Denver’s brothers laid crippled in horror as their mother abused them and killed their two-year old sister in a wood-shed. Denver unsuccessfully coped with the loss and demonic image she had of her mother. For years she woke up everyday terrified of Sethe, unable to comprehend what caused her mother to act so savagely, All the time, I’m afraid the thing that happened that made it all right for my mother to kill my sister could happen again… Whatever it is, it comes from outside this house, outside the yard...So I never leave this house and I watch over the yard, so it can’t happen again and my mother won’t have to kill me. (242) She grew up alone, as her brothers ran away, living each day tormented by her thoughts and her family’s past. Her family’s past haunted her …show more content…
day after day, eventually causing her to leave school. One classmate, Nelson Lord, asked her, "Didn't your mother get locked away for murder? Wasn't you in there with her when she went? It was the second question that made it impossible for so long to ask Sethe about the first" (123). Denver’s inability to escape her mental torture possibly originates from the way the community thought of her family, however, it also corresponds with her own thoughts. This only proves more so that she grew up tormented by her thoughts and desperation for her mother’s love and acceptance as she could not handle the truth about her life. Denver’s internal struggles led her past the breaking point.
She craved companionship, even seeking out the friendship of the ghost of her baby sister and growing envious of those fond of her mother. Denver left the community as she spent each day inside her home, 124. She wanted a motherly figure to be there for her. In childhood, love is a necessity. Growing up terrified of her mother and without companions truly negatively affected Denver’s mindset. When Beloved returned as a person, Denver experienced the feelings she had been longing for, “It was lovely. Not to be stared at, not seen, but being pulled into view by the interested, uncritical eyes of the other...Needing nothing. Being what there was” (139). This leads the reader to understand Morrison’s message. The author wanted to show how a troubled life brings around mental torment. Denver longed for affection so desperately, she constantly questioned those she loved. She wondered why Beloved gave others more attention at times and why Sethe demonstrated more concern for Beloved’s wellbeing. Living inside of her thoughts became the root cause of her never leaving 124 in the majority of the novel, and never escaping her ceaseless internal
conflict. Morrison also concentrates on creating an emotionally unstable adult. At first glance, one could assume that Paul D had gained mental strength for seeking out Sethe after his journeys and perseverance. This, however, is the opposite, because the self-diminishing way Schoolteacher and others forced Paul D to live lead to a lifetime of inner conflict. The rooster, Mister, at Sweet Home, caused Paul D to fall into one of his lowest state of minds, “Mister was allowed to be and stay what he was. But I wasn’t allowed to be and stay what I was...I was something else and that something was less than a chicken sitting the sun on a tub” (86). Schoolteacher emotionally scarred Paul D and other slaves into questioning their worth. Paul D could not fathom how, as a human, slavery could forbid his humanity. The rooster could walk more freely than a grown man tied with a bit. Schoolteacher acted brutally and selfishly, shaming Paul D of his existence for the rest of his life, even after Schoolteacher no longer existed in Paul D’s life.
Previously, the narrator has intimated, “She had all her life long been accustomed to harbor thoughts and emotions which never voiced themselves. They had never taken the form of struggles. They belonged to her and were her own.” Her thoughts and emotions engulf her, but she does not “struggle” with them. They “belonged to her and were her own.” She does not have to share them with anyone; conversely, she must share her life and her money with her husband and children and with the many social organizations and functions her role demands.
In the great story of a young girls triumph over poverty, rejection and innumerable failures as a child, she will unfortunately never truly prosper as an adult in the world in which she lives. Our protagonist, Sara Smolinsky who is the youngest of the four Smolinsky girls, has the most motivation in life to be independent, and fend for herself. However to achieve this goal she would need to break loose of the family chain and peruse a life elsewhere. It appears she has done so as she runs away from home seeking an education. Six years or so go by and she has more than fulfilled her dream of independence, however as members of her family take on life threatening sickness she once again feels the need to come home, and falls back under the spell of family obligation. As for other characters in the book, the same problem with familial duties always interferes with what one truly wants.
The essay is Didion’s account of a visit she made to her family house in the Central Valley of California for her daughter’s first birthday and how she found herself facing her past at every turn. According to Didion, family life was “the source of all tension and drama” in her life. She mentions over and over that being home gave her a sense of unease, “some nameless anxiety”, but despite this she suggests that home, and the emotional baggage that came with leaving home, defined the character of her generation and she sees it as essential in having formed her personality. Didion ends the essay with the rather upsetting revelation that she “would like to give [her daughter] home for her birthday but we live differently
life was not always peaches and cream.She had a difficult childhood, her abusive father caused her mom
From the very beginning of Beloved I have found something very striking about Denver's mannerisms toward Beloved. She is extremely possessive of her sister, not allowing Sethe to assist in caring for the young woman when she is ill. She treasures her time alone with Beloved while Sethe is at work in the restaurant more than anything in her life at that point. She is driven by a hunger to know about the mysterious history of her sister; a hunger that cannot be satisfied by her responses to Sethe and Paul D's simple questions. She furthermore appears to be completely devastated, throwing herself into a blinding and violent rage in the midst of the cold house, when she believes she has been abandoned by the third and most precious of her siblings. It is an attraction that evidently lies in something more complex and difficult to understand than mere sisterly love; it lies rather in the unsettling sense of desperation on Denver's part to be essentially one with Beloved.
