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Mrs. Davis
AP Literature 12/ Period 3
7 August 2014
Dialectical Journal – Beloved by Toni Morrison
Passage
“124 was spiteful. Full of a baby’s venom.
The women in the house knew it and so did
the children. For years each put up with the
spite in his own way, but by 1873 Sethe and
her daughter Denver were its only victims.
The grandmother, Baby Suggs, was dead, and
the sons, Howard and Buglar, had run away
by the time they were thirteen years old…”
(Morrison 1).
Analysis
Symbolism
The house number 124 symbolizes Sethe’s
damaged family from the death of her third
born child Beloved. The house is claimed to
be haunted by the deceased Beloved and her
spirit’s wrath was constantly felt by the
residents of 124; the numbers 124 are an
unpleasant reminder of the atrocious incident
involving Beloved’s death to not only Sethe’s
family but to the community as well.
“She straightened up and knew, but could not Metaphor - Theme
feel, that his cheek was pressing into the
This passage/metaphor contributes to the
branches of the chokecherry tree…he would
theme: slavery’s destruction of identity. Sethe
not tolerate no peace until he had touched
was beaten by schoolteacher when she
every ridge and leaf of it with his mouth, none received her “chokecherry tree” on her back
of which Sethe could feel because he back
from being whipped. Sethe’s “chokecherry
skin had been dead for years” (Morrison 20tree” is a metaphor for Sethe’s past haunting
21).
her present. The “chokecherry tree”
represents her incomplete family tree and
coincidentally the tree’s presence on her back
represents the past. Sethe’s back is forever
scarred with a “chokecherry tree” and is an
unpleasant reminder of her previous life
which inhibits her ability to completely accept
her past and discover her true identity.
“‘Halle’s nice Sethe. He’ll be good to you.’
Commentary
‘But I mean we want to get married.’
This passage illustrates the little to no rights
‘You just said so. And I said all right.’
that African Americans had during slavery;
‘Is there a wedding?’
Mrs. Garner agreed to let Sethe “get married”
Mrs. Garner put down her cooking spoon.
however there was no wedding or official
Laughing a little, she touched Sethe on the
document stating that Sethe and Halle were
head, saying, ‘You are one sweet child.’ And legally married. Furthermore, Sethe and Halle
then no more” (Morrison 31).
were not even allowed to say that they were
married without receiving permission from
Mrs. Garner. The inability of slaves to marry
one another contributes to the overarching
theme of “slavery’s destruction of identity”;
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“‘Wonder where Here Boy got off to?’ Sethe
thought a change of subject was needed.
‘He won’t be back,’ said Denver.
‘How you know?’
‘I just know’” (Morrison 65-66).
“And who [Nan] used different words. Words
Sethe understood then but could neither recall
nor repeat now. She believed that must be
why she remembered so little before Sweet
Home except singing and dancing and how
crowded it was. What Nan told her she had
forgotten, along with the language she told it
in” (Morrison 74).
“In the boxes the men heard the water rise in
the trench and looked out for cottonmouths.
They squatted in muddy water, slept above it,
peed in it. Paul D thought he was screaming;
his mouth was open and there was this loud
throat-splitting sound – but it may have been
someone else” (Morrison 129).
Sethe was unable to officially marry Halle,
another slave, and therefore could not identify
herself as a wife or call him her husband
outside of Sweet Home. Will Sethe continue
with simply referring to him as Halle or start
referring to Halle as her husband?
Commentary
Dogs are often believed to be able to sense the
presence of spirits, Here Boy running away
could foreshadow the arrival of a strong spirit
at house 124. Sethe noticed Here Boy’s
absence at house 124 after the arrival of a
strange girl on her doorsteps who goes by the
name Beloved. House 124 had the spirit of
Sethe’s murdered daughter, Beloved, but was
believed to be chased away by Paul D. Has
the spirit of the dead daughter returned to the
house but in a more tangible and demanding
form? Will Here Boy return to house 124
once the stranger, Beloved, leaves?
Theme
An overarching theme throughout the novel is
“slavery’s destruction of identity”,
exemplified through Sethe’s flashback. Sethe
had forgotten all but a few memories from her
childhood along with her mother and the other
slaves from her youth. African Americans
often forgot their own culture and language
due to slavery; unfortunately Sethe forgot her
own history as well since slaves were not
allowed to speak often, especially not about
their own culture. As her memories faded so
did the language of Sethe’s ancestors and
their beloved culture too. As more generations
of slaves were born, their ancestors’ culture
continued to disappear and a slave’s sense of
identity begins to become muddled until they
may not know their true roots at all.
