User:Beloved Major Works Data Sheet

Austin Williams, Arthur Whitehead, Travis Hooper

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Beloved by Toni Morrison was published in 1987 and is a contemporary novel.

Characteristics of the Genre

As a contemporary novel, Beloved also resembles the ghost story, a mystery, and a work of historical fiction. Morrison's novel is steeped in popular black culture, its music and folklore. Her novels juxtapose and combine joy and pain, laughter and tears, and love and death. These same combinations are the essence of blues, jazz, and spirituals. The tradition of black female writers is also a strong factor--Phyllis Wheatley and Lucy Terry (1st published black females in America who were also slaves), Zora Neal Hurston (Harlem Renaissance), and Maya Angelou and Alice Walker (Women's Rights Movement and Black Rights Movement). She relies heavily on both oral tradition, and the slave narrative. Writing in the 20th century, Toni Morrison's purpose is still a corrective one: the history of slavery must not be forgotten. Her purpose is to 'fill in the blanks that the traditional slave narrative left.'

About Toni Morrison

Childhood

Toni Morrison, born Chloe Ardelia Wofford, was born on February 18, 1931 in Lorain, Ohio. Her parents were Ramah and George Wofford. George Wofford was a hard-working man who often worked three jobs to support his family and Ramah Wofford was a church-going woman who sang in the choir. They were proud of their heritage and they instilled that pride in Morrison through folk stories and songs throughout her childhood.

Education & Career

After high school Morrison went to Howard University where she received a B.A. in English. Later, she earned a Master of Arts degree in English from Cornell University. She taught English at Texas Southern University then moved back to Howard University to teach English. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved in 1988 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993. Morrison taught English at two branches of the State University of New York. In 1984 she was appointed to an Albert Schweitzer chair at the University at Albany. From 1989 until her retirement in 2006, Morrison held the Robert F. Goheen Chair in the Humanities at Princeton University. She established a residency at Oberlin College earlier this year. She has written several books including The Bluest Eye, Sula, and Song of Solomon.

Life

In 1958 she married Harold Morrison. They had two children, Harold and Slade, and they divorced in 1964. She has not remarried. I thought there would be more to put here.

Historical Significance

Invention of the Cotton Gin

The Cotton Gin quickly separated cotton from its seeds. This job traditionally took lots of time and effort to achieve in mass amounts. It turned cotton into a majorly profitable business. Because of the cotton gin, Cotton production expanded from 750,000 bales in 1830 to 2.85 million bales in 1850. The number of slaves increased with the mass production of cotton, increasing from around 700,000 in 1790 to around 3.2 million in 1850. The cotton gin is widely considered to be the start of the Industrial Revolution.

Margaret Garner

She was an enslaved African American woman in pre-Civil War America who was notorious - or celebrated - for killing her own daughter rather than allow the child to be returned to slavery. She and her family escaped across the Ohio River to Cincinnati, but were captured by slave catchers shortly after. Obviously her story has parallels to Sethe's, this is no accident, Garner was the inspiration for Beloved.

Fugitive Slave Law

The fugitive slave laws were laws passed by the United States Congress in 1793 and 1850 to provide for the return of slaves who escaped from one state into another state or territory.

Dred Scott Case

It was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court made in 1857. It held that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in the territories, and that people of African descent (both slave and free) were not protected by the Constitution and were not U.S. citizens. Since passage of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the decision has not been a precedent case, but retains historical significance as perhaps the worst decision ever made by the Supreme Court.

Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation is a military order issued to the Army and Navy of the United States by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. It was based on the president's constitutional authority as commander in chief of the armed forces; it was not a law passed by Congress. It proclaimed all slaves in Confederate territory to be forever free; that is, it ordered the Army to treat as free men the slaves in ten states that were still in rebellion, thus applying to 3.1 million of the 4 million slaves in the U.S. The Proclamation lifted the spirits of African Americans both in the Southern and Northern States, it led to people freeing themselves, being freed by the Union army and eventually the Thirteenth Amendment.

Thirteenth Amendment

The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution outlaws slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, by the House on January 31, 1865, and adopted on December 6, 1865.

Ku Klux Klan

Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right[6][7][8][9] organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically expressed through terrorism. In their early existence they terrorized African Americans with violence and murder.

Reconstruction

In the history of the United States, the term Reconstruction Era has two senses: the first covers the complete history of the entire U.S. from 1865 to 1877 following the Civil War; the second sense focuses on the transformation of the Southern United States from 1863 to 1877, as directed by Washington, with the reconstruction of state and society. From 1863 to 1869, Presidents Abraham Lincoln, and Andrew Johnson took a moderate position designed to bring the South back to normal as soon as possible, while the Radical Republicans (as they called themselves) used Congress to block the moderate approach, impose harsh terms, and upgrade the rights of the Freedmen.

