Denver and Paul D’s relationship is rough at the start but I hope his presence will allow Denver to learn a lot. Further I hope she will learn to appreciate him. Within a couple days of Paul D’s arrival, Denver was hearing her mother tell stories of which she may have never heard unless Paul came around. His presence, although jolting and aggressive was needed as he could play the role o mediator between Denver and Sethe. Paul further acted as some pathway of communication between the two. Interestingly, when the three are enjoying the carnival, Sethe notices this glowing potential which Paul D brings out of them. “They were not holding hand but their shadows were.” (59) Although at first it seems Paul D could add another level of tension to the household, I believe he enters the stage at a perfect time where exactly someone of his assertiveness and questioning was needed to solve deep seeded issues within and between Denver and Seth.
On the last page of Chapter 4 Denver expressed her potential liking to Paul D after he persuaded her with all types of candies and treats at the Carnival. She described the comfortability Paul D commanded as he “pleased her enough to consider the possibility that Paul D wasn’t all that bad. In fact there was something about him – when the three of them stood together watching Midget Dance – that made the stares of other Negroes king, gentle, something Denver did not remember seeing in their faces.” (61) The last part of this quote stuck out to me the most as it inferred that Denver always had seen negroes as harsh, even ugly. For some reason, Paul’s entertainment allowed her a different perspective. Perhaps, Denver only heard ugly stories which her mother shared and never was introduced to the idea Paul D brought that African-Americans could be beautiful both physically and mentally as well.
I like your comment about Paul D playing a mediator between Sethe and Denver, who before had a very complicated and seemingly uncommunicative relationship. I wonder if this is a good thing for her considering that Denver may have been close to leaving and escaping the lonely house.
I agree with you in that Paul D comes into the story at a very interesting time. His relationship with Denver is at one which raises a lot of questions, one being if he could be a good father to her. It’s interesting to read from Sethe’s perspective as she wrestles with these questions and witnesses the changing of the makeup of her family in both the arrival of Paul D and later the arrival of Beloved.
I liked your analysis of Paul D’s influence on the family. It seems like his methods are a bit harsh and direct, as he tries to force Denver to be a “normal” child and forget about the ghost that she considers her friend. But as you said, it seems like this is something that needed to happen for the family to move on from the atrocities of the past and live a normal life.