Saturday, September 12, 2009

Beloved

Observation-Ghost and the Supernatural is a reoccurring motif in Beloved, and reflects slavery in the 1800's because many slaves were not given proper burials and didn't have the chance to live their lives. This lead to superstitious beliefs that their ghost haunted the earth because of unfinished business.
Conclusion-Beloved was just a child when murdered by her mother Sethe. She wasn't given the chance to live her life and be loved. Therefor, she roamed 124 awaiting until she could come back to earth and receive what she missed out on. A childhood and most importantly her mother's love. Similar to Beloved, the slaves who were killed were believed to cause chaos and mysterious events because of their anger.

Do you feel Beloved haunted 124 because she missed out on Sethe's love? Or did she haunt the house because of anger?

26 comments:

  1. I believe that Beloved haunted 124 out of love rather than anger. As a baby ghost, she wanted to play with her siblings. She reminds me of Denver to a certain extent. Throughout the entire story, Denver is portrayed as a lonely girl who seeks company from pretty much anything that is willing to entertain her. When Beloved was merely a spirit, she sought attention from the family. As a child, she probably didn't fully understand why her brothers ran away from her playful acts. The reason why Beloved is so attached to Sethe is because she is her mother and that she was the only one that didn't dislike her because she was a haunting spirit. Sethe is very remorseful about what she had done to Beloved and wishes to repay her debts/guilt by letting Beloved haunt her. You can see that Beloved misses Sethe because when she lived at 124 as a being, she wanted to know everything about Sethe. Sethe was the only thing in Beloved's mind. I don't believe that Beloved haunted the house out of anger but rather out of confusion/frustration and the need for attention.

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  2. I agree with Zmayy that Beloved haunted 124 because she was denied Sethe's love. Because Beloved was only a baby when her mother killed her, she would not understand the reasons for why this happened, nor would she be angry towards Sethe for doing this. All she knows is that she is in a different place and cannot get back to her mom. Two year olds, in general, suffer separation issues from their parents. Beloved already had to go through the ordeal of living without her mom when she was first taken from Sweet Home to 124. The thought of losing her mother again would be devastating. When this happens, all she can think about is getting back to her mother; this is why her spirit cannot move on. She does not fully understand that she is no longer alive, so she acts out as a ghost in ways that gain everyone’s attention, especially Sethe’s.

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  3. i think that beloved haunted because she knew that paul d was coming and it was hurting her chances of recieving sethe's love. so she by haunting she thought that it would rum Paul D away.
    seeing that he sayed she decided to manifest herself in a body,that way she could keep her eye on him and then push him away. that way she could start getting that loved that she missed out on

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  4. cont.
    i also believe that anger could have been part of it because of the fact she knew that her mother killed her, so because she had yet to find a way back on the physical plane she had to take out her revenge in a different way. She wanted to let her mother know that she was upset with her and was going to torture her until sethe broke down

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  5. All of Beloved's emotions seem to mirror those of an actual infant. So I believe that she is both angry and sad. Babies transition between emotions very quickly and abruptly. Beloved demonstrates this mostly in her dialogue with Denver. As Zmayy mentioned, Beloved had a lot of genuine curiosity concerning Sethe's past. This again confirms the theory that Beloved's emotions are those of a baby, not the adult form that she is presented with. Beloved's outbursts as a ghost also seemed to be done by a baby. None of the haunting suggested she was trying to hurt anyone, rather they were chaotic and unpredictable, like that of a baby crying.

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  6. I think that Beloved's intentions in 124 were not governed by love of Sethe, but rather by her love of HERself, as well as her anger at being deprived of her mother's love. The name itself "Beloved", asserts something it's like her saying "Hey, look at me LOVE me now, even though you denied me love before." There is even a chapter in the book and it begins with the words "I am Beloved and she is mine..." this reflects on some more sinister aspect of Beloved's character. Since Beloved feels she is not being loved ENOUGH by Sethe, she has to take control of her mother. This is reflected in "she is mine", I think it can be interpreted as " she is mine...(to do with as I please since she went and killed me)" Again, call it farfetched but from this perspective it may be said that Beloved is acting out of a certain selfish behavior, militious even, that may an excuse for Beloved's outright parasitism off of Sethe's energy later on in the novel

