I liked this book very much. It was a very interesting read. I found myself able to connect to several of the characters in this book. As a mother I could see why Sethe felt she had to kill her children. I don't think I could do it myself, but I have never been in a position where I felt that was the only way to save my children from something much worse. I believe that Sethe felt this way when the Schoolteacher came to get her and her children. She was a runaway slave that had nowhere to run to and no escape for her children either. I believe that if I had lived the life that she did I might make the same choice.
I feel a connection to Denver because no matter what she did her mother did not notice her. She was a very scared and lonely child, her brothers ran away and left her with a mother that showed no affection. I am the oldest of four children and I am the one my mother relies on to get things done. However I am the one that gets treated like a piece of furniture when nice things are handed out. Like Denver, when Sethe realizes that Beloved is her daughter come back, I am given the smaller portions that are left after the "baby" gets her fill.
I wonder what would have happened if the townsfolk would have warned the people at Baby Suggs, could they have hidden the children and Sethe? I feel if they would not have been so self-righteous there would have been a chance for Beloved to live. If they had not decided that Sethe was too full of pride, maybe they would have been able to help Sethe and Denver before it got as bad as it did. They called themselves good people, but could not handle a black woman having "too much pride."
I hope to share this book with others to see what they can get from this book. I understand why Toni Morrison has received so many awards. I plan to read more of her writings.
I am glad that you enjoyed Beloved. I wish I could have gotten the enjoyment out of it that you did. It was just so hard for me to make it through the novel without losing interest. I thought the story was very dry and boring, with little action. I do agree with you that it was interesting reading about life during this time period. I can not imagine living day-to-day not knowing what the expect. I feel bad for how Denver is treated by Sethe. I don't think any child should not be noticed or loved on. It's hard because there are so many people out there to this day that are still looking for someone to care about them and show them some sort of love.
ReplyDeleteYou talk about how people handle too much pride. I think this is still a problem nowadays. People see others with a lot of pride and think of them as either being annoying or being overly proud of themselves or something else. I think it is hard to have to much pride or to be to proud of someone or something. Like I said, I am glad that you enjoyed the book, it was just too dry for me.
I also found this book enjoyable. As I also think, even though I dont have kids, and if I did it might be harder for me to say this, but I believe I would do the same as Sethe to protect the ones I loved the most. She did what no other slave did, and that was Love someone or something. Everyone kept saying dont love because it gets taken away, and Sethe did love, and then she had to keep her kids away from Schoolteacher. Wondering why the townspeople didnt help her hide is a good question. Just because she had pride doesnt mean she thought of herself as being better than the others. She just enjoyed what she had. It also was not very fair to Denver that Sethe paid all attention to Beloved, because throughout the novel all Denver wanted was some attention. She liked when the ghost shook the house and hated when it was quiet because she felt alone. When Beloved came back, she did not want her to leave because they played together, but then she saw Beloved wanted time with Sethe, not her and that bothered her too. Paul D also consumed time, which both Denver and Beloved hated, both similar in wanting attention.
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