who wanted to enter her life, she is left alone after her father’s death. Her attitude
Looking back on the death of Larissa’s son, Zebedee Breeze, Lorraine examines Larissa’s response to the passing of her child. Lorraine says, “I never saw her cry that day or any other. She never mentioned her sons.” (Senior 311). This statement from Lorraine shows how even though Larissa was devastated by the news of her son’s passing, she had to keep going. Women in Larissa’s position did not have the luxury of stopping everything to grieve. While someone in Lorraine’s position could take time to grieve and recover from the loss of a loved one, Larissa was expected to keep working despite the grief she felt. One of the saddest things about Zebedee’s passing, was that Larissa had to leave him and was not able to stay with her family because she had to take care of other families. Not only did Larissa have the strength to move on and keep working after her son’s passing, Larissa and other women like her also had no choice but to leave their families in order to find a way to support them. As a child, Lorraine did not understand the strength Larissa must have had to leave her family to take care of someone else’s
Before Beloved comes to 124, Denver was not able to learn much about the past because of Sethe’s inability to experience the past again. She feels left out because she is not involved. This causes her to consume herself in the events of the past. Denver also starts out very shy. When Paul D first comes to 124, he and Sethe reminisce about the past. Denver says, “How come everybody run off from Sweet Home can’t stop talking about it? Look like if it was so sweet you would have stayed” (17). Sethe replies, “Girl, who you talking to” (16). Sethe’s surprised tone shows this is not normal behavior for Denver and she is usually much more soft-spoken. Denver’s outspoken behavior comes from her frustration with her ignorance of the past. Denver also locks her self away from the rest of the world before Beloved comes. After the incident with Nelson Lord, Denver “never went back” to Lady Jones’ house (121). Denver was cut off from the outside world even more when “she walked in a silence too solid for penetration” (121). Denver’s hearing returned “by the sound of her dead sister trying to climb the stairs” (122). The dense diction used by Morrison shows Denver’s deafness was very powerful. Denver believes Beloved got her hearing back for Denver, which makes Denver look to Beloved to solve her problems later in the novel. This makes Denver and Beloved’s relationship even more powerful because something very strong had to happen to bring back Denver’s hearing and Beloved was it. Unlike the other characters in the novel, Denver refers to Beloved as an actual family member and not just a baby further connecting the two characters. Before Beloved returns to 124 in person, Denver has a connection with her spirit and she relies on her companionship.
The Narrator’s family treats her like a monster by resenting and neglecting her, faking her death, and locking her in her room all day. The Narrator’s family resents her, proof of this is found when the Narrator states “[My mother] came and went as quickly as she could.
Through both novels the hardships of relationships deem to be the most direct causation of the oppression of the blacks. For example in Beloved the relationship between Sethe and Denver deem to be in trouble. As Denver says ‘I think I’ve lost my mother Paul D’ highlights the emotional detachment Denver feels towards Sethe; followed by the possible strain caused by Beloved’s appearance. Denver’s use of ‘I think’ conveys uncertainty and confusion in their relationship; or whatever relationship they still possess. On the other hand it can be argued that Morrison is trying to present the ‘I think’ shows connotations of isolation that Denver feels. This is further supported by the possessiveness of ‘my mother’ as if to show that despite the isolation
A breathtaking saga of a young girl’s tragic memories of her childhood. As with Ellen, Gibbons’ parents both died before she was twelve-years-old, forming the family. basis of the plot and themes of this novel. The fond memories she possessed of her mother and the harsh ones of her father are reflected in the thoughts and actions of Ellen. The simplistic and humble attitude that both Gibbons and Ellen epitomizes in the novel is portrayed through diction and dialogue.
Toni Morrison's novel, Beloved, reveals the heartbreak love and its power to throw an individual into an internal battle against himself. In the beginning of the novel, Sethe, the main character, is seen as a woman who as a woman that has submitted to an isolated life and who cares not to interact with others around her. Yet, this has not always been the case. Sethe was once a woman so full of love. She had admired her husband, Halle, her four young children, Denver, Howard, Buglar, and Beloved, and she the days of the Clearing. And thus, when Sethe had finally reached 124, she fell faint. She had loved too much.
Their repression and dissociation from the past causes a fragmentation of the self and a loss of true identity. They all experience this loss and Beloved serves to remind these characters of this repressed memories; to face them and overcome them. Her role eventually causes the reintegration of their selves. Without Beloved's appearance, Denver would have been much less likely to integrate herself into the community. She had been housebound for many years and had been taught to fear the world outside of 124. Once Beloved began to reveal her ulterior motives for Sethe, Denver gained a stronger sense of purpose and joined the world. In doing so, she healed her psychological trauma in a way that would most likely not have happened without
Morrison know in order to survive must focus on the present in order to not let guilt and shame destroy identity. That is what Denver symbolizes. Despite Denver obsessive “love” of Beloved, the interaction between Sethe and Beloved is troubling. Beloved ‘s belly got bigger, eating all the food in the hous consuming everything and take all the best things first. Simultaneously, Sethe became more weak and more sick. Denver realizes “The job she started out with, protecting Beloved from Sethe, changed to protecting her mother from Beloved” (Morrison 286). Sethe allows Beloved to emotionally and mentally abuse her because she feels guilty for Beloved’s death. Beloved is the past, and Sethe has to be pushed by it. Denver know better: Beloved will
Helen’s early life was very much shaped by her loss and abandonment. The greatest loss Helen experienced was the death of her parents. As she was orphaned by the age of six, it left her with great grief, darkened childhood memories and bewilderment of where she truly belonged. She eventually found her position as a labourer in her uncle’s house. After working on her uncle’s farm for two years and being denied an opportunity for education, she faced the most significant abandonment in her life: being turned