April 22, 2007
Closing Thoughts...
Thanks to all of you for your thoughtful contributions and reflections all term. This has been a great course, a wonderful community of minds, and, as I mentioned in class, I've learned a great deal from you all. Like Aaron mentioned in his "blog to end all blogs," I think this site did what I set out for it to do: create a collaborative atmosphere for discussion, thoughts, etc. Of course, though, that was only possible because of the energy, thought, and humor you all put into it. I especially liked to see how many of you took the opportunity to take on a different rhetorical voice or to express complete and utter confusion (rather than masking it in certainty). I look forward to my next course when I can take many of your suggestions regarding the blog into effect.
Keep reading this summer and don't hesitate to ask for a suggestion (especially for those who want to verge into the world of seventeenth-century literature...!).
A last note: my suspicion is that this site won't be "shut down" anytime soon, so feel free to update us with your summer adventures...particularly of the temporal sort :).
Posted by lauraaw at 09:38 AM | Comments (0)
April 20, 2007
Finished ㅠ.ㅠ
So we are done. After I turned in my paper yesterday, it suddenly hit me. I couldn't believe that I was finished with this class. No longer do I have to get mesmerized by a book that I spend all night reading it, forgetting to go to sleep. No longer do I have to constantly worry about what to write on my paper. No longer do I have to fold pages upon pages or highlight texts that will never be shared. But, I will miss the in-dept discussion we had. I will miss the presentations we had. I will miss the final cramming for the quiz. Most of all, I miss my class. I hope that everyone will have a wonderful summer and I mean that. Have fun, maybe reading some more and maybe not. Don't forget about me and the class!
Posted by kimkyoun at 09:49 AM | Comments (0)
April 19, 2007
A blog to end them all
Well, just one more blog for the semester. At the beginning, I just kind of considered these to be irritating, but I guess in the end, they actually did pay off. I was able to develope ideas on this site, and as I'm putting the finishing touches of the last paper, which was constructed somewhat though blog entries, I'm glad I participated in this part of the class, it helped me to see different aspects of certain topics in class and what not, plus sometimes these were a somewhat humorous escape from the normally tedious load of class work. Thanks to Laura for a great semester, she made time travel seem interesting and not in the star trek kind of way. Hope everyone has a nice summer, and best wishes and all that other goodbye stuff........
Posted by xajtav at 01:18 AM | Comments (0)
April 17, 2007
Gratitude
I just wanted to take a moment and thank everyone for their part in the class. The discussions we had brought new perspective on the novels and stories, and I don't believe that anyone left the class without considering some new aspect of the literature or writing in general. I also wanted to thank Laura for her exceptional job as our lecturer. There may have been times when a section of the reading or a certain assignment frustrated each of you to no end, but after being in class today, I think it is fair to say that everyone enjoyed the class as a whole. Thank you again to everyone, and good luck on finals and whatever other activities you may partake in. I'll shut up now, but if anyone is still checking this and wants to express their feelings about things but doesn't now where to start, here you go.
Posted by gdejongh at 12:11 PM | Comments (1)
Better Late Than Never
In the final chapter of the novel, Morrison drives home the point that this story is "not a story to pass on" (274). If only she had come to that conclusion at the onset. That's not to say I disliked the book, in fact I think it's quite good. But it really wasn't a pleasurable read by any means. Morrison seems to have a sense for the macabre on par with Poe. Between the breast milk tainted with blood, Sixo laughing while being burned alive, and Beloved running naked through the woods with fish for hair (somehow the creepiest of all) it couldn't have been more disturbing in my mind.
What I find interesting about the final section of the book is how Beloved's impact on Sethe changes. Previously, Sethe had been elated simply by the presence of her resurrected daughter. But now Beloved has become like a tapeworm sucking the life right out of her mother. So with her newfound prosperity, why did Beloved disappear when she did? It seems to me there are two possibilities, though I'm not sure which is correct. Either it was a case of a parasite exhausting the resources of its host (Sethe was wasting away to nothing) or she had fulfilled her "purpose", whatever that may have been. It would seem the latter would have more literary function, but why would Sethe's misguided attack on Mr. Bodwin, a relativiely insignificant character be the culmiation of Beloved's presence in the novel? In the end, I find myself still asking "why?" to a few things from the story and I have yet to come up with a satisfactory answer.
Posted by adall at 01:27 AM | Comments (0)
Beloved
I was wondering what people thought of the fact that the chapter that starts on page 242 contained many different voice changes and the really long paragraphs. This writing style had a very creepy feel. Even the opening paragraph starts off with a very disturbing tone when Denver says, "Beloved is my sister. I swallowed her blood right along with my mother's milk" (242). I tried to think of reasons why Toni Morrison would add this literary style to her story. I think maybe it would be to give the impression of an unstable mental state, maybe the same sort of unstable mental state that Sethe had when she started killing her children. The whole event reminds me of those women you hear about that kill their children "in order to save them," when the women are really suffering from postpardom depression. This may be insightful as to why Sethe felt this way, although it could just be a moment of pure insanity that was brought on by the stress of slavery. Sadly, there was a parallel of this in real life today in the instance of the shootings at Virginia Tech. Why does anyone have the ability to kill others? Was this college student triggered by the stresses in his life until he finally snapped into a moment of pure insanity, or was he suffering from some sort of mental problem? These issues of the story as well as in life are a cause for debate. It's always nice to hear other people's points of view, so feel free to comment. I'd love to hear other opinions.