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  7. There is strong evidence to suggest that Beloved haunted 124 both out of anger and out of love. However I believe that her primary goal was revenge, and thus anger in extension. Beloved was angry at Sethe for killing her, and depriving her of a potentially long life, therefore she wanted revenge and to claim all that she had missed out on. Yet when she first arrived at 124 Beloved was overcome with the love for her mother and spent many weeks making up for lost time, so to speak. But in the end her true intentions were revealed as she slowly grew bigger and bigger while Sethe was deteriorating. Beloved is almost parasitic in nature and her long-term victim was her mother.

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  8. I think that when Beloved came to 124 in human form, her being was at the same level of intelligence as an infant, as she was killed when she was a baby. Therefore, I believe that she returned to the house both out of anger and love, as a baby experiences different emotions rapidly. Beloved's love for Sethe was a bit obsessive, as she longed to know every single detail of Sethe's life. Yet her anger is evident in that she previously caused the house to shake, attempted to choke Sethe, etc. She's angry that her mother killed her without her consent yet wants nothing more then to be loved by Sethe. Therefore, I believe that Beloved's infant-like persona is both admirable of and angry at her mother.

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  9. I think that Beloved tormented 124 out of both love and anger.

    Beloved was a baby when she was killed, and she never knew the reason. Because Beloved did not understand the circumstances of her death, she directed her anger and frustration at those who did know what happened. She funneled her energy into making sure that nobody at 124 forgot who she was and what was done to her.

    The fact that she craves attention is also an indication of her loneliness and need to be loved by Sethe. Her tantrum-like unleashing of anger reveals her immaturity and ignorance of her mother’s motives, and causing disturbances is a way for her to get noticed. Her sense of abandonment makes her feel that she needs to establish her presence somehow. When she assumes the form of a woman, she smothers Sethe with too much attention and wants Sethe to do the same to her so that they could make up for lost time. This is love saturated with obsession, but it is still love.

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  10. I feel that Beloved haunted 124 because of both missing out on Sethe's love resulting in anger and revenge. Her release of anger towards Sethe at the end clearly exemplifies frustration she felt towards Sethe; it was more out of revenge that Beloved did what she did because she was never given a chance as a baby. She wanted this love and attention and received it for a while when she came to 124 in physical form, but it didn't appear to be enough to compensate for what Sethe did to her as it grew into a vengence. Beloved is trying to make Sethe pay the heavy price for not keeping her alive and not loving her the way that love is typically "expected" from a nurturing mother-figure.

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  11. I generally agree with most of the opinions expressed here, especially the ones that reflect the duality of Beloved's nature(aka. good and evil). I also agree with Ismael's idea that Beloved acts out of selfishness, however Beloved's selfish nature is simply a reflection of her infantile nature. All babies are completely obsessed with their own needs and wants as they do not have the mental or physical compacity to care for another person, the same goes for Beloved despite her full grown size. Beloved cannot help but be the parasite she becomes. Almost every needy child has the same effect on a mother, however since Beloved is a full sized person the parasitic effects of her existence take an even greater toll on Sethe who has already mothered 3 children. In fact, I would go so far as to say that Beloved acts not out of any consciously focused love or rage, but out of a simple case of neediness and immaturity that accompanies the growing stages of any childs life. But as I stated before, Beloved is only a child in mind, not body which amplifies the physical effects of her drain on Sethe near the end of the novel.

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  12. Ah sorry, I forgot to address the haunting more. Beloved's ghost haunts 124 for similar reasons that I stated above, but also simply to be there with who is supposed to be her family. As a ghost Beloved cannot do anything to gain attention except lash out at those who would normally deny her existence. If this ghost baby is indeed a conscious being as it is treated in the novel, then it is probably very confused, frustrated, and physically violent due to the neglect that it endures not only as a result of her mother killing her, but simply as being a ghost with no lasting effects on the physical realm.

