Beloved: A psychoanalytical reflection

The psychoanalytic lens was an interesting and challenging lens choice for the reading of Toni Morrison's Beloved. Although, on the surface, the book seemed to have less to analyze psychoanalytically as it did feminist, or through other lenses, by the end of the novel, with a careful eye, I was able to learn many things about the characters' inner motivations and struggles. In this blog, as a wrap up, I want to note what I learned about the three central characters: Sethe, Denver and Paul D.

Sethe - Sethe is quite possibly the most damaged character of the novel, and because of this, there was much to learn about her psychologically. First I noticed her unwillingness to trust others. She's wary of new people, even of Paul D at first, even though she used to know him. This is because of all of the things that have been done to her in her life. So much has been taken away, so much pain has been dealt, that she cannot manage to trust people in life. Another thing I noticed with Sethe is how she tries to pretend her hardships weren't so bad, by attempting to paint them in a better light (example: the chokecherry tree, which I previously wrote about). This is another byproduct of all the abuse she was subjected to as a slave. Her only coping mechanism is denial.

Denver - The main thing I noticed about Denver is her emotional instability, and like her mother, inability to trust others. She, at first, is very wary of Paul D. Later on, she is also unsure of Beloved, even though Sethe adores her, and this wariness is what eventually leads to the neighbors' exorcism of Beloved. In this way, her inability to trust new people is both a detracting quality and a beneficial one.

Paul D - Paul D has experienced, arguably, just as much pain and suffering as Sethe, yet he copes with the pain differently. Instead of repainting them as less torturous than they truly were, he does his best to forget those times, to pretend as if that part of his life simply never existed. Whether this is a better coping strategy is purely opinion, but I believe it's better than pretending that Sweet Home and slavery wasn't a bad experience. Paul also struggles with his concept of being a man. At Sweet Home, Garner called him a man, but later on the schoolteacher punished him, making him question himself. Not only that, but the things he was forced to do in slave camp, and the things Beloved did to him (moving him around the house against his will) made him question who he really was.

These are just a few of the many psychoanalytic aspects of Beloved, but they, in my opinion, are the most notable.

Rape, and its relevance to Beloved

Rape is a very serious subject, and something that cannot be approached lightly. It can change people, affecting great psychological damage that in most cases can never be eased. Morrison knows this, yet chooses to attack it head on in Beloved, as she does slavery.

In Pamela E. Barnett's article, Figurations of Rape and the Supernatural in Beloved, Barnett discusses how Morrison uses rape as a central part of the novel. Barnett claims that the book is haunted by rape in two ways: figuratively, with allusions to past rape and sexual abuse littered throughout the text, and literally, with Beloved's haunting of the house and sexual abuse of men (Paul D).

The rape that occurred in the past has dealt a great deal of trauma to both Paul D and Sethe, has changed the way they act, and has forever damaged them mentally. Sethe was most affected by the time she was raped by the men on the plantation, those who also stole her milk. She can no longer see herself the same way, but forever sees herself as tainted, as imperfect. Not only that, but she cannot take joy in sex as she once was able to. This is shown in the scene with Paul D. After they make love, rather than feeling relaxed or happy, she is filled with remorse.

The same is true with Paul D. After his experiences at the slave camp, he is broken, and feels as though his heart is locked inside of a "tin can." After sex with Sethe, he is likewise unfulfilled and disinterested. Morrison uses these displays as illustrations of the destructive power of rape, and allows the reader to understand just how broken rape victims can feel.

Responding and Reflecting: 2

Whenever I would describe the text Beloved, I would always have one adjective to describe the book, Heavy. The reason why I use this word over all others is that the reason being, there is so much that you can describe with the word heavy. Beloved is emotionally heavy, mentally heavy, spiritually heavy, and overall just a lot to take in, even if the part might seem some what mundane, but there is more than meets the eye in the book beloved. Beloved is overall fairly stuffed with many messages and meanings to be discovered by the reader, who might just either glance over one, or find a new meaning. The meaning or idea that I have taken away the most is the meaning of sticking together, Sethe, is essentially the heart of her family, every issue is tackled head on by her, but is never reluctant to receive help, especially from kind hearts like Amy Denver. This was the meaning that I had noticed form more and more over time as the text had progressed more and more, especially with the lens that I had.  Beloved is a book that can take anyone on an emotional journey, regardless of their ethnic background. From the moment the book starts until the book ends the reader can find themselves giving sympathy to many different characters in the book. This is why I chose the word heavy to describe beloved, the whole book takes the reader on a journey of all emotions, where there is a dark past behind many characters, all whom might be still trying to escape it.