Posted by hlfish at 12:58 AM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2007
little hummingbirds
When Sethe decides to kill her children and when she decides to kill Mr. Bodwin, she hears little hummingbirds:
"Little hummingbirds stuck their needle beaks right through her headcloth into her hair and beat their wings. And if she thought anything, it was No. No. Nono. Nonono. Simple. She just flew" (192).
"She hears wings. Little hummingbirds stick needle beaks right through her headcloth into her hair and beat their wings. And if she thinks anything, it is no. No no. Nonono. She flies" (308-309)
There is obvious parallelism between this two instances. She sees a white man who is going to take away her children and she loses control. She is no longer making decisions for herself; it is the birds that are guiding her actions. What are these little birds? Is it just symbolism for her conscience, that little voice in her head, telling her what to do? Or is she really crazy, and hallucinating that these little birds really are poking at her head?
Posted by emlauren at 10:40 PM | Comments (0)
The ending of Beloved
In the end of Beloved is Sethe giving up on her life? Does she really think that there is nothing left to live for, now that Beloved is gone again? Or has she finally realized what she did to her children was terrible and the guilt is now settling in? And I'm also confused by Paul D. Does he want to stay with Sethe? It seems as if he wants to be with Sethe because he tells her that they need 'some kind of tomorrow' and that she is the best thing. It looks as if Paul D has forgiven Sethe in the end of Beloved and is there to stay. He wants to help her get better. Another interesting part of the end of Beloved is Denver. She is much more mature in the end of the novel than she is in the beginning. She was the one who realizes what was going on first and she was the one who stopped her mother from committing another murder, and now she is taking care of her mother and has a job so that they can have food and survive. She is definitely 'grown' as Paul D says. It seems that there are many unanswered questions in the end of Beloved and no one ever really knows who exactly Beloved is or where she went or whether Sethe, Denver, and Paul D are going to be okay but there has been much healing and growing and changing that has happened.
Posted by erinwils at 04:00 PM | Comments (1)
April 15, 2007
"The Dead" and the living and the somewhere in between
So James Joyce's short story "The Dead" has forever altered (at least my) literary understanding of snow as a symbol. In short, and very simplistically, Joyce uses snow as a symbol which "covers" our memories of the past in order to give way to the present and/or future. It also serves as a universal equalizer because it covers us all. The last line of "The Dead" captures the implication of this symbol much more effectively, and beautifully, than I can so: "His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead."
Interestingly, I thought of Joyce when reading Beloved for the first time during the scene in which Paul D, Sethe, and Denver go to that carnival (it has a feel similar to Joyce's story "Araby"). Then, I noticed myself thinking of Joyce again in the scene in which Beloved pulls out her own tooth and does not cry. This scene follows Sethe inviting Paul D. back to her bed after he asks her to have his baby.
Anyway... enough background. Here is the quotation that made me think of Joyce: "The couple upstairs, united, didn't hear a sound, but below them, outside, all around 124 the snow went on and on and on. Piling itself, burying itself. Higher. Deeper" (134). This is remeniscent of Joyce because like in "The Dead" this scene is one in which snow acts as a force which acts on all whether they recognize it or not. It also somehow acts to at once seperate and unify the "two couples" upstairs and downstairs (Paul D. and Sethe upstairs, Beloved and Denver downstairs).
I wish that I could more precisely define what made me think of Joyce and how the snow functions in this novel. However, I am at a loss. There are other instances of snow (when Paul D. asks Sethe to have his baby and they later see, and are startled by, Beloved) in which both the living and the dead (Beloved) are involved. Anyone have any ideas about this pesky, symbolic snow?
Posted by premonp at 08:36 PM | Comments (1)
April 13, 2007
Beloved's Connection
There is a lot to be discussed when it comes to the relationship between Sethe and Beloved. Sethe expresses ownership of Beloved, and says she has free will at the same time: "Beloved, she my daughter. She mine. See. She come back to me of her own free will and I don't have to explain a thing" (236). Sethe says "She mine," suggesting she has a power over Beloved (236). But then, in the same passage, Sethe says, "She come back to me of her own free will" (236). Which one is it; does Beloved have free will, or does Sethe control her?
Sethe took her daughter's life. There is no debate about it. I think the second part of the passage, the part that suggests Beloved has free will, is Sethe's way of justifying the murder to herself. Sure, this was not a good place to live, but as was suggested in class, if it was so bad, why didn't Beloved kill herself?
It is interesting to compare Sethe's actions to Alice's. In Kindred, Alice chooses to kill herself and let her children grow up in a terrible era, which is the exact opposite of what Sethe did. If you do not think Sethe's actions were moral, do you think Alice's were?
Posted by carliner at 02:20 PM | Comments (0)
April 12, 2007
Kindred and Beloved
In a previous post, the relationships in Kindred and Beloved were contrasted. As I was reading that post, I started to think how the relationships between the slaves in each novel were so distictly different. In Kindred they seemed to depend on each other for strength and encouragement. Each slave seemed to have their role on the plantation and it was never argued upon between them all. While there was the occasional rift or jealousy, there was never really any internal fighting of an extreme magnitude that was presented. Meanwhile, in Beloved there seemed to be so much tension between all the slaves. For example, Baby Suggs never seemed to love any of her children and almost all former slaves in Cincinnatti seemed to hate Sethe for what she had done to Beloved. It is interesting to think about which of these settings was more commonly encountered in this period of United States history. It could have been one or the other, or even both just depending on each individual home or community.
