Its more than that... - Isaac Barrios Perez

Toni Morrison’s novel “Beloved” is tragic story which explores the repercussions of sexual interactions.  Throughout the novel, countless recollections to rape and sex showcase much of the internal thoughts and development of a character.  Interactions between characters are illuminated in a dark light.  Likewise, sex in society today is referred to as taboo, not socially acceptable to talk about.  Similarly, slavery isn't spoken upon casually, only taught briefly.  So it's not a surprise that the two intertwine within the novel. Sex in the novel awakens memories of slavery a character had previously subsided, and brings them back to haunt them.

Ultimately, Sethe, the main protagonist of the novel, is scared the most.  Back in Sweet Home, the plantation which she escaped from, Sethe’s rape incident had traumatized her for life.  This would eventually lead her to commit the atrocious act of killing her baby, Beloved.  Sethe’s recollection of being raped, justified her action when her supposed slave owner came to reclaim Sethe and her family.  Most people who criticize her decision, might never known what it must have been like to be in her shoes; at both the time of killing her baby, and when she was being raped.  Sethe weighted the outcomes, and decided death was far better than the possibility of her children being rapped and enslaved for life. That was ID working in her head.  ID is one of three components for three parts of the human personality which is a part of Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic personality theory.  According to Freud, it’s the explanation for human behavior.  ID is basic gratification and in this case it was to relieve her children of the burned which is rape by a white man.

Later on, Sethe overcomes her trauma and in doing so, her way of thinking shifts from ID to Ego.  The scenario is recreated again and in defending Beloved she adds reality into her decision.  She faces the threat head on but fails to add morals to her rational.  She satisfies the need to relieve her children by trying to kill the supposed slave owner.  If Sethe defended Beloved using a more peaceful approach her way of thinking would be Super Ego, which is based on judgments of good and bad.  Killing would be extremely bad so Sethe isn't quite at that level, and never quite is at the end of the story. In the article, “Figurations of Rape and the Supernatural in Beloved”, Pamela E. Barnett shares similar ideas.  She explains how rape was used to “dehumanize enslaved persons” and used to “physical[ly] and psychological[ly]” scar black people.  And would eventually torment them throughout their lives.  The biggest example of this would be Sethe, as she is haunted by her memories at Sweet Home.

Paul D is another character whose memories come flowing  back to him because of sex.  For Paul, Beloved was the “catalyst” which made him remember his years enslaved.  Beloved "reminds me of something; something, look like, I'm supposed to remember".  Although Paul doesn't directly say he was reminded about his years enslaved and his experience being raped, it's inferred by the reader because, like Sethe, Paul D once lived on the same plantation s Sethe.  For Paul D, his experience at sweet home left him with a tin heart and ripped away his masculinity and pride he had.  Overall, it may be said that rape, or any traumatic moment for that matter, will forever plague someone and make them feel less of a person.

Can you blame someone that ain't never had things? - Isaac Barrios Perez

I analyzed a quote embedded in chapter twenty-two of Beloved.  Chapter twenty-two comes right off Beloved’s monologue, where she rants about owning Sethe.  The aim of chapter twenty-two is to give Sethe a chance to express her thoughts on Beloved.  The following quote is the introductory paragraph of this chapter:

“I am Beloved and she is mine. I see her take flowers away from leaves she puts them in a round basket the leaves are not for her she fills the basket she opens the grass I would help her but the clouds are in the way how can I say things that are pictures I am not separate from her there is no place where I stop her face is my own and I want to be there in the place where her face is and to be looking at it too a hot thing.”

