Author: Katherine Fell

What struck me the most about this reading was the new perspectives that in the series of monologues starting at Chapter 20. I was especially intrigued by Denver’s thoughts, given that besides, Beloved, Denver is the character where we have gotten the least from her perspective in the narrative. As readers, we have been apprehensive of Beloved’s presence and have feared for Sethe’s safety, given that we know that Beloved died at Sethe’s hands. We know that 124 has been haunted by Beloved’s presence, and she has returned in a corporal form with the possible intention of harming those who live there, namely Paul D (the outsider who was trying to find his place in their family), and Sethe (the person who killed her). We have seen that Denver is intrigued by Beloved and has tried to connect with her, but in this chapter we learn that Denver is also concerned for Beloved’s safety.

Denver has chosen to stay with and love Sethe out of fear, now that we know that Sethe’s two sons had to flee from 124 after Sethe tried to kill them after she murdered Beloved. This revelation completely changes the way that we read Denver and Sethe’s relationship, now that we know that Denver is afraid in her own house, and is still scared of what her mother might to do Beloved. It will be interesting to see if and how these revelations are brought out into the open and how they will force Sethe, Beloved, and Denver to address their relationships with one another.

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The discussions that we had in class regarding Paul D and his relationship with wanting to move forward and pursuing the future really came to fruition in the most recent chapters of Beloved. We learned in these chapters that Paul D has a history of sexual abuse and is still wrestling with these demons as he contemplates his autonomy and his masculinity. So far, in the novel, Paul D has adamantly resisted the arrival of Beloved and her role in 124. This is because Beloved is the manifestation of the past coming back to haunt Sethe and the people in her life, while Paul D is trying to look towards the future with the potential of raising a family of his own with Sethe.

Despite Paul D and Beloved being at odds throughout the story so far, Beloved is able to assert her power over Paul D when she seduces him. This brings back the difficult and painful memories that Paul D was suppressing in his “tin tobacco box,” as he repeats the phrase “red heart” as he has sex with her. Paul D is ashamed of his actions and his past, and can’t bring himself to tell Sethe the truth when he tries to confess to her. The fact that Paul D has such a conflict with his past and refuses to embrace the horrors that he endured are detrimental to him.

This idea becomes evidently clear when Paul D asks Sethe if she wants to have a baby together. Instead of being honest, he chooses to try to again simply move on and pursue the future. This is a problem because instead of wanted to have a baby with Sethe out of love with genuine hope for a family, the baby is considered a “solution” for Paul D. Having a baby with Sethe will bring back confidence in his sense of masculinity and identity. However, the opposite is true, as Paul D is just running further and further from the truth as he continues to burry his past.

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Upon reading the first three chapters of Toni Morrison’s Beloved, it becomes evidently clear that the house where Sethe and Denver live is haunted in more ways than one. Early on we learn that Sethe is haunted by the house because her unnamed child is buried there with a headstone that simply reads “Beloved.” Denver is scared to live there because of how isolated it makes her feel. However the cultural and emotional significance that the house has on both Sethe and Denver goes much farther beyond this.

The house holds significant influence for Sethe. Despite being an escape slave, she is not yet truly free. she feels trapped by her home, and I think that this lack of autonomy can be translated into what was also effecting her culturally in the story. She may have escaped the horrors of slavery, but even freed slaves were still horribly mistreated and struggled to become involved and respected members of their communities. While she is no longer enslaved, she is still subject to the racism and discriminatory culture that plagues America. In addition to being trapped and isolated because of her race, I thought that Sethe was also being trapped in the household because of the fact that she is a woman and a mother. Not only are there ramifications about her race in this time period, but Sethe is also trapped and held back because of her gender. I look forward to reading about how Morrison explores these themes as the novel continues.

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The element of the videos that we watched for Thursday’s class that left the greatest impression on me was the fact that in order to consolidate power and gain for followers, leaders of the women’s suffrage movement published horribly racist sentiments. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were desperate to gain support from wealthy southern women in order to forward the women’s suffrage movement. In order to gain support from this audience, though, they wrote truly heinous things against African Americans. While this tactic proved to be effective in bringing more women together in the fight for the vote, was this sacrifice really worth it? It’s hard to say, given that the Nineteenth Amendment was eventually passed by Congress and women were granted the right to vote in America. The question is that would women have won the right to vote had these feminist leaders not resorted to racist sentiment in order to gain followers?

Since Stanton and Anthony have been immortalized in American history due to their efforts in the name of women’s rights, their words will live on forever. The fact that such racist sentiments are attached to their names leaves a deep scar on their legacies, in my opinion. How are we supposed to support a cause for equality between the sexes when they don’t support equality between races? The compromises that people make for the sake of their causes can seriously alter the way in which history views their story.

These ideas are still very relevant today. Donald Trump is constantly called xenophobic, homophobic, and racist by countless people and media outlets. These accusations do have some foundations, as the language that he uses in speeches, rallies, and tweets indicates that. However, there is no way for us to truly know what Trump’s real thoughts and feeling are on minorities in this country. While there is no way for us to certainly know if he believes that white people are a superior race, we do know that these campaign tactics were very effective in the 2016 election. Trump tapped into some of the darkest sentiments that exist in this country, and was able to harness those sentiments into votes in his favor. Again, a political figure used questionable tactics to further their cause.

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Upon reading excerpts from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, I couldn’t help but think about how the identity of the author, and how the author identifies themselves, affects the context of whatever work of culture that they bring into the world. Equiano didn’t define himself as African American nor Anglo American, despite spending significant parts of his life in both England and what would be the United States. Instead, he identified himself simply as “the African,” bringing about a new meaning to his narrative and affecting the ways in which it is interpreted today.

In the short biography on Equiano before the chapters, the author brought up The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, another harrowing autobiography written by a freed slave, exposing the atrocities that were bring committed against African Americans as a result of slavery. Last semester, I read The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass for my statesmanship class in Jepson. As I was reading the chapters from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, I immediately noticed similarities in the horrors that both men endured as slaves, making both works truly eye opening and sobering. Why is it then, that The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is still one of the most renowned works of American literature, and Frederick Douglass himself has been immortalized into one of the most important figures in American history? Timing is important to consider here, as Equiano’s autobiography was published much earlier than Douglass’ narrative. Douglass’ campaign for abolition in conjunction with the Civil War made his message much more difficult to ignore.

I also think that it is important to consider identity, though. Douglass undoubtedly an American statesman, and the rhetoric that he used in his autobiography and his speeches was important in his lifelong fight against the institution of slavery. Equiano, however, just identified himself as “the African,” which I think significantly alters the way in which his work is read and understood in today’s context. Identity is an incredibly important factor when talking about a work of cultural resistance.

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