Theme
This specific passage contributes to the theme
“slavery’s destruction of identity” specifically
through Paul D’s experience in the trench in
Georgia. Paul D recalls that he thought he was
screaming but it may have been someone else,
this recollection indicates that Paul D selfalienated himself and became so distant from
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his own emotions that he couldn’t even
determine if he was the person screaming.
The horrors, past and present, that Paul D has
faced during slavery has caused him to refrain
from living life with emotion and for himself.
“She [Beloved] moved closer with a footfall
Symbolism
he [Paul D] didn’t hear and he didn’t hear the Paul D’s tobacco tin represents his heart
whisper that the flakes of rust made either as
which has been sealed off from all emotion in
they fell away from the seams of his tobacco
order to prevent the pain of loss. Paul D has
tin” (Morrison 137-138).
chosen to stay detached from his emotions
due to the tragedies he has faced/witnessed in
his past and prevent future emotional agony.
As the seams fell away from his tobacco tin,
Paul D’s heart began to “beat” again and he
found himself experiencing the emotions he
has been denying himself for the past 18
years.
“Silence and a faster scratching of her hand.
Commentary
She [Beloved] didn’t know; she saw them and Sethe determines that Beloved was raped and
took them.
therefore rejects the idea that Beloved could
‘Uh huh,’ said Sethe, and told Denver that she be her dead daughter, this passage
believed Beloved had been locked up by
demonstrates Sethe’s refusal to accept the
some whiteman for his own purposes, and
horrors of her past. Sethe had murdered her
never let out the door. That she must have
third child Beloved many years before and,
escaped to a bridge or someplace and rinsed
for the most part, has refused to let that
the rest out of her mind” (Morrison 140).
painful memory resurface. She refused to
accept her past and therefore refused to accept
that Beloved may be her daughter which leads
to the question: Will Sethe ever cope with her
mistake and will she ever come to terms with
the possibility that Beloved may be her
daughter?
“Sad as it was that she [Baby Suggs] did not
Theme
know where her children were buried or what The flashback of when Baby Suggs became
they looked like if alive, fact was she knew
freed from slavery illustrates the theme
more about them than she knew about herself, presented throughout the novel: slavery’s
having never had the map to discover what
destruction of identity. By the time Baby
she was like. Could she sing? Was she pretty? Suggs was bought her freedom she was
Was she a good friend? Could she have been
already in her sixties, however she came to
a loving mother? A faithful wife?” (Morrison realize that even after so many years she
165).
hardly knew herself. For example, she didn’t
know her likes or dislikes which in turn
affected her ability to discover her own
identity apart from her children and the slaves
from her past. Slavery taught Baby Suggs to
forget herself and her own needs and to
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follow the orders given to her by her slave
owners which inadvertently caused her to lose
her sense of identity.
“‘Well,’ said Mr. Garner, going pink again,
Commentary
‘if I was you I’d stick to Jenny Whitlow. Mrs. As a newly freed slave and an independent
Baby Suggs ain’t no name for a freed Negro.’ woman the act of defiance against Mr.
Maybe not, she thought, but Baby Suggs was Garner’s suggestion for a name change was a
all she had left of the ‘husband’ she claimed” milestone for Baby Suggs. For Baby Suggs
(Morrison 167-168).
entire life she was supposed to take orders
“The girl went to the sink and pumped a
and defiance was unthinkable unless she
cupful of water. She placed it in Baby Suggs’ welcomed death. However, once Baby Suggs
hand. ‘I’m Janey, ma’am.’
was officially freed she chose to keep the
‘Suggs,’ she said, blotting her lips with the
name she claimed and stand up for herself,
back of her hand. ‘Baby Suggs’” (Morrison
even when standing up for herself meant
169).
defying a white man.
“When the four horsemen came –
Allusion
schoolteacher, one nephew, one slave catcher Morrison refers to the schoolteacher, the slave
and a sheriff – the house on Bluestone Road
catcher, the nephew, and the sheriff as the
was so quiet they thought they were too late.
“four horsemen” which references the
Three of them dismounted, one stayed in the
Apocalypse in the Book of Revelations. The
saddle, his rifle ready…” (Morrison 174).
four horsemen in the Book of Revelations
represent famine, plague, war, and death and
ultimately indicate the end of the human
existence; on a similar note, the arrival of the
“four horsemen” symbolizes the end of peace
for house 124 and for Sethe’s family.