Sethe opens up chapter twenty two in a fit of rage.  The first sentence introduces the tone to set up the rest of the chapter.  “I am Beloved and she is mine.”  Claiming another human as your property is not something you expect to come out the mouth of a former slave.  Sethe also claims to be Beloved herself, meaning Beloved is a part of her.   As a mother she nurtured and created Beloved in her womb and now her logical is flawed and still holds on to Beloved as an extension of herself, yet Beloved has created her own  image for herself.  They are not the same, the new Beloved isn’t like the old.  She isn’t bound by blood.  Sethe then continues speaking, and the tone of the passage then begins to shift.  Sethe’s tone changes to an anxious and tense one.  Continuing, she describes Beloved’s innocence as gathering flowers and arranging them around a basket.  Sethe shows her love for Beloved, and in this sentence it alludes to a childhood picture she creates.  Sethe has fixed mind set when Beloved is brought up, she still pictures Beloved as child.  A child she never had and a mother daughter bond that she robbed herself.  

Sethe has an urge to help this child version of Beloved.  But she can’t, ”the clouds are in the way”.  The clouds that block her are a roadblock in her head that Sethe has not yet come to terms with.  The memory of Beloved’s death is re-winded in her head and has traumatized her, leaving her with woe.  A couple of words later, and Sethe then recognizes her fantasy is just a picture.  A still image which bound by what the painter drew.  In this case Sethe is the painter and her image of Beloved failed to captivate her love for Beloved.  Although it can be interpreted in many ways, the fact remains that the image is just an inanimate object, not real.  

Later on in the text Sethe becomes envious of Beloved.  “...her face is my own and I want to be there in the place where her face is...” .  This statement is very possessive which supports the super “overprotective mom” theme that resonates through the novel.  Specifically in this chapter ownership over her child is well over what it should be.  Sethe’s approach came off as too serious, when it come to protecting and loving her children.  She doesn't consider morals or reality at this point and only desires instant gratification for her need; demonstrating id in Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory.  Her reasons for coming off so strong can be explained by her experiences at sweet home.  Being raped and beaten scared her and lead to her super “overprotective mom” attitude and possessive vibe.  She doesn’t want any of her children to go through her experience, and in doing so she discarded any logical reasoning behind her thoughts.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but Sethe crosses the line and transcend to a creepy and tragic mental state.  Which isn’t new to her.  Sethe once came to the same mental sate years back when she killed Beloved.

It ironic to think that both Sethe and Beloved think they own each other.  Their thoughts seem trivial and childish, like a rebellious daughter fighting with her strict mother.  In the two chapters, Sethe claims the reason for which Beloved returns is for her.  That she is here for her.  Previously Sethe was a slave, and for her to say that another human came for her, doesn’t add up.  You can interpret it as her motherly instinct claim her child, showcasing the ultimate protection, not as a slave.  But on the other side, Beloved claiming Sethe as hers is more viable justification in my eyes.  My interpretation is that Beloved is claiming Sethe as hers because she owes her something.  Beloved right now is playing the role of slave owner and Sethe is her slave, whom she is torturing until, Sethe performs an apologetic act as a mean for her freedom.

 

The Importance of Possessing a Sense of Self in "Beloved" - Kayleigh Becker

In Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved, many complex issues are explored. Issues such as race, gender, sin, forgiveness, and morality. From these issues, many interpretations of the theme or “hidden meaning” of Beloved can be drawn. When read through a psychoanalytic lens, one main theme stands out as impactful, and is also presented in the article, “The Bonds of Love and the Boundaries of Self in Toni Morrison's Beloved”, by Barbara Schapiro. Through the novel, especially the characters Sethe and Denver, Morrison communicates the message that possessing a sense of self is liberating and empowering, and without it a person can feel sad, lost, and trapped.

In Beloved, through the character of Sethe, Morrison reveals the message that possessing a sense of self gives a person freedom and power, but without it a person can feel sad, lost, and trapped. Schapiro talks about the theme of owning one’s self and the importance of that action in her analysis article of Beloved. She writes that, “The major characters in the novel are all working out of a deep loss to the self, a profound narcissistic wound that results from a breakdown and distortion of the earliest relations between self and other” (Schapiro 197). Many of the characters in Beloved are African Americans who struggle with their painful pasts filled with regret, and as stated by Schapiro, are “working out of a deep loss to the self”. The psychoanalytic lens shows how this “self” is often pushed away into the Id (subconscious) mind, along with the hidden desires and and fears. The horrors of slavery are still fresh in the minds of the characters in Beloved, the last generation of U.S. slaves, and Morrison describes the many atrocities committed against Sethe, her friend Paul D., Baby Suggs, and Sethe’s mother. Through these scenes, she conveys a theme that one is not truly free until they know who they are and claims their freedom for themselves.