I found that Beloved is a book that can have a way to change anyone's viewpoint, and can emotionally hook the reader at some point.What I have learned most about my lens is that the Marxist lens can be applied to any book, regardless if the book were written without any Marxist ideals. What I have seen is that there can always be more and more meanings that can be taken away from any text.

Responding and Reflecting: 1

What I have learned from Beloved is that society as a whole was so incredibly stagnated just over 100 years ago. Beloved showed me that it is important to keep those that are important close to you, but to also meet new people that might become important to you; and it is essential to keep those very people close. From what I have seen is that keeping, and taking care of those people that are important to you comes a long way, especially in a place where things might not come close to getting better. I have always believed that our country is a large melting pot of different cultures come to create a diverse place where everyone can have  a part in, but unfortunately, a lot of oppression and sorrow had lasted long before things had changed, and can be argued that things still need to be changed. It is hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that there are times in a country like this that people had been impoverished and kept oppressed because of the color of their skin, where they were "free" but not really free. When choosing my lens originally, I had very large doubts about finding anything close to Marxist ideals or themes, however, as I had read on, I had managed to surprise myself. While even though they might not be implied, there are themes in Beloved that could be interpreted as Marxist. The main one that I took away from the book was the working class sticking together, where they could manage to keep moving on when the privileged and wealthy had kept them oppressed. This is what I had really kept noticing and had really opened my eyes to the many themes that could be considered Marxist. I now will try reading more often with the Marxist lens, as it might be implied or not, but it still can be ever present in any text.

Marxist Critical Lens Experts: 2

For this Blog I had read the article: Bigotry, Breast Milk, Bric-a-Brac, a Baby, and a Bit in "Beloved" Toni Morrison's Portrayal of Racism and Hegemony. From what I have read this article mainly focuses on how racism was ingrained in the time that Beloved was based in, and how this racism had affected the very people it was intended to oppress. One of the most memorable parts was how the author had referenced how Morrison described that People of Color had to determine the different types of White People, and how some of them were out to make them feel like they were less than human, like the Schoolteacher, and some who were part of oppressive groups like the Klu Klux Klan. One of the main things of this article was the intense institutionalized racism, how it was in place to make African Americans feel like they were unequal to those that were white. One of the acts that was mentioned that amplifies this claim is the one in particular where Schoolteachers' nephews has "milked" Sethe, by forcing her into an act that was only to be done to animals was meant to break Sethe feel like she was worth less than a person, clearly showing how intense the racism was at the time. This also illuminates the harsh realities that many African Americans had to suffer through, really making the dedication at the beginning of Beloved much more powerful. Like the previous Interpretation I had read, I there were no claims that were similar to the ones I had made in previous entries, but while I do agree with the ones that are being presented in this one, I do not think that the Author was going in to highlight the Marxist themes that could be interpreted in Beloved.

Marxist Critical Lens Experts: 1

For my Critical Lens, I had read the article titled: To Be Loved: Amy Denver and Human Need: Bridges to Understanding in Toni Morrison's "Beloved. From what I understand about this article is that there are many different arguments about the internal messages that are trying to be conveyed by Toni Morrison in beloved. What the author has mainly essentially argued is that there are several things that Morrison is trying to convey is that: There are many different Biblical References, That oppression affects just more than one group of people, and that there are good souls no matter the color of the person's skin, or their gender. In terms of the Biblical References, the Author mentions the part where Amy washes Sethe's feet, relating that part to where Jesus washes the feet of his twelve disciples in the bible, the Author uses this inference to make a relation that there are biblical themes throughout the book, and that this is just one example of that. For the case of oppression, the Author not only references Sethe's struggle when she was an escaped slave, but also mentions Amy Denver, an indentured servant who was kept by her master, using this that it was not just African Americans that were being oppressed, and that the only people who were not oppressed were those who were wealthy, white men. Last but not least the last themes that was being pointed out was the point that there are always good people, again, tying back to Amy Denver; as she was someone who had stood by Sethe's side, even during the harshest of times, stating that if it was not for Amy, Sethe would not have a story to tell. I do agree with these several messages and themes that are being pointed out, but I would also like to mention that there was no real marxist feel in the author's analysis of Beloved, she did not point out any marxist characteristics of the book, and neither did the author or I make the same arguments about our interpretations of the text.