“‘I stopped him,’ she [Sethe] said, staring at
Dialogue – Theme
the place where the fence used to be. ‘I took
A theme presented throughout the novel is
and put my babies where they’d be safe.’
“slavery’s destruction of identity” and the
…This here Sethe talked about safety with a
dialogue presented in this passage is a prime
handsaw…
example. Once Sethe had seen the “four
‘It worked,’ she said.
horsemen” she took her four children to a
‘How? Your boys gone you don’t know
shed and tried to murder them, believing that
where. One girl dead, the other won’t leave
death would keep them safe which
the yard. How did it work?’
unfortunately resulted in the death of her
‘They ain’t at Sweet Home. Schoolteacher
daughter Beloved. Just the thought of herself
ain’t got em.’
and her kids being dragged back into slavery
‘Maybe there’s worse.’
drove Sethe to commit the ultimate crime,
‘It ain’t my job to know what’s worse. It’s my infanticide. Sethe often states that she will do
job to know what is and to keep them away
anything to protect her children however she
from what I know is terrible. I did that.’”
goes to the extreme of murdering her child in
(Morrison 193-194).
the belief that she will be protecting her from
slavery’s grasp. Sethe’s memories of slavery
and the abuse she suffered clouded her
thought process and ultimately her identity
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causing her to make a rash, out-of-character
decision.
“He [schoolteacher] was talking to his pupils Theme
and I heard him say, ‘Which one are you
Schoolteacher taught his pupils that slaves
doing?’ And one of the boys said, ‘Sethe.’…I were more animal than human and had his
heard him say, ‘No, no. That’s not the way. I pupils categorize his slave’s characteristics as
told you to put her human characteristics on
either animalistic or human. If slave owners
the left; her animal ones on the right. And
can’t recognize a slave as a fellow human
don’t forget to line them up’” (Morrison 228). being how could a slave identify himself or
herself as a human being too? Slavery has
damaged a slave’s ability to find his/her own
identity since slavery in general was
dehumanizing due to the fact that one human
being owned another just because of his/her
race. In addition, most slave owners
constantly beat their slaves with no regard for
their emotions or wellbeing.
“Whitepeople believed that whatever the
Commentary
manners, under every dark skin was a jungle. This passage clearly illustrates the damage
In a way, he thought, they were right. The
caused by slavery and more importantly the
more coloredpeople spent their strength trying detrimental effects that slavery had on the
to convince them how gentle they were, how
black population. Most “whitepeople”
clever and loving , how human, the more they believed that African Americans were
used themselves up to persuade whites of
unpredictable and an inferior race and
something Negroes believed could not be
therefore probably deserved to be slaves.
questioned, the deeper and more tangled the
However, as these beliefs manifested, slaves
jungle grew inside. It was the jungle
and African Americans in general resented
whitefolks planted in them” (Morrison 234).
the “whitepeople” and their cruel actions. But
as slaves began to become more hateful
towards the white population, the white
population began to become more fearful. The
situation is ironic because the white
population brought on the hatred through their
own actions but yet they believe it existed
simply because of the slaves’ race.
“I [Sethe] have felt what it felt like and
Commentary
nobody walking or stretched out is going to
This passage gives the reader an insight into
make you feel it too. Not you, not none of
Sethe’s mindset and gives an explanation for
mine, and when I tell you you mine, I also
her actions. Sethe had invested her entire
mean I’m yours. I wouldn’t draw breath
identity into motherhood which blurred her
without my children. I told Baby Suggs that
perspective on many issues including when
and she got down on her knees to beg God’s
the “four horsemen” arrived at house 124.
pardon for me. Still, it’s so. My plan was to
Sethe believed that she had to protect her
take us all to the other side where my own
children from the horrors of life, but in order
ma’am is. They stopped me from getting us
to protect them she tried to kill her own
children which ended with the murder of her
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there, but they didn’t stop you from getting
here” (Morrison 239-240).
“…there will never be a time when I’m
[Beloved] not crouching … the man on my
face is dead…some who eat nasty themselves
I do not eat the men without skin bring us
their morning water to drink we have none
at night I cannot see the dead man on my face
daylight comes through the cracks… I am not
big small rats do not wait for us to sleep
someone is thrashing but there is no room to
do it in” (Morrison 248).
“You are my face; I am you. Why did you
leave me who am you?
I will never leave you again
Don’t ever leave me again
You went in the water
I drank your blood
I brought your milk
You forgot to smile” (Morrison 256).