Posted by shankamp at 10:47 PM | Comments (0)
A year in review (read-pizza party)
Last night while I was dreaming, I was visited by a ghost of my future reincarnation. Together we built a time machine where we went to the future to save my reincarnated future self. It was next Tuesday. Our class was debating if Beloved was a novel with a capital or lowercase B. My future reincarnation decided that this was a horrible end to a wonderful semester and we should have a great beginning to summer and this silly debate was the least desirable of any reality that could have forked. Therefore he told the class to hide our notes as if they were the book of sand and celebrate the camaraderie that grew and intellectual thought that we had carefully cultivated with a skill and dedication that rivals Alejandro and his plants.
With impressive conviction he presented the class a painting. The students gasped as they saw themselves depicted laughing and smiling, pizza in hand. "This is my true love," the ghost said.
"Pizza Party."
A second later, a man in a blue and red shirt appeared at the door. "I have 6 large pizzas for Laura Ambrose."
I woke up, on my stomach, sweating in my bed. The ghost of my reincarnated self from the future sent back to protect the future me from my past was gone. On my wall though hung a mysterious painting. I looked at the date flashing on my computer. It was Wednesday, the 18th. I had aged an incomprehensible 7 days in my sleep! As I rose, I looked once again at the painting. In the corner, behind all the gleeful appreciative students, were a pile of course evaluations. Nothing less than 5's could be found. The painting filled me with a sudden joy and happiness as I left, determined to explore the new and foreign world around me.
Posted by willmelv at 11:39 AM | Comments (3)
Vonnegut Died
Kurt Vonnegat, brilliant satirist and American novelist, died today at age 84. I figure this is relevant to our course because he, like many of the authors we've discussed, mixed science fiction with other genres in order to portray his ideas and socio-political commentary in an original way. He also used humor and science fiction to appeal to a wide audience.
To read more: www.nytimes.com
Also, if you're looking for some fun but thoughtful and tragically witty summer reading I HIGHLY recommend Slaughterhouse-Five and God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. Brilliant books.
Posted by premonp at 12:51 AM | Comments (3)
April 10, 2007
Relationships in Beloved vs. in Kindred
Erin's presentation today touched on all the main interactions between the various characters. The relationship between most of the characters seems to involve some sort of conflict. The tension in Beloved is far more wide spread, or so it seems to me, than in Kindred. In Butler's novel, there was only one main tension and it was between Dana and Rufus. Being narrated from a first person viewpoint, Kindred focused more on the personal issues of Dana and, consequently, entirely on the tensions Dana evolved. Beloved, on the other hand, explores the plot from a variety of angles. In the process, the relationships are cross-examined from the viewpoints of several characters. For example, the tension between Paul D and Beloved is evident from the views of both characters. In fact, the tension in the relationship between the two is even addressed by other characters such as Sethe. From comparing these two novels, it seems Kindred gives the author more control in terms of writing or expressing her opinions and thoughts directly while Beloved provides a more complex, in-depth analysis of relationships.
Posted by kkamaria at 11:28 PM | Comments (0)
Love for her Children
When Denver says,"For a baby she throws a powerful spell," Sethe responds saying, "No more powerful than the way I loved her." This clearly shows the tremendous amount of love Sethe has for her children. So powerful a love that she killed one and attempted to kill the rest of her children when the schoolteacher came looking for them in Ohio. She did what she thought was right to make sure that her kids would not have to go back to sweet home as slaves. She loves them too much, as that is the only thing she has to love. She is completely dehumanized by her time as a slave that she is unable to love herself, instead she puts all of this energy into loving her kids. She feels motherhood is the best thing she has ever had and can be seen as her identity. She wants to live only for her children, and do whatever it takes for her to protect them, if that means killing them. She feels guilty for killing Beloved, but feels that this is what was right in order for her to protect her family and her freedom.
Posted by sriravi at 10:35 PM | Comments (0)
Knowledge or Spite?
In Beloved, the character Beloved enters the cold house due to her “want” of Paul D. As Erin mentioned in her presentation, this seems contradictory to her statements and actions in trying to remove the man from 124 Bluestone Road. Nicole raised an interesting point about how Beloved is perhaps trying to get to know Paul D intimately, much in the same way Sethe has. If one considers Beloved’s fanatical obsession with Sethe and all knowledge pertaining to her, this is an excellent interpretation.
If one were, however, to look at Beloved’s more malevolent, ghostly aspect, this also might be a method of removing this man whom she so despises. It has been stated earlier on that her presence disturbed Paul D, and he wanted nothing to do with her. By invading his sleeping quarters (the cold house) during the night, Beloved has violated both his sense of security and his personal sense of manhood. Paul D’s character, already attempting to ascertain what his own manliness means and how he can identify it, is emasculated by being driven from the house by a girl and then falling further into her treachery. While he may be aghast at what Sethe did to her children, it is this coupled with his feelings of inadequacy in 124 that ultimately cause him to relinquish his residence there.