Second Chance Sethe (RR2)

This was a really long confusing book. Before starting I didn't know much historical context when it came to slavery and post Civil War events. After reading this book through the new historic lens I feel I have much more knowledge of this time period in history. By being able to look deeper into historical events I got a better understanding of what the characters were going through at that time. Along with learning about the time period I was able to also research common events and crops that were sold back then. By digging deeper into harvesting of tobacco I learned a lot about who smoked it and how it was sold. Learning that the slaves didn't get paid to do work during the week days really shocked me. It was a really tough life being a slave and being forced to work. Sethe who had three children disliked being a slave so much that she actually killed her third born kid so that they would not have to suffer through it. In this book the theme of second chances is prominent for all of the characters. Although she killed her third born we see her come back into Sethe's life as a new character named Beloved. Sethe also gets a second chance when she thinks history is repeating itself with Mr. Bodwin coming up her walk way. Instead of killing her daughter like she did last time a bunch of white people came up her driveway she takes matters into her own hands and goes out to fight him. By Sethe redeeming herself to Beloved and sticking up for her Beloved finally leaves Sethe's house.

I don't usually like history when being taught in class. This book was able to engage me in a story about the history of what the African American population went through during the 1800's. Nowadays history textbooks are just filled with facts but there are no opinions or stories from the people who lived during this time. Stories are able to make you feel emotion to the people who experienced the event. I was able to feel anger and shock when big events happened in beloved. From analyzing in the new historic I now know much more about what the African American community had to go through.

Responding and Reflecting 1

I find slavery to be a very cruel disgusting subject. It's not right to completely exile a group of people just because of their race. I can feel for Sethe and Paul D for what they had to go through at Sweet Home. The problem with slavery is that although it was abolished and is now illegal, the African American community still got treated differently for many years after. During the time period Beloved was written the African American community had been freed from slavery about 20 years before but now Sethe and her family have to adjust to their new life. Going from being a prisoner to your owner and having no say in what you do to then being free to do what you want would be a tough transition. I think this can be compared to me going off to college. I have lived under the roof of my parents house my whole life and now in three months I will leave them and head off to college by myself. Sethe and the other slaves probably had very mixed emotions about leaving. Although they are finally free, the slave plantation is the only life that they knew. I feel the transition into college will be very hard at the beginning. Not being able to see my friends and family that I have been with for so many years will be a hard transition. I know that I will make new friends at the University of Arizona but I will miss my life in California. Throughout the story characters have flashbacks to their life on the plantations as a slave. Although this was a very dark time in their life the characters can't just forget everything that happened. I know that I will never forget all the great times I've had at Summit even though I will be leaving everything behind to start a new life in college. I can relate to Sethe in the fact that i'm excited for this new chapter in my life as she was when she left Sweet Home to start a new life.

Once upon a time... (CLE)

"Storytelling also allows individuals to forge social and inter-personal bonds. So, Sethe longs to share the burden of her life experience with Paul D." (Revisions, Rememories and Exorcisms)

Story telling has been around forever. It is a way of sharing your life experiences or making up new ones. Most people gather stories that they experience or are told to them. Many influential authors are very famous for sharing personal stories from their life. Other authors make up stories in order to entertain or shock audiences. Story telling is a fun way to learn more about other people and share memories you have been through.

In Beloved Characters like Sethe and Grandma Suggs have many stories of their horrid, crazy pasts. Sethe and Paul D used to live together on the Sweet Home plantation. When they rekindle their friendship from when they were slaves they both have many stories to share about what they have been through. 

In the quote at the top by, Cynthia Hamilton, she explains how Sethe finally shares her story of life at Sweet Home. This is a big part in the text since Paul D experienced most of the same hardships as well. It says, "Her story was bearable because it was his as well -- to tell, to refine and tell again." (pg. 99) Sethe and Paul D connect on a way deeper level when sharing their experience together. This passage talks a lot about how multiple points of view really piece the story together to gain all of the information of what happened in everyones life during slavery. It explains how by using dialect and characters stories you are able to feel more emotion as if they were telling their story to you. By both adding in parts of what they experience it gives the reader a more clear view of what all the characters felt. When Sethe shares her stories it is the first time that Denver has actually heard what her mom had to go through at Sweet Home. Sethe is able to release all of her emotion and is much better after this and feels much closer to Paul D.

Later on in the book when Paul D confronts Sethe with the newspaper article Sethe is forced to share a very tough time in her past where she was forced to kill her third kid. When Paul D hears of this he is shocked and disgusted and his anxiety of Beloved compelled him to move out of 124. Sometimes stories don't in fact bring people together and can really affect others involved.