaction to what Sethe did honestly disturbed me. How could you kill your own children like that? Not only that, but her other children were scared of her afterward. Although, it took me a while to realize why she did it. As you have mentioned, that was all that she could do. If she didn't kill Beloved, then Beloved would have had to go into slavery and ended up just like Sethe herself.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting how you connected Sethe killing her children to suicides.
ReplyDeleteIf we watched two different people do one of those things each, our initial reactions would be very different, though. Both would be a horrified 'stop that!' reaction, but in the first one we say it for the sake of the kids and the second one for the sake of that person's life, if that makes any sense. I feel like we'd find the first situation as more selfish than the other. Its like Sethe tried to kill her children so that she wouldn't have to suffer the pain of being separated, while someone committing suicide would be seen as that person giving up- not physically harming anyone else. Its weird idk
This is an interesting connection. However, I feel as if Sethe was less justified, because while she may have the right to take her own life. Does she really have the right to take the life of her children? I feel as though she assumes a responsibility she doesn't truly have.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting blog post. The actions that Sethe did to me felt like an instinct. To me, during this scene it was almost like her primal instincts, her need to do something now and not something for the future. This must build-up to what we see Sethe act like near the end of the book. The events that Sethe has gone through physiologically breaks her. Yet, we see that Sethe doesn’t go crazy in the same way that Halle gave up. I think Sethe at the end of the book finally finished her duties as a mom, everyone has grown up and finally, no one needs her. Her mental has been tested through the years and now it is finally ok to be crazy.
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