Gaining a sense of self is liberating and empowering, and this is shown in Beloved when at last Denver finds hers. Finally escaping from under the shadow of Beloved, Denver searches for a job to support her mother, Sethe, who is wasting away. She gets one from the kindly Mrs. Jones, who addresses Denver and sees her as a woman. Denver begins to feel empowered because of this recognition, and “for the first time begins to experience the contours of her own separate self” (Schapiro 206). Finally on her way to being secure in who she is as strong a woman of color, Denver helps her mother and stands up to Beloved. The subconscious and hidden fears and desires break free and Denver is able to live into who she truly is. Having a sense of self empowers and frees Denver, and others also notice the changes in her.

On the other hand, a person without a sense of self feels sad, lost, and even trapped by their own selves. After becoming free from the slavery she was born into, Baby Suggs still struggles with what she has been through. During the years that the ghost of Beloved haunts house number 124, Sethe exclaims that she wants to move. Baby Suggs replies by saying, “Not a house in the country ain't packed to its rafters with some dead Negro's grief” (Morrison 6), her husband being one of them. Till her dying breath, Baby Suggs continues to struggle with her grief and pain. Schapiro makes an interesting point by writing, “Thus Baby Suggs, finally freed from slavery, expresses not the elation of freedom but the deep sadness of not knowing herself, of not being able to read her own story: ‘The sadness was at her center, the desolated center where the self that was no self made its home…’ ” (209. This supports the theme of the importance of finding and owning one’s self in the book Beloved because of how Baby Suggs’ “deep sadness” is caused by the fact that she is subconsciously still a slave trapped by fear who does not know who she is at her center. Similarly, Sethe struggles with knowing herself, placing her identity in her daughter Beloved and her role as a mother instead of looking into herself to find her hidden desires and goals. Without a sense of self, both characters are trapped, depressed, and have lost sight of who they are.

Through the novel, especially by the character of Sethe, Morrison communicates the message that possessing a sense of self is liberating and empowering, and without it a person can feel sad, lost, and trapped. Reading Beloved through a psychoanalytic lens, a reader notices the important differences between what a character does and says consciously and what they actually think and feel subconsciously. The subconscious and conscious mind determines what people do, think, and want. As Toni Morrison says in Beloved, “Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another” (111-112).

Why I Chose This Lens - Isaac Barrios Perez

I chose to read Beloved through the psychoanalytic lens.  First of what are psychoanalytic lens?  The psychoanalytic lens is a way to view a piece of literature with the specific reason.  In this case the psychoanalytic lens focuses on the subconscious mind of a character.  You look at the emotions and inner conflicts the character is having and derive your own meaning from it.  The brain to this day is still a mystery that we are constantly asking questions about.  Trying to understand how the brain works and why has always been one of my fascination.  Although we are far from fully grasping the knowledge of the brain, there a few stuff we speculate happens within our brain.

Dr. Freud, to me at least, is the founder of the psycho lens.  An Australian neurologist, Dr. Freud, theorized three part to a human personality: Id, ego, and superego.  This was a surprise to me knowing that subconsciously we have three types of personalities.  So I began to research on his theory.  The Id I found was was the instant desire to have something.  If you don't meet this desire you become anxious and act without thinking.  After I read this, I had a "yeah I know that feeling" moment.  Looking back, there were a lot of times where I did something without really thinking of about the consequences of my actions.  Following up, ego is mostly about thinking about your consequences.  You think about the consequences before you decide to engage in any action.  Like Id, I noticed ego in my decisions and actions.  I noticed that ego kicked in in higher stake scenarios.  Where, there are two outcomes and you have to decide which is better.  Sometimes from there, you consult your morals, whether your actions is either good or bad.  Adding morals takes ego to the next level which is superego.  All in all, It will be interesting diving into the mind of Toni Morrison.