Summary

At the beginning of the novel Paul D, a former slave whom Sethe has not seen since they worked at Sweet Home, shows up at her doorstep. He begins to integrate into 124 despite opposition from Denver, Sethe's daughter. Paul D finally begins to earn Denver's trust with a trip to a carnival, but on their return, they have an unexpected visitor. A young woman is on their porch. After prodding they find that her name is Beloved, which happens to be the only word on Sethe's dead daughter's gravestone. The ladies of the house bond while Paul D is pushed around from room to room by Beloved until he moves to the woodshed, where his interaction with Beloved culminates in her forcing him to have sex with her. A character from 124's past, Stamp Paid, tells Paul D about what Sethe did to her daughter years before, he doesn't believe it, but asks Sethe about it. When she confirms it, it is too much for him. He says "You got two legs Sethe, not four." before he leaves 124. Without Paul D's presence the girls continue to get closer until there is no room for Denver as Beloved takes over and begins sucking the life out of Sethe and 124. Denver must seek outside help, outside being very unfamiliar to her. She receives help from several women throughout the Cincinnati community and eventually they make their appearance at 124 to offer substantial help. Beloved is exercised by the coming together of the community, Denver keeps a job with the Bodwins, and Paul D returns to Sethe's side to help with her burdens.

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Author's Style

Morrison uses the present tense throughout Beloved, although the narrative spans a period of some fifty years. Moreover, the reader are often denied vital knowledge. The shifting voice of the narrator, which flits in and out of different characters' thoughts, conveys a similar process of defamiliarisation for the reader. In Section Two there are four sections that represent the interior monologues of Sethe, Denver, and Beloved. The language in these sections are highly repetitive and circular. This style is called stream of consciousness. She uses numerous metaphors that are self-reflexive, referring a context and experiences already established by the novel.

Imagery

The Dehumanization of Slaves

Sethe being milked like a cow.
Schoolteacher spitting on Sethe and calling her an animal.
Paul D "counting Sethe's feet."
Paul D being subjected to the iron bit.
The rooster, Mister, holding itself over the slaves.

Naming

Baby Suggs being called Jenny by her master.
Denver being named after the woman who helped deliver her, Amy Denver.
Paul A, Paul F and Paul D sharing the same name.
Beloved taking the name on the gravestone.
Stamp Paid changed his own name from Joshua.

The Mother Figure

Mrs. Garner gave Sethe a wedding gift.
Baby Suggs acted as a mother figure to the entire community in the clearing.
Amy Denver nursed Sethe back to health and helped deliver her child.
Sethe tried to kill her children in order to protect them.
Lady Jones was a mother figure for all the children she taught, including Denver.

Community and Family

The community expelled Beloved by accepting Sethe for the first time in a long time.
Baby Suggs brought the community together in the clearing.
Beloved represented communal memory.
Halle bought his mother out of slavery.
Sethe sent her children ahead of her to Ohio to ensure their safety.

The Burden of the Past

The tree on Sethe's back represented her past.
Paul D's tobacco tin heart.
The baby ghost.
Baby Suggs body was busted because of slavery.
Denver went deaf when she learned the truth about her past.

Water/Liquids

Denver nursing milk along with her sister's blood.
The reference to Beloved crossing a bridge, implying her being in the water.
Sethe's milk being taken from her.
Halle covering himself in butter.
Sethe cleaning herself with water when she sees Paul D again.]

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Characters

Sethe – mother - Kills her daughter so she would not be a slave
Beloved - “reincarnated daughter” “Sethe’s dead mother” - symbol of reconciliation and guilt; causes unrest in 124
Denver - youngest daughter of Sethe - represents growth that freedom can cause
Paul D - slave with Sethe - distraction from Beloved, companion for Sethe
Baby Suggs - Halle’s mother, grandmother, and preacher - voice of reason, and cause for the Misery
Stamp Paid - bringer of freedom to Sethe - shows Paul D the newspaper clipping that unravels the family
Ella - worked for the Underground Railroad - leader of intervention for Sethe and Beloved
Lady Jones – teacher - helps Denver provide for her family
Mr. Garner - former slave owner of Sweet Home - gives slaves some human characteristics
Mrs. Garner - wife of Mr. Garner - gives Sethe diamond earrings
Schoolteacher - new owner of Sweet Home - takes Sethe’s milk, reason for the Misery
The Bodwins - help free slaves - help Denver in her time of need and bring Sethe back to sanity
Halle - Sethe’s husband - is absent until news of the butter incident
Sixo - slave with Sethe, Halle and Paul D - laughs while dying
Amy Denver - delivers Denver - saves Sethe’s life

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Setting

Beloved is set during an appalling period in America's history: the years before, during, and immediately after the Civil War. After the Civil War ended, life was still dreadful for black people, whether slaves or freed While the action of the novel covers only a brief time, by use of flashback approximately 50 years is covered. Although other places are mentioned, the two major settings are Sweet Home in Kentucky and 124 Bluestone Road outside Cincinnati, Ohio.