Posted by gdejongh at 12:36 PM | Comments (3)
Beloved
I would like to comment on the seeming sexual desire that Denver has for Beloved, hoping to gain a different perspective on it. I would like to consider the following passage:
"Beloved let her head fall back on the edge of the bed while she found her breath and Denver saw the tip of the thing she always saw in it's entirety when Beloved undressed to sleep. Looking straight at it she whispered, 'Why you call yourself Beloved?'" (88).
This passage on the surface seems to show Beloved's sexual interest in this strange girl, as was mentioned during class. Looking deeper into these lines, especially since the paragraph ends in a question, I think it displays more of a curiosity. Since Denver has no siblings and finds it hard to connect with her mother because of her intense history, Denver desperately needs a womanly figure to look up to, to have as a companion, to feel connected to. From a more Freudian perspective, she expresses a need for a mother. Freud believes that unconscious desires spur behavior, such as food and sex. It is not uncommon for a lack of parental presence to be exhibited for unwarranted sexual behavior, such as a young woman who fills her need for a father's presence through promiscuous behavior. I think this is insightful as to why Denver acts in the way that she does toward Denver, to fill voids that she has in her life.
Posted by hlfish at 12:28 AM | Comments (0)
April 09, 2007
The man in the hat
"Eighteen years ago, that while he and Baby Suggs were looking the wrong way, a pretty little slavegirl had recognized a hat, and split to the wood shed to kill her children" (186).
Upon first reading this quote, and learning why Sethe killed her daughter, I thought that Sethe was protecting them from the school teacher. The school teacher, however, doesn't seem to be portrayed as a bad person. While he might be meaner than Mr. Garner, beating one of the slaves, he seemed no more worse than any white man of the time. I then realized that she didn't flee the school teacher, she didn't kill her daughter to protect her from the school teacher. She did it, in order to be free and to provide her children freedom. She felt it better for her children to be dead than to be slaves.
Posted by emlauren at 09:25 PM | Comments (0)
Thinking Out Loud (paper 3)
This blog entry is basically an attempt at putting thoughts on paper because I am confused about the question for Paper 3. How do these novels use time travel as a means of reflecting on, revising, or develop a way of understanding the past? Well I know I want to start out using Kindred because my understanding of that novel is much greater. Kevin and Dana are the only two characters who literally time travel. You could argue that Rufus time travels, but only from the view point of the reader and Dana. Without Dana's character, we really cannot understand the past of the obvious (she is the narrator) and the non-obvious (Rufus). Dana also tries to steer or guide the past. This could be thought of as a similar mechanism to revising. Here lies my brick wall. I cannot get past the initial question. The only thing I can think about is how Dana is used as a tool of portraying Rufus in the past. However, this idea seems too obvious because she is the narrator. Dana's character seems to be too "covered" and it is extremely hard to focus. How about Kevin? Kevin's character has many problems time traveling. He is a white man, who must protect his wife in slave times. Most importantly, he is left behind for years. His return to present day is met with great hardship. This begs the question of, which time was more difficult? Are difficult and simple mutually exclusive? Before all of that, Kevin was very ignorant. He searched out present day maps of Maryland, and ignored many aspects of slave America in his trip to the past. Kevin's character reflects on the past by showing his difficulty with the present upon his return to the 1976.
Posted by dlalonde at 08:24 PM | Comments (0)
Freedom in Death
This idea of obtaining freedom through death has been mentioned in Kindred and in class. We discussed whether killing oneself is a final act of control or is an action controlled by others. For me, I believe that committing suicide is your own choice, thus your own ultimate decision/control. How is this concept of having control relate to freedom? Plenty. Your sense of freedom, I believe, comes from your sense of control. If you believe that you have control of your own life, you seem to be in control. Thus, you are exerting your right to freedom when you decide to commit suicide.
This twisted idea of freedom is more complicated in Beloved than any other novels because in Beloved, Sethe does not kill herself to obtain freedom; she kills her daughter in the fear of losing freedom. Of course, she does it for her daughter, understanding that she, Sethe herself, cannot tolerate her children to live a life of bondage when they have tasted such richness in freedom. So, she kills Beloved, but what about Beloved? Isn't Sethe selfish when she decides to kill her without her consent? As young as Beloved was, Beloved may have wanted to live, even if she lived as a slave. In Sethe's sense of love, a love "too rich", Sethe took away Beloved's own sense of control. Now, does Beloved really free then? If her life is determined by someone else, isn't she under bondage again? Granted that she is too young to make rational decision, but this is a matter of life. Young as she was, I believe that she had the right to decide to live or die.
So, in her action to free her children, to protect them from bondage, Sethe may have thwarted her children's sense of freedom. That may be why her sons, Buglar and Howard, left the house. Living under Sethe was terrifying, not knowing when their freedom may be taken away by a mother who cared too much.
Posted by kimkyoun at 08:18 PM | Comments (0)
Denver's Point of View
I am confused by Denver. I don't understand what she really wants. I don't know if Beloved is just the companion she is looking for or if she is someone who shows her attention. The thing is, Beloved only cares about Denver when Sethe is not around and when they are still connected to Sethe in some way, by either talking about Sethe or doing chores for Sethe. And another confusing thing is that Denver seems to realize that this is true. It is a very twisted, confusing relationship between Denver and Beloved. And also, Beloved is not threatened by Denver the way she is by Paul D. I assume that is because Beloved clearly has more control over Denver than she does over Paul D but I would love more enlightenment on this. Denver is completely terrified of Beloved leaving, as shown in the scene in the cold house when Denver can't find Beloved and she is crying because she thinks she has left them. Clearly, I am confused by the interactions between Denver and Beloved. Is it sisterly and is it returned by Beloved? Or does Beloved somehow enchant Denver with her beauty, childish acts, dancing, and other somewhat magical aspects of who she is? If anyone has any thoughts, comments, or answers to these questions let me know!