Rape and Trauma in Beloved - Elias Acosta

The scholarly article, “Figurations of Rape and the Supernatural in Beloved” takes an in depth analysis of the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison. The articles claims that rape was a large part of the trauma of the novel since many of the characters have been raped in the past. The articles also claims that Beloved is a supernatural creature hungry for Sethe’s attention. It also calls for attention on rape and claims that it is not only an issue between a male perpetrator and a female victim. In my opinion I believe that the article does a great job of looking into the issue and I mostly agree with the points it makes of the book.

When looking at the novel, Beloved, it is clear that rape encompasses the lives of most of the characters in the book. Particularly the slaves and people of color are the victims of this terrible deed. The perpetrators of rape are the white people of the novel, especially Schoolteacher, a sadistic man in charge of the Sweet Home Plantation. The ex-slaves have endured through a lifetime of abuse under cruel slave owners. Rape is an issue that comes out throughout the novel. There are many types of rape in the novel. The article shows examples of rape through the perspectives of Sethe and Paul D. Sethe has endured rape since she was living in Sweet Home. She was sexually assaulted by the boys who “took her milk,” meaning that they not only physically abused her, but left a mental scar that refuses to heal. Sethe fears over the white men because she feels as if they are coming to take her children or rape her. This defense mode is an effect of years of suffering in the novel. The novel also shows how rape and abuse has traumatized Paul D. While he was imprisoned, the guards would force them to commit sexual acts beyond their will. Thue leaving Paul D in a sense of trauma due to the things he endured while in the chain gang. This is further proven by Morrison’s use of term “Red Heart. Red heart. Red heart” (138). This could mean the Beloved somehow has the power to seduce Paul D and open that metaphoric tin box he carries with the memories of, “Alfred, Georgia, Sixo, schoolteacher, Halle, his brothers, Sethe, Mister, the taste of iron, the sight of butter, the smell of hickory, notebook paper, one by one,” that he keeps, “lodged in his chest”, and “by the time he got to 124 nothing in this world could pry it open”(133). The tin box serves to be like a recollection of memories of the past that seem to follow Paul D. The article points out that Beloved serves as a “catalyst for Paul D's recollection of his past” (Barnett). In chemistry a catalyst is a substance that reduces the energy needed for a reaction to happen. Therefore this can mean that Beloved stirs up the past to inflict pain on her victims. It is interesting to see how at first Paul D claims that nothing can pry open his tin box, however through Beloved’s seduction she is able to achieve it. When he says Red heart it reminds me of rawness and it could mean that Paul D has fully opened up and is feeling the emotions of the past in the flesh. Red has the connotation of power, love, and desire, since blood is red this term reminded me of a bleeding heart. This shows that Paul D is vulnerable to the pain of the past.


Through an in depth analysis of Beloved and Sethe’s relationship, it is clear that Beloved is trying to consume Sethe as an act of revenge for killing her as a child. The article portrays Beloved as a succubus, a mythical creature filled with sexual desire, that is out to seduce men and fill in the void left in from the pasts of the characters of 124 (Barnett). Beloved shows up as 124 as a weak woman, after Sethe and Denver nurse her back to health, she becomes close to them almost like a sister. Beloved seems to really like Sethe, she knows things about her and asks her questions like about her earrings and other things of Sethe’s past. It isn’t until Sethe finds Beloved singing a familiar song that Sethe made up and sang it to her children, that she realizes that Beloved is in fact her deceased daughter. After a series of events Beloved soon begins to suck in the life of Sethe, making her weaker, “The bigger Beloved got, the smaller Sethe became. She sat in the chair licking her lips like a chastised child while Beloved ate up her life, took it, swelled up with it, grew taller on it. And the older woman yielded it up without a murmur” (294-295). In this quote we see that Beloved is taking up the energy of Sethe. This symbolic leaching of life can be compared to that of a pest the feeds on the host. I agree with the article’s interpretation of Beloved as a character that is spiteful and wants to seek revenge on Sethe since she killed her as a child. I also see that Beloved is like a reminder of everyone's own faults and the fact that one day they have to own up to it. This is further reassured when Sethe goes after whom she believes is Schoolteacher. Once she did the right thing then Beloved disappeared thus meaning that Sethe has come to terms with her past. It is also interesting to see that all the characters seem to forget beloved as if she was a “bad dream” (323). That meant that this was some form of psychological trauma left from years of oppression as slaves. Through the psychoanalytical lens we can infer that maybe Beloved was an ominous spirit created by the characters in 124 since they all come to terms with their life and grow throughout the book.