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  13. I believe that Beloved haunted 124 out of love and anger. Similiar to what Kriselle said, Beloved haunted 124 because she wanted to make her existence known. She did not want Sethe to forget her. Although she was just a baby when she was killed, she was a baby that never received attention from her mother. Denver on the other hand grew up with Sethe by her side. Sethe did Denver's hair, cooked her food, took care of her,etc. Beloved never received the attention Denver has from Sethe so, she is jealous of Sethe's love to Denver which created her anger. When Beloved took her human form she choked Sethe in the Clearing, but later on help her sooth the pain. Beloved choking Sethe is showing anger, but soothing it is showing love. Beloved is not angry at Sethe because she wants to know more about Sethe and she loves it when Sethe gives attention to her. Beloved wants attention from Sethe because it is the only way she feels loved by her own mother.

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  14. I feel that Beloved's haunting of the house is quite intricate. She obviously feels wronged, and is trying to exact revenge on Sethe, but I also think that Beloved represents much more. She represents a horrible, scarring past that the characters in the novel are trying to forget and move away from. Beloved is more complex than most fictional ghosts who haunt as a form of revenge. She knows things that no other living characters in the book could know and her presence brings up all the memories that Sethe and Paul D have repressed for years and refused to discuss. Beloved is the past. I think she wanted to come back and force Sethe and Paul D to remember everything, especially their experiences during slavery. Beloved comes out of anger, but also out of necessity; the only way Sethe and others can move on with their lives is if they confront their past. Beloved's presence forces them to do so, and, her work finished, Beloved then disappears as she came- without any explanation or forewarning.

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  15. I think that Beloved had both love and anger. She was obviously angry since she was killed as an infant, not knowing the reason why. She never got to grow up and experience her life, like Denver or her two brothers. She was the only one who had to suffer to make everyone's life better. This is what makes Beloved angry and want to haunt the house, making it shake and such things. Beloved also wants love and that is why she becomes this human character. She is probably jealous of Paul D taking her spotlight in the house. This could be why she becomes a person that Sethe can obsess over and love due to her memories of her baby.

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  16. I definitly agree with Josi, in that she says: Beloved represents one of many ghosts that came back to haunt slaves. Though, I don't believe she was consumed only by love or only by anger, but by both. Similar to what everyone said, Beloved was killed at infant-age. Even Denver claims that Beloved was just a baby when she died and cannot possibly understand Sethe's reasons for murder. This is a reasons why Beloved asks so many questions; babies are curious, they like stories, and are often quite entertained by their parents past. Also, just like Jake and Ismael said, babies are definetly selfabsorbed; they want the bigger piece of candy, the colorful fabric, and mostly all the attention; which is one of the reasons Beloved was angered with Paul D: he was capable of "making women cry," and getting their attention, he was standing in the spotlight, while Beloved was forgotten. This baby assumption can also be found when Beloved turns into human form. She is always tired and cannot consume big food, she slowly begins to adapt to real food as she grows. This is the manifestation of every baby. Therefore, Beloved's behavior cannot neccesarily be catagorized as anger, because she was too little. A baby undiciplined will also become a problem; Beloved chokes Sethe, but later denies it and wants to soothe sethe. Though there are many ways of percieving Beloved's behavior, if we look at the literal meaning, rather than the symbolic, we can assume that Beloved was merely a baby, who seeked attention.

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  17. I believe that Beloved came back to haunt 124 out of both love and anger. Beloved was killed when she was so young and therefore never received any love from her mother, that left her yearning for that motherly figure in her life. I believe that was her original motive in haunting the house but once she began to haunt the house and still was not receiving the love she wanted the anger began to grow. Since she was just a baby when she was murdered she did not yet develop a way to react to rejection outside of crying or throwing a temper tantrum so that is exactly what she did. The anger only sprouted because she did not know what else to do; Beloved became angry but her motive for haunting the house was ultimately love.

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  18. I believe that Beloved's spirt decided to haunt 124 out of anger. Beloved might have been upset that only she was killed and wanted Sethe to suffer slowly. When Beloved returns in human form, she tries to drive everyone away from Sethe in order fo Sethe to feel lonely, like Beloved's spirit. Once Beloved had Sethe to herself, Sethe begins to weaken while Beloved feeds off that weakness and grows srtong. Beloved's spirit did not expect the town to rally against her and set Sethe fee from the grasp of loneliness. Beloved wanted revenge for her death and that is why she haunted 124.