Posted by erinwils at 12:38 AM | Comments (0)
April 08, 2007
Time travel from water
When observing the different elements and sequences in Toni Morrison's Beloved, it appears that water plays a significant role in not only many of the memories of the past, but also important events that occur in the present day in the novel. In attempting to address our next essay question of how time travel functions in relation to the past, when you examine these temporal journeys, it seems that water has some sort of presence in all memories and changes seen in the present day.
Water is of course involve as Sethe reaches the Ohio River and attempts to begin a new life after slavery. Water is also apparent in scenes such as when Beloved emerges from the swamp, Denver is born, and immediately prior to Paul D's original return in the beginning of the novel.
In the thought process of this paper, I'm trying to piece together how the story uses water as a means of reflecting on and developing of way of understanding the events of the past. It seems that with all of Morrison's references to water and how it traditionally symbolizes new life in many contexts, that there must be some sort of connection here. Hopefully, upon finishing the novel, I'll find more, but all I have is this idea for now. Happy Easter.
Posted by xajtav at 09:13 PM | Comments (0)
April 07, 2007
Paul D's Tobacco Tin
So we’ve already had some discussion in class about the role that memory plays in Beloved. As I was reading the chapter ending on page 133, the one about Paul D working on the chain gang in Georgia, I read an interesting paragraph: “It would be some time before he could put Alfred, Georgia, Sixo, schoolteacher, Halle, his brother, Sethe, Mister, the taste of iron, the sight of butter, the smell of hickory, notebook paper, one by one, into the tobacco tin lodged in his chest. By the time he got to 124 nothing in this world could pry it open” (133). This tobacco tin seems to be where Paul D stores all these bad memories that he’s had. I thought the most interesting part of this paragraph was the last sentence that talks about how no one in this world could pry [the tobacco tin] open. I think this is foreshadowing how Beloved will affect Paul D’s life at 124, although Paul D is the one who scares Beloved off when he arrives.
Posted by hellauer at 03:43 PM | Comments (0)
April 06, 2007
Dead Roses
When Paul D, Sethe and Denver go to the carnival, the narrator mentions dead roses: "All, like Paul D, were in high spirits, which the smell of dying roses (that Paul D called to everybody's attention) could not dampen" (57). This passage suggests that the foul smell had no affect on the people, so why mention it at all? Also, why would Paul D highlight the dying roses if he was trying to make the carnival a positive experience for Denver?
The roses not having an effect tells the reader about the people who attended the carnival. The carnival was for African-Americans, and they usually could not attend events like a carnival. Even though the smell was terrible, they were not going to let it spoil this rare opportunity. Ignoring the dying roses shows that everyone was really excited about the carnival because this special event overshadowed a bad smell.
But why would Paul D highlight something negative (the smell of dying roses) when he is trying to show Denver a good time? I think Paul D is not emphasizing that the roses smell terrible, but that they can be smelled. When a person is constantly working, they do not have time to "stop and smell the roses". Paul D is reminding everyone (especially Denver) how great it is that today they can take a break, and smell the roses.
Posted by carliner at 04:44 PM | Comments (0)
April 05, 2007
"Lay it all down"??
At the beginning of page 101 (in the red covered book), it starts by saying: "It was time to lay it all down." This line seems to be almost a reoccuring theme. So much that I imagine that this line will appear again. On page 101, the line was thought by Sethe. However, my impression is that no character in "Beloved" will ever actually "lay it all down". This story is based around the fact that no characters give straight answers. Each has their own set of secrets that they do not share with the others. Throughout "Beloved", the strange twists in the story all seem to have something to do with one of the characters unrevealed secrets. Each of the conversations seem medial in importance. Each character is built by Morrison in a way that makes them laying "it all down" seem very unlikely. The book has built itself on the fact that there are so many characters with so many side-stories. If each character would "lay it all down", most likely, all issues would be resolved, and the book would be done. Thats why I find it very doubtful, that until the very end of the book, any character will lay anything down.
Posted by shankamp at 10:03 AM | Comments (0)
April 04, 2007
Steven King... watch out
What a truly horrifying story. Like, just REALLY terrifying.
We talked a bit in class about how this story is, in some ways, "magical realism" (or at least contains elements of the genre). What I find interesting about this, however is the extent to which Morrison makes graphic, or explicit, scenes/emotions/events which many authors would instead choose to allude to. She does this to the point that it almost makes the reader (at least me) unconfortable.
Example #1: ""As she reained up from the heat she felt Paul D behind her and his hands under her breasts... What she knew was the the responsability for her breasts, at last, was in somebody else's hands." (18 in non-red cover copy)
Example #2: In the scene where Sethe has just killed the girl who will become Beloved and Baby Suggs is trying to take the dead girl: "They fought then. Like rivals over the heart of the of the loved.. Baby Suggs lost when she slipped in a red puddle and fell. So Denver took her mother's milk right along with the blood of her sister." (152)
This type of graphic violence loaded with thematic and symbolic importance at first put me off as a reader. Admittedly, I still have a hard time wanting to pick up the novel and read it (especially when we find out later that she used A SAW to kill the child). However, after reading the essay exploring the purpose of "American Gothic" literature as a sort of critique of the contradictions of American history, Morrison's graphic choices seemed more necessary and useful.
