Beloved by Toni Morrison, Paper
Uploaded by tyson_626 on Feb 23, 2005
Toni Morrison shows how the past can affect the present relationships in Beloved. Sethe an ex-slave who ran away from Sweet Home, a slave plantation, in order to escape the drudgery and humiliation of slavery, shall forever be haunted by the past. In her escape, she tries to kill her children, and succeeds in killing her baby girl. The ghost of this baby girl shall forever haunt Sethe as a representation of the past for the next 18 years in 124. Paul D another ex-slave from Sweet Home, is also affected by th past. He shares the same Sweet Home memories as Sethe, but his life took a different course. He kill his second master and was placed in a chain gang. After this horrific experience in a chain gang, Paul D decides to lock away his feelings and memories. When Paul D meets Sethe again at 124, the two form a relationship that changed how they deal with the past and how they will love again.
The first relationship these two form occurred at Sweet Home. Here Paul D was in competition with the other slave men of Sweet Home for the love and marriage of Sethe. Ultimately, Paul D and the other slave men lose to Halle, whom Sethe chooses because of his love for his mother and his commitment. This is the purest form the relationship shall ever take. Both Paul D and Sethe aren’t tarnished by their past yet (even though they both are slaves, and even the childhood memories affect their actions). Here, Paul D loses to Halle just because Halle is the “better man.”
The next step in the relationship occurs eighteen years later, after Sethe and Paul D have both left Sweet Home, and has experienced the hardships of life to its fullest. Paul D seeks a person to love, and Sethe has devoted her life to Denver. Paul D walked past 124 and by chance, sees Sethe washing her feet. He joins her in 124 to rest, and they end up making love. This rage of passion last only mere minutes, and it is only Paul D’s pent up passion over Sethe during their time at Sweet Home. Paul D spent time in prison in Alfred, Georgia. After that, he shut down his mind except the...