Symbols

Clearing with preaching rock: Symbolic of Baby Sugg’s saving grace; the one thing in life she found herself in, that she could call her own—represents the epiphanic peak that a slave experiences when they are freed and realize what that truly means and what they were wrongfully denied of.
Boat with holes: The boat riddled with holes that Denver is born in symbolizes the safety that one clings to when one is desperate; a boat that would never serve a fisherman’s purpose is a gift from God to Sethe when she needs it most—symbolizes the hope that even a decrepit object can have for someone who has never had anything to help them.
Stamp Paid’s red ribbon: The red ribbon represents every lost life in result to slavery; the innocence lost in the battle to survive. The simplicity of childhood that can never remain when one is raised in such a skewed reality. The red ribbon that is stolen and lost and left clinging to the bottom of a boat with hair and scalp still attached—the lost life still clinging to it.
The dying roses: Symbolizes Sethe’s dying hope; the beautiful thing that’s slowly rotting and decaying due to outside forces. The stench permeates everything and affects everyone, but can still be ignored.
Paul D’s tobacco tin: Symbolizes his heart, closed and hard, unable to be opened. Prevents him from loving “thickly” the way Sethe does, is resistant to his deepest urges and is rusted and weathered from years of abuse. Represents the closed-off isolation people will adopt when they have nothing in the world to depend on.

Old AP Questions

Beloved has been listed on Question #3 the following years: 1990, 1999, 2001, 2002(B), and 2003.

Explanation of Biblical Allusions

28: Ecclesiastes, in the chapter 3 verses 2 to 8, enumerates 28 "times" in these 7 verses: There is a time for giving birth and a time for dying, for planting and for uprooting what has been planted, to kill and heal, to destroy and build, to cry and laughter, to mourn and dance, to throw stones away and to gather them, to embrace and to refrain from embracing, to search and lose, to keep and discard, to tear and sew, for keeping silent and to speak, to love and to hate, and finally a time for war and a time for peace.

28 days of happiness between freedom and the Misery. Time is a big component in the novel, specifically the past. The past pain is repeated with the Misery and the past is brought back with Beloved. There was a time to remember and a time to forgive. But forgiveness is temporary, just like Beloved. Sethe didn’t forgive the community, so she shut them out. But there is a time for everything, even joining together in the hope of how it used to be, like the carnival. There is also a time to love, which Sethe doesn’t understand, because her love is “too thick”. Paul D doesn’t get his time right in hating seethe when she reveals the worst about herself.

Romans 9:25: The novel opens with the following inscription: I will call them my people, which were not my people; And her beloved, which was not beloved.

This reference comes from the Epistle to the Romans, a book of the New Testament written by Apostle Paul. As he prepares to visit Rome, he sends a letter stating his beliefs. He discusses the nature of God’s relationship with humanity and focuses on the sovereignty of God. He also raises the problem of the justice of God, power mixed with mercy, even if it leads to problems. This chapter, despite its examination of the evils on Earth, ends with a note of reconciliation. The word “beloved” is one obvious connection to the book, in that Beloved is the murdered daughter that comes back. In a way, her coming back is an opportunity for Sethe to gain reconciliation for her sin and start to heal her huge burden. We see power mixed with mercy in the action of Beloved’s death in that Sethe took it upon herself to save Beloved from hardship. This also suggests that Beloved is not who she is. Neither is the peace they find in the novel permanent, but leads to a bigger suffering.

Lot’s Wife: When Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, Lot’s wife was warned not to look back. When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, ‘Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in punishment of the city.’ But he lingered; so the men seized him and his wife, and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him forth, they said, ‘Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley; flee to the hills lest you be consumed.’

Lot’s wife is mentioned when Paul D is facing beloved wanting an intimate connection with someone. He says that he feels like Lot’s wife in that if he does this, he will be lost forever. And he is, because he loses what kept him sane- his tobacco tin around his heart. Since he feels the same desire to want to be connected with someone, he is lost too; just like Beloved. She wants the attention from Sethe that Paul D is getting.

Pride: Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

On page 202, Stamp Paid mentions “pride goeth before a fall” when he is describing the communities influence on him. It makes sense, because pride is what keeps Sethe from interacting with the public after the Misery. Stamp says that it is that statement that keeps him from realizing the effect that what he tells Paul D might have on Sethe and especially Denver. This quote is directly correlated with the events in the novel. Suggs takes pride in her feast, the Misery happens. Sethe is confident that Paul D will never leave, he calls her an animal.

Themes

Rememory as a reconciliation process
The redemptive power of community
Humanity's tendency to attempt to justify their past
The dehumanization of slaves and humans in general at the hands of any master.