There's so much more to say about this. I'll just conclude with a few talking points (please comment on any if you noticed them too!):
- the color red as a symbol for a "black person's" pain and suffering
- "falling" (the three women ice skating, Baby Suggs fall on the RED puddle, Paul D's fall because of Sethe)
- the "chain" around the neck (Beloved choking Sethe, Paul D's chain)
- water
Posted by premonp at 09:41 PM | Comments (4)
Arrival of Paul D
The arrival of Paul D into Sethe's life clearly has an effect on her character as well as the life she was living. Prior to his arrival she was haunted by the memories of her past as a slave and haunted by her daughter. The arrival of Paul D changed this as he drives away the spirit, and makes Sethe feel like she can live normally again. She has been without the company of a man for over 18 years, when she was a slave. But now that Paul D has come she feels a little more complete as though she is capable of actually having a life. This is seen when they are walking back from the carnival and Sethe mentions that their shadows were holding hands. Paul D makes Sethe feel like she is important, something that she has not really felt in a very long time. She is also able to lift the heavy load of those painful memories from her back, as Paul D is able to understand her predicament. She has held so many memories from the past that when Paul D arrives she is able to confide in him, in the process making him feel like he is part of the family. Paul D's arrival brings light into Sethe's life, making her seem more human, and take away some of the pain that she has been plagued with all of her life.
Posted by sriravi at 06:49 PM | Comments (0)
Regarding 124 and the ghostly spirit
Toni Morrison's Beloved is full of figurative language. Few of the most frequently used tools are symbolism, similes, and metaphors. The house and the spirit together seem to function as symbolic devices for the various characters. Each character seems to appreciate the house/the spirit for his or her own reasons. Sethe appreciates the house and the life there simply because it is not Sweet Home; she is tired of running and 124 was the first house of freedom she experienced. She is more or less sentimentally tied to it. Denver is tied to the house via the ghost. "Denver had taught herself to take pride in the condemnation Negroes heaped on them; the assumption that the haunting was done by an evil thing looking for more," (45). As for Paul D, he is excited by the new possibilities arising in his mind. For Paul D, "compared to 124, the rest of the world was bald," (49). The object of his desire (Sethe) back from Sweet Home is here and Paul D is excited by his newfound opportunities. The house essentially shows the importance of freedom for Sethe and Paul D. For Denver, it is more of a place her only companion (Beloved) resides, and spatially speaking, its all she has ever known.
Posted by kkamaria at 05:56 PM | Comments (0)
April 03, 2007
Morrison's Characterization
On page 84 Sethe states,“I have other things to do: worry, for example, about tomorrow, about Denver, about Beloved, about age and sickness not to speak of love.” This is an intriguing line because it directly addresses some of the concerns that control Sethe’s life. Though the novel very lucidly jumps between times and memories, Sethe is always portrayed as a very strong character. Through this strength there is little internal focus on her motives or the specific things that are important to her. This line seems to break this pattern and focuses them. To me, I felt that this helped us locate who Sethe is and some of the values in this place in her life. With the book just beginning, and the obscure manner of storytelling Morrison uses, this is useful. The reader is able to connect characters and themes that are floating around the novel and tie them directly to Sethe. This in turn builds some initial stability.
The same thing happens a few pages later with Denver, but there is a focus on the young girl’s needs. “Nothing was out there that this sister-girl did not provide in abundance: a racing heart, dreaminess, society, danger, beauty” (90). It is clear in the initial descriptions of Denver that she has some sense of longing and much of her behavior is an attempt to remedy this. Her dislike of Paul D, her desire for the ghostly hauntings, and her love of story telling are examples of these. Beloved is able to satisfy all of these in her quiet mysterious nature. But more importantly, by addressing all of these needs, Morrison is able to clear up some of the confusion Denver creates earlier in the novel.
Posted by willmelv at 11:54 PM | Comments (0)
Response to Characters
First of all, some interesting trivia:
-Sethe lives in 124 Bluestone Road. Beloved was published in 1987. 1987-124=1863, the year that the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
-Beloved is the third of four children and also the only one known to be dead. If one were to assign the children numbers based on the order they are born, one would get 1, 2, 3, and 4 (Denver is four). Take out 3, since Beloved is dead, and you are left with 124. (Thank you, Wikipedia).
WARNING: SPOILER MAY OR MAY NOT FOLLOW. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
While reading Beloved, I found it rather hard to find much sympathy for Sethe’s character. At the same time, I couldn’t help but feel that Morrison was staring at me, disapproving the whole time by my lack of compassion for her protagonist. To me, it seems that Morrison, in a sense, undermines her own work. In one scene, the reader is presented with all of the horrors and atrocities involved in slavery, especially those visited on Sethe (such as the stealing of her milk). However, the reader is later presented with (pardon my assumption) the insanity experienced by Sethe. Her actions, despised even by other freed slaves, cast a stigma on her character that I found difficult to dispel. Her following pride tends to make her character somewhat loathsome. Still, despite all of this—and having read the forward in the “red-cover” copy of Beloved—I couldn’t help but feel that I was supposed to be feeling bad her (and not only for her presumed mental condition). Hopefully, this isn’t just me being unsympathetic. Does anyone else feel this way about Sethe or other characters?
