Beloved, By Toni Morrison

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In her fictional novel, Beloved, Toni Morrison sets the story in two main places: Sweet Home and 124 Bluestone Road. Sweet Home is the plantation located in Kentucky where the protagonist of the story, Sethe, is enslaved during the years before the Civil War while 124 Bluestone Road is the new home of Sethe and her daughter, Denver, after they escape the slave states of the South to settle in Cincinnati, Ohio. Sweet Home and 124 Bluestone Road share many similarities, but they also have many differences. Some of the characteristics that the two settings have in common are how both are haunted and debauched. On the other hand, Sweet Home and 124 Bluestone Road differ from each other in how 124 Bluestone Road has more human characteristics, …show more content…

In contrast to Sweet Home, 124 Bluestone Road serves as a home to a greater amount of women. Sethe, Baby Suggs, Denver, and later on Beloved all live in 124 Bluestone Road at one point of the story while the only women at Sweet Home were Mrs. Garner and Sethe. The lack of women at Sweet Home was so profound that the five desperate male slaves (Paul D, Paul F, Paul A, Halle Suggs, and Sixo) were “fucking cows, dreaming of rape, thrashing on pallets, rubbing their thighs and waiting for the new girl” (11). Another significant difference between 124 Bluestone Road and Sweet Home is how 124 is more humanlike and projects more emotion than Sweet Home. As the story progresses through each part, 124 constantly changes its status. In Part One, “124 WAS SPITEFUL” (3). In Part Two, “124 WAS LOUD” (169). In Part Three, “124 WAS QUIET” (239). Strangely enough, the novel says that “124 was so full of strong feeling perhaps she was oblivious to the loss of anything at all” (39). The fact that Morrison refers 124 as a “she,” and the fact that 124 could be spiteful shows how 124 was like an actual character in contrast to Sweet Home, which never displayed any sign of human-like characteristics. The last significant difference between Sweet Home and 124 Bluestone Road is how the plantation represents bondage while …show more content…

She dreams of a better future with Paul D when she is at 124 Bluestone Road but is still challenged with letting go of her past. In fact, the address of the house is an excellent example of Sethe’s inability to let go of her past. She has to overcome the fact that she killed her third child brutally every day and everyone shunning her does not help her cope with the problem. Furthermore, she intended to kill all her children because she was afraid of the possible things schoolteacher would have done to her children such as whipping. Also, every time milk pops up in Sethe's mind, she always concerns herself about how the two nephews of schoolteacher stole her milk. Another notable example of Sethe’s unrelenting past is the haunted house. Sethe is forced to deal with the anger of the haunting house while also having to be responsible for the downfall of her mother-in-law, Baby Suggs, as well as for Beloved. A relatively straightforward and relevant example of Sethe’s history with slavery is the arrival of Paul D after eighteen years. With the arrival of Paul D, Sethe is reminded even more of the horrific experiences with schoolteacher. Sethe’s environment and surroundings can change all they want or stay the same, but her experiences with the horrors of slavery will continue to be on her mind until she dies. Sethe even admits that she

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