“Nobody counted on Garner dying. Nobody
thought he could. How ’bout that? Everything
rested on Garner being alive? Without his life
daughter, Beloved. Sethe refused to look at
the death of her daughter as murder because
she believed she was protecting her from a
greater evil, however she failed to realize the
crime she had committed. Will Sethe learn to
accept the severity of her crime? Will Sethe
learn to separate her identity from
motherhood and truly discover herself?
Metaphor
In this passage Beloved describes where she
was living prior to house 124, the place was
dark and cramped and she stated that she was
always crouching. The place Beloved was
living prior to 124, in a metaphorical sense,
was a slave ship coming to America. More
often than not, the slave ships were packed
with slaves causing cramped quarters. Many
African Americans died from diseases
however, their bodies still remained where
they were which describes the “dead man” on
Beloved’s face. Slaves were usually kept in
the prisons aboard the ship and rarely saw any
sunlight which would account for Beloved
only seeing streaks of daylight through the
cracks. Furthermore, the “men without skin”
could be the white workers aboard the ship
who gave the slaves the basic necessities such
as food and water.
Commentary
In this particular passage the dialogue is hard
to differentiate between who is speaking
which can be interpreted as Denver, Sethe,
and Beloved being confused about their
identities. Beloved was constantly following
Sethe around the house and copying her
actions, she constantly stated that she needed
to be near Sethe as often as possible. Being
unable to distinguish which of the women are
speaking could foreshadow the entanglement
of identities between the women in the future.
Between Denver, Sethe, and Beloved will
there be either a role reversal or a complete
identity shift or change?
Commentary
This passage becomes a revelation to Paul D
when he reflects on his past and realizes that
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each of theirs fell to pieces…Now plagued by
the contents of his tobacco tin, he [Paul D]
wondered how much difference there really
was between before schoolteacher and after.
Garner called and announced them men – but
only on Sweet Home, and by his leave. Was
he naming what he saw or creating what he
did not? It troubled him that, concerning his
own manhood , he could not satisfy himself
on that point” (Morrison 259-260).
“‘She [Vashti] sat by the window looking out
of it. ‘I’m back,’ she said. ‘I’m back Josh.’
She had a real small neck. I [Josh a.k.a.
Stamp Paid] decided to break it. You know,
like a twig – just snap it.’
‘Did you? Snap it?’
‘Uh uh. I changed my name’” (Morrison
275).
“But if it took flesh and came in her world,
well, the shoe was on the other foot. She
[Ella] didn’t mind a little communication
between two worlds, but this was an invasion.
‘Shall we pray?’ asked the women.
‘Uh huh,’ said Ella. ‘First. Then we got to get
down to business’” (Morrison 302).
the “manhood” of the Sweet Home men was
solely determined by Mr. Garner. Paul D used
to believe that he was a man because Mr.
Garner allowed him to have a voice on the
farm and would actually listen to his opinions;
however, he came to realize he only
considered himself a man because Mr. Garner
had said so. Paul D realized that even though
Mr. Garner had given him the “freedom” to
say what he wanted, manhood could not be
given, it had to be earned individually.
Additionally, Paul D comes to the realization
that although life on Sweet Home was better
than the average farm, slavery was still
slavery and in reality he was still considered
someone’s property. Will Paul D begin to
accept himself and all of his worth or will he
continue to question himself and his actions?
Theme
Josh’s wife, Vashti, was forced to be intimate
with her owner for over a year even though
she was considered married to Josh. Once
Vashti finally came back for good Josh
couldn’t stand the idea of being with her after
everything that had occurred with their owner
and decided to assume a new identity. The
atrocities of slavery had detrimental effects on
a slave’s identity as showcased through Josh;
Josh couldn’t face his wife after what had
transpired over the past year and decided to
create a new identity for himself as Stamp
Paid. Under his new identity, Stamp Paid
decided that he no longer owed anybody
anything due to the unfortunate events of his
past. Slavery had drove Josh into completely
ridding himself of his former identity in order
to escape the thoughts and emotions of his
former life and created a new identity as
Stamp Paid.
Symbolism
During this passage Ella is performing an
exorcism with the other neighborhood women
in the community in order to rid house 124 of
Beloved’s presence. Beloved represents
slavery as a whole and her presence at house
124 represents slavery’s presence in the black
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“The singing women recognized Sethe at
community. Ella’s preparation to exorcise
once and surprised themselves by their
house 124 represents the community trying to
absence of fear when they saw what stood
rid the town of slavery’s cruel history and to
next to her. The devil-child [Beloved] was
begin anew.
clever, they thought” (Morrison 308).
Works cited:
Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York: Division of Random House, 2004. Print.