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  19. I feel that Beloved haunted 124 because she yearned for Sethe's love, however, in the beginning, I think that through her actions, the family interpreted the haunting in the wrong way, which led to Beloved's frustration. Sethe killed Beloved as a child, so as a child ghost she did not understand what happened and why it happened. She came seeking answers. Each time Beloved would haunt 124, she came in a disturbing way. I interpret it as an energetic playful child, like she would be as if she were alive. The brothers could not understand this, which is why they were too afraid to stay at 124 and ran away. Sethe, being the empty spirited person that she was could not fathom the reason that Beloved would not leave her alone. Every haunting just reminded her of the past and what she had done that just added to her grief and lonesomeness.Until Sethe was able to grow from these hauntings which gave Beloved satisfaction, that is when she left 124.

    I also feel that the word "anger" would be to strong of a word to really use to describe her actions in the beginning, although Morrison's diction created imagery that illustrated a war, and anger, but to me, I feel that it could be compared to a child throwing a temper-tantrum, which like annette said, Beloved acted out of pure frustration, and when children are frustrated they throw temper-tantrums.

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  20. I believe there was more anger than love in Beloved's motives. As most of the previous responses have said, Sethe did kill her. Throughout the book, Beloved's spirit attacked Sethe and Paul D, and in a number of occasions, Beloved could've killed Sethe. Sethe may have had a very strong love for many people, but Beloved did not get that love, so she was angry. As the story progresses, Beloved ends up causing Sethe's life to crumble. If she really loved Sethe, she wouldn't cause all of the harm she did. She may have missed out on the love, and that angered Beloved.

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  21. I agree with what Jake said about Beloved not really acting as a grown up and having all the characteristics of an infant. Since she acts like that you can't really say if the reason she is there is out of love or anger. Then again if you look back to when Beloved went into the small house where Paul D. slept and forced herself on him, that showed how she had a sexual desire and since infants don't have sexual desires like the ones Beloved had you have to lean more towards the anger reason and say that she was there to make Sethe's life more difficult and haunt the house out of anger.

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  22. I think Beloved's haunting of 124 is motivated by anger, however, I believe that once she arrives in human form she slowly begins to understand Sethe's actions. This is supported by the fact that her supernatural actions were never really an attempt at making a personal contact. Also she targeted everyone in the house equally with her haunting, she did not spare Denver or the brothers. If her actions had been motivated by anger then she would have focused all her haunting on Sethe. The idea that she slowly worked through the anger is most clear in the chapter were she first chokes Sethe in the clearing, but then rushes to her aid, in my opinion this is her turning point.

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  23. Beloved's haunting was definately out of anger more than love. I think after a while though she did realize it was Sethe did what she did out of love. It shows she "understood" some of the reasons for what she did. She could have easily killed Sethe at a few points in the novel, but she did not. She also did haunt everyone else in the house. In the end, though, Sethe's life does fall apart and Beloved was the cause of it. Beloved started taking all the food, haunted Sethes remaining family, and made Sethe go crazy because of her. Beloved had the utmost anger towards Sethe as well as a very close motherly love .

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  24. i believe she haunted the house for both reasons, out of love and out of anger. yes, it is true that she didn't get to live out her life, so it owuld make sense if she was angry. That's why I believe her haunting was more towards anger. If it was purely out of love then the ghost wouldn't have been described so evil and bitter. The ghost wouldn't have been smashing things into the wall and hitting people on the back; it would've been kinder and gentler. Also, Beloved almost tries to kill Sethe by draining her of her life and food. Now that does not seem like love to me.

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  25. Does anyone want to weigh in on the fact that Beloved was pregnant when she left at the end of the novel? How does this relate (or does it relate, rather) to the haunting?

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  26. Great comments, everyone. You show deep understanding and thought. I was pleased to see that people were commenting on previous comments, and synthesizing your own opinions with those comments.

    Try to avoid repeating or, if you must repeat, add something fresh to your own comment. Feel free to bring in another question that you thought of as you were reading your colleagues' comments.

    Great work, everyone. I think this blog is going to be a great tool for us to grow as readers and writers.

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