While rape can be commonly asserted to a male perpetrator and a female victim, in the book Beloved, that is not the case. Morrison decides to include multiple forms of rape including homosexual rape. The article affirms that the characters were raped on multiple occasions however we get a glimpse of homosexual rape when Paul D is in the chain gang. Morrison chooses to show this aspect to make us realize that women were not the only victims of rape. The whole experience with the chain gang in the south made Paul D traumatized since it was something that he did not want to do, he was forced or death was the punishment. It is interesting to see that Paul D did not chose death over this treatment as Sethe deemed right when she killed her children. It shows us that both characters have different perspectives on life based on what happened in their lives. This can also explain why Paul D is terrified of Sethe's actions on killing her children. He seems to have the drive to persevere in his life. Throughout the book we see that he has this perseverance but after he moves out of Sethe’s house it all goes downhill. Once he is able to come back, is when things are reasonably better for him.

"They Took My Milk" - Rodrigo Cuevas-Kells

Toni Morrison’s novel, “Beloved” is constantly trifled with the theme of rape and how that affects the main characters in the novel. Sethe is affected because it clouds her judgement of what is morally right and wrong when it comes to pivotal moments in the novel. Paul D himself is a victim of rape and is psychologically affected because after the traumatic event he thinks of himself as less of a man. Every person is affected by extreme trauma in their own forms and for both Sethe and Paul D it's something that they struggle to deal with.

Assistant professor of English Pamela Barnett, goes into detail about these events and goes into an analytical analysis of the psychological aspect of the characters survival of the events. Barrett mentions how,“Sethe kills her child so that no white man will ever "dirty" her, so that no young man with "mossy teeth" will ever hold the child down and suck her breasts”Morrison(80). This can be explained with Sethe psychological trauma of her past from being constantly raped at sweet home. For a person who experiences extreme forms of trauma like rape in this instance it's difficult to think like others in terms of what you believe is a necessary action for critical event because they see other drastic measures that need to be taken. When Sethe attempts to justify her actions to kill her daughter is because she know how dehumanizing the world really is. She knows what's in store for her if school teacher captures her and her babies specifically Beloved. Sethe like any other rational parent wants to protect her child from the horrors of the world but the way she choses to go about this is questioned. Paul D calls her out on her judgment by saying that Sethe’s love,“is too thick” Morrison(164). Paul D believes that Sethe’s love for her children is too strong for her own children's sake. She went so far as to kill her baby so she would not have to face the horrors that she once had to face at an earlier point in time. This relates to the theme of traumas of rape because Sethe herself mentions several times,“they took my milk” Morrisson(19). She wants Beloved to not have to experience someone stealing her milk as well, continuing the constant nightmare that rape victims face. Sethe cannot think as logically as other characters like Paul D because she is traumatized by her passed and that clouds her judgement, to Sethe being raped is a fate worse than death so she thinks she needs to take it upon herself to protect her baby like any mother would, its nurturing in the most deadly way possible.

