Week 9 Beloved

    This is week 9 on feelingsonbooks.com, and this week I read the third and final part of Toni Morrison’s book, Beloved. I have to say that this book has had me confused from the very beginning as to what was happening and where the main characters were going to end up. The fractured language dialogue used in this story had me scratching my head for understanding most of the time. Now that I have been trying to work through the puzzles and pieces that Morrison so carefully fit together, the mysterious appearance of the woman Beloved and her whole existence which had such an impact on the lives of every person who lived at 124 became nothing but a faded bad memory. Sethe had been avoiding dealing with her feelings and memories of the guilt she had of taking the life of her baby girl when she was but a girl herself. I feel that her mental struggles since the incident greatly contributed to her need to give this woman everything she desired and more, leaving Denver and herself with nothing. 

    I was so proud of Denver when she chose to reach out to the ladies of the community for help to get rid of the ghost and Beloved. It showed her maturity and her own strength that she knew she couldn’t do it on her own, that she would need help. Baby Suggs helped give the community the compassion and strength it needed through her sermon in the clearing about loving all parts of themselves, even the parts they learned, maybe the more undesirable parts. Through these words, the ladies were able to find the way to help Denver rid 124 of the ghost through an exorcism, and the surprise arrival of the schoolteacher that sent Sethe into a crazy fit thinking it was her ex-owner and attacked the poor man, fortunately and unfortunately helped to release the ghost and mysteriously disappear the woman, Beloved, leaving Denver and Sethe finally free of the bonds that bound them to the life of slavery of the past and to the house that was haunted by bad feelings and memories. They could finally move forward with their lives. The return of Paul D at the end of the story, and Denver leaving 124 to live her own life reinforced this. 

    What did you think would happen to Sethe and Denver? Did you think the community would come to help when Denver asked them for help, or did you think they would ignore the situation like they had always done in the past? What did you think when Denver chose to leave and then Paul D came back and the end?  

    There are so many more questions that can be asked about this confusing novel written by Toni Morrison. Thanks for visiting my blog and happy reading!