Beloved, by Toni Morrison

Sethe and her daughter Denver live a lonely life, haunted by Sethe’s dead baby’s ghost. But then two people join their family. One is a fellow runaway slave, and the other is a mysterious woman named Beloved. This is a haunting story of recovery.

Spoilers abound below.

These questions are adapted from Susan Bauer’s Well-Educated Mind, Chapter 5.

✏️Is this Novel a fable or a chronicle?

This story is somewhere between a chronicle and a fable. It takes place in our universe, but has supernatural elements.

🖍️How does the writer show us reality (if chronicle)?

This book had mostly psychological rather than physical details to show reality. The emotional torture of Sethe’s memories, and the fear of loss with Denver.

🖍️What is the intent of the world (if fantastic)?

When answering this question, I’m supposed to think about whether the fantastic elements are allegory or speculation. Now, I know it has to be allegorical, if one of those, but I don’t understand what the allegory is if there is one. One of the overarching themes is the dehumanization of African American people both as slaves and as free people. Another theme is the relationship between a mother and her children in African American culture of the time. And the ghost, which is the fantastic element, is part of both of those themes. The murder of Sethe’s baby is both dehumanizing and horrifically humanizing at the same time. Sethe feels it is her motherly duty to save the baby from slavery. The ghost is a reminder to Sethe of this moment, as well as the horror of slavery and what she was trying to save Beloved from.

🖍️Is the novel primarily realistic with a few fantastic elements?

Yes

✏️What does the central character want? What is standing in their way? What strategy do they pursue to overcome this block?

Sethe, the central character, wants to love her children with every fiber of her being. But she can’t do this for Beloved, who is violently taken away – until she comes back to claim more love than is healthy for Sethe to give. She can’t do this for Denver, because Sethe is distracted by the ghost as well as by Paul D (i.e. her past). She can’t with her boys, because they ran away. She was unable to overcome this block – the ghost took all she had.

✏️Who is telling this story?

The story is narrated by an omniscient storyteller which mainly focuses on the actions and thoughts of Sethe and Paul D, but also on Denver, Beloved, and a bit character to a lesser extent.

✏️Where is the story set? How does this setting convey the character’s relationship to the world?

The story is set almost entirely in Sethe’s house, with some references to the place she was a slave and very few references to other places. This accentuates the loneliness and isolation of Sethe and Denver.

✏️What style does the writer employ?

Beloved is poetic in style, despite technically being prose. It’s full of symbols and lyricism. Words are beautifully chosen for meaning and sound.

✏️What are the images, metaphors, and allegory?

I already discussed what allegory I could see. As for images, mother’s milk repeatedly shows up, meaning mother’s love.

✏️Do you sympathize with the characters? Which ones and why?

I have a strong sympathy for Sethe and Denver. Obviously, I don’t know what it feels like to escape slavery, but I can visualize the horrors at some level. I also don’t understand what it feels like to grow up alone with a murderer for a mom, but I feel bad about how her life was lived.

✏️Does the writer’s technique give you a clue as to her take on the human condition?

It definitely gives an idea on her feelings about slavery and how an escaped slave would feel about white people.

✏️Is the novel self-reflective?

Yes, in the sense that it connects her to her slave ancestors.

✏️Did the author’s time affect her?

Yes. Books written about the evils of slavery are much different that those written around the time of abolition. For instance, it is easier for a person of slave ancestry to write a book, both because of education opportunities and because of the audience reception.

✏️Is there an argument in this book? Do I agree?

I don’t really think so.