Barnett mentions in her analysis that Paul D is himself a victim of rape and how that forces himself to see himself as less of a man and to repress his history to try and move past it. She uses the phrase, “not man enough” to bring this point across. Paul D feels like he isn't the person he should be a strong man instead of weak. Beloved forces herself on Paul D and in a way also forces Paul D’s self respect to leave him. He tries to constantly forget the traumatic events that happen to him but Beloved’s forceful sexual assault on him makes him relive it all over again. She triggers the bad memories that he has tried to suppress, and it's interesting to note that he’s remembering these event not after the event but during. Victims of rape usually try to have the event blocked in their mind because it triggers something strong in their mind. Paul D is having all of his horrors relieved again because of Beloved and how she made him less of a person similar to how school teacher made him feel like,“less than a chicken sitting in a tub” Morrison (102-103). She makes him recall the events from his past that he has tried to repress and forget about to move on with his life but cannot because his event were triggered. Psychologically Paul D is somewhat damaged but not to the extent of Sethe. Paul D has done a better job of repressing his past. Beloved opens up old wounds for him that he wished to keep locked away but forces them to the surface, making Paul D feel how he used to feel when he thought of himself as less of a man.

"I heard your mother is a killer" - Kayleigh Becker

“She was so happy she didn't even know she was being avoided by her classmates… It was Nelson Lord--the boy as smart as she was--who put a stop to it; who asked her the question about her mother that put chalk, the little i and all the rest that those afternoons held, out of reach forever. She should have laughed when he said it, or pushed him down, but there was no meanness in his face or his voice. Just curiosity. But the thing that leapt up in her when he asked it was a thing that had been lying there all along. She never went back. The second day she didn't go, Sethe asked her why not. Denver didn't answer. She was too scared to ask her brothers or anyone else Nelson Lord's question because certain odd and terrifying feelings about her mother were collecting around the thing that leapt up inside her.” (120-121)

Reading a text through the Psychoanalytic lens requires the reader to pay attention to the internal and emotional conflicts of characters. The lens focuses on the subconscious goings-on of the characters -- the things that they might not be outwardly expressing. The Psychoanalytic lens explores why characters act they way they do and what hidden desires and fears the characters, author, or reader might have. A common way to look through the psychoanalytic lens is by showing how each of the characters represents a piece of something inside all of us.

In the book Beloved, main character Sethe’s daughter, Denver, flashes back to a time in her life when she went to a school run by an African American named Lady Jones, who reaches out to the underprivileged colored children of Cincinnati. Denver remembers it as a time when she was truly happy; happy to be learning, happy with herself, and happy to be making her mother, grandmother, and brothers proud. Happy until, that is, she is confronted by classmate Nelson Lord about her mysterious family.

In this flashback, a portion of Denver’s inner conflict is revealed. Denver knows that there is something not quite normal about her family and the house they live in, but as a little girl at school surrounded by her “normal” peers, she longs to be normal and unnoticed. When she is confronted by Nelson Lord, the “thing” that leaps up inside of her is her id. An id is the part of the mind that is the passionate, impulsive, and irrational. It is subconscious and hidden, but can influence the whole body. The feelings, experiences, and truths about Denver’s family are collected in her id, and she has tried to suppress and hide them. At Nelson Lord’s questions, they “[leap] up in her”, and she runs. Even in the safety of her home she struggles to suppress “the thing”. Denver’s conflict leads her to run and hide instead of face her peers. She gives up the thing she loves the most because her id is irrationally afraid and too embarrassed to deal with the questions Denver is faced with at school.

Although it is not specifically stated (a gap of evidence in the quote), it is implied that the questions Denver is asked by the innocently curious Nelson Lord are about her mother, Sethe, and the infanticide that takes place when Denver is a newborn baby. This horrific event would impact any child’s emotional development and growth, even more so if the act was committed by a close family. Denver has to cope every day with the well-known fact that her own mother killed her sister and attempted to kill Denver and her older brothers to prevent them from being captured into slavery. This is a main theme in Beloved, Sethe’s love for her children, her sacrifice, and how her actions in the past continue to haunt her in the present.

Denver goes to school, struggles to fit in, and hopes that the subject of her infamous mother will not be discussed. As soon as it is, Denver copes by running away and secluding herself in her house where the subject is not touched. Her desires of a normal life and a relationship with her dead sister are again swept under the bed, and Denver is once again a vulnerable little girl. At home, her knowledge of what happened “collects” around “the thing” inside that can not rest--her id-- and she struggles silently, too afraid to ask about it