(By the way, for those who have gotten further in the book, I despise Beloved).
Posted by gdejongh at 10:25 PM | Comments (1)
Is Sethe a murderer?
As I read Beloved, I find myself not only questioning the mysterious character, Beloved, but also Sethe. Sethe may love her children, but is she a bad mother? She sent her children to Baby Suggs' house so that they may find a better life. Although she had good intentions, it frustrated me that she would send a young girl, dependent on her mother's milk, without any food. Sethe said, "Nobody was going to nurse her like me...The milk would be there and I would be there with it" (19). What if it had taken longer for Sethe to make it there? What if she never made it at all? Would this child starve to death?
At first, I thought that the young girl's death was caused by starvation. I knew that the baby was dead, and reading about this memory of Sethe's made me think it was important in that it was the cause of the girl's death. When I read that the baby was fine when Sethe arrived at Baby Suggs' house, I changed my mind. Maybe Sethe did not cause her baby's death.
Then reading later, I again found myself questioning Sethe's character. Nelson Lord asked Denver, "Didn't your mother get locked away for murder? Wasn't it you in there with her when she went?" (123). Though murder could involve anyone, I immediately thought of the dead baby girl. Did Sethe murder her own daughter? Is that why the ghost is so spiteful?
Posted by emlauren at 01:00 AM | Comments (0)
April 02, 2007
Sethe's Time
I found Sethe's take on time to be very interesting. I apologize for the long quotation, but I feel the entire philosophy is important. Sethe explains:
I was talking about time. It's so hard for me to believe in it. Some things go. Pass on. Some things just stay. I used to think it was my rememory. You know. Some things you forget. Other things you never do. But it's not. Places, places are still there. If a house burns down, it's gone, but the place--the picture of it--stays, and not just in my rememory, but out there, in the world. What I remember is a picture floating around out there outside my head. I mean, even if I don't think it, even if I die, the picture of what I did, or knew, or saw is still out there. Right in the place of where it happened (43).
This concept of time is very interesting to me. She speaks of time almost as if it was a religion. You either are a believer or a non-believer. But even if you don't believe, you are still encompassed by it. Time lingers on in the form of memories and pictures, although physical evidence may be gone. It is something in which Sethe must stay away. She talks about her beliefs on experiencing rememories and time being the reason she killed off her children (seemed kind of crazy to me). However, I am having trouble understanding her theory. It seems like memories, although a possession, are something that need to be closely guarded (according to Sethe). I can understand her disdain in returning to the past, but why does she protect others so much? They have not gone through the same experiences she did. If she is so guarded about the past, why does she open up to beloved?
Posted by dlalonde at 11:23 PM | Comments (0)
Kindred
At the end of the novel Kindred, by Octavia Butler, Dana's character loses half of her arm in the wall. This following is a description of how this occurs: "I was back at home--in my own house, in my own time. But I was still caught somehow, joined to the wall as though my arm were growing out of it -or growing into it" (261). I tried and tried and tried to make sense of this and decide what significance it had to the story because it seemed so bizarre. After thinking for a while, I came up with the following.
One possibility that I came up with relates to the fact that back then there were no records of all of the slaves that we meet in the story. Maybe the loss of her arm signifies that her ancestors are a "part" of her. Kevin says that maybe Dana came there so she could "touch solid evidence that those people existed" (264). I feel that part of the importance of the loss of her arm is to suggest that just because there are a lack of records does not mean that you have a lack of ancestors, and what those ancestors went through, in a sense, gave her life. They gave her life everytime they put their own lives in harms way. And since they have the ability to give her life, they also carry the ability to take it away. Rufus needed Dana everytime his life was threatened, and by meddling in this way she gave a part of herself of herself to past. By playing with the art of time travel, the loss of an arm could signify the "power" of the past.
Posted by hlfish at 11:08 PM | Comments (0)
Mind Mapping: Harnassing your creativity
For Paper 3, you will each be developing a mind map to organize and explore your thoughts. Non-linear mind mapping - either as webs (blobs of thoughts connected by lines), mind maps with images and words on lines, or a combination of both - allows you to simultaneously "brain dump," group your thoughts in related clusters, and trace a train of thought. As such, it frees you from the formality (and sometimes restricting nature) of the sentence or the word, but still provides you with the opportunity to explore ideas in an organized, creative way. Mind mapping also allows you to break free of the outline - a form of linear "pre-writing" that really belongs after the mind map because it assumes you know the order of the paper before you've even had a chance to think carefully and freely about your ideas. It also allows you to employ other non-linear organizing strategies like images, color, highlighting, three dimensional shapes, etc. Because you will each design your own mind map based on the question you will explore in your paper, I recommend checking out a couple of websites that offer some great insight into the benefit of mind mapping - an exercise that is itself akin to a brain "workout" of sorts! One site called EdVibes offers some great suggestions for online mind mapping software (for those of you who are digitally minded and panic at the thought of having to use pencil and paper). This site also links you to a interesting podcast of an April 2006 interview with Michael Gelb on the Theater of the Mind site. Gelb has his own version of mind mapping that he argues is much more efficient than the bubble approach. You be the judge.
Posted by lauraaw at 10:55 AM | Comments (0)
April 01, 2007
Beloved's Intentions
I am confused by Beloved's motives and what she wants. There are so many instances where she talks about how she just wants to be with Sethe and spend time with her and hates when she is gone. She loves just hearing her talk and tell stories and being with her. Then when Sethe, Denver, and Beloved go to the clearing where Baby Suggs used to preach Sethe started to get strangled. Beloved soothed her after it happened by rubbing her neck and kissing it. Then later Denver confronts Beloved about trying to choke Sethe and it is really confusing to me. There is a quote on 118 that shows the conflicting emotions in Beloved in a way. It says, "She took a step and felt like crying. She had been so close, then closer. And it was so much than the anger that ruled when Sethe that did or thought anything that excluded herself. She could bear the hours - nine or ten of them each day but one - when Sethe was gone...But now - even the daylight time that Beloved had counted on, disciplined herself to be content with, was being reduced, divided by Sethe's willingness to pay attention to other things. Him mostly." This is a very interesting quote that shows that Beloved has a hard time sharing Sethe. It makes me think that the friendship she and Denver share may not last very long. Also it makes me wonder if and how she is going to try and get rid of Paul D.
Posted by erinwils at 11:01 PM | Comments (0)
Word Importance in "Beloved"
"Beloved" is very interesting in this dymanic especially: the fact that each word that she uses in the story is important in some way. Many novels have unimportant words and sentences, while every line in "Beloved" carries some importance. In many novels, it is possible to daydream, skip a sentence, skim a section, or be for a short time unfocused while reading. However, in "Beloved" none of these things are possible. If you miss a word, line, or section, you may miss an extremely important phrase and the rest of the story may not make sense. Even if you read it fully, but are not focused, a key word could slip past and have the same result. I learned quickly when reading "Beloved", that almost every line needs to be read twice, just to make sure that some important fact or meaning wasn't skipped over or misinterpreted. This is really the first story that we have read this semester that carries this dynamic. I think, wether the story is 'good' or 'bad', that the experience behind reading a novel that requires constant re-reading and contemplation is a positive experience.
Posted by shankamp at 07:27 PM | Comments (0)
March 31, 2007
Rememories
On page 43 of Morrison’s Beloved Sethe is having a conversation with her youngest daughter Denver about elements of the past revisiting present times. She describes what she calls “thought pictures,” or “rememories”. She describes these visions as what happens if you return to a place of an event, even if it didn’t involve you, the event will occur again, right before your eyes, “…it will be there for you, waiting for you.” Interestingly enough, this leads Denver to the conclusion that nothing ever dies then, to which Sethe agrees.
Now, in the present frame of the novel, Paul D has returned to Sethe’s life, and with it, many memories of Sweet Home, a place that never really died in her mind. With the conversations with Paul and Denver about Sweet Home, it is as if the place is slowly returning to Sethe’s conscious, bringing her closer to that place or event that could occur again, as though a rememory. And as it turns out, that rememory comes back to her in the form of Beloved.
The accumulation of thoughts from the past and the presence of Paul D is returning Sethe to a mind frame that she hasn’t experienced in years, since the short time after she left Kentucky and moved to 124 Bluestone Road. And with these memories, the “rememory” of her daughter has returned as well, in the form of Beloved, which suggests that Sethe may have to experience the fright and confusion of the time she spent shortly after leaving Sweet Home once again….
Posted by xajtav at 06:24 PM | Comments (0)
Does she know?
To what extent does Sethe know about the identity of Beloved? It seems like Denver has a gut feeling that she knows because she's constantly caring for her and protecting her, which would make sense since she’s lonely all the time and that she probably thinks that Beloved is the ghost of her dead sister; I get that feeling especially at the end of page 67.
I guess I'm mostly confused because I don’t know what to make of Sethe’s pee-emergency when she’s coming back from the carnival, when she sees Beloved on the road. Is this an indication that she is aware of Beloved’s identity? If it is, I think Sethe might only be aware of it subconsciously because it doesn’t seem to me that she shows any other indication, like Denver.
Posted by hellauer at 03:02 PM | Comments (1)
March 30, 2007
The Forward
When presented with a "Prologue" or "Forward", it is tempting for a reader to skim its contents, or skip it entirely and begin with the "real" story. Readers should avoid this mistake when reading Toni Morrison's Beloved.
When I first starting reading the forward, I was confused, not with what she was saying, but why she was saying it: "There would be no lobby into this house, and there would be no 'introduction' innto it or into the novel. I wanted the reader to be kidnapped, thrown ruthlessly into an alien environment" (XVIII). This suggests to the reader that when the story "starts", they are going to be confused, and this is to make the reader feel like they are in "an alien environment" (XVIII).
If Morrison warns her readers, doesn't that defeat the purpose of confusing them? Apparently not. Even with the warning, I found myself rereading passages many times before I had any idea of what was going on. Without the forward, I would have thought I missed something, or maybe the book was beyond my comprehension. Instead, I realized, strange as it may sound, my confusion will help me better understand the story.
Posted by carliner at 08:09 PM | Comments (0)
Cultural Consciousness
So Toni Morrison's work "Black Matters" raised some questions for me. The first question that immediately came to mind concerns the fact that there are many demographics (African Americans, Native American, the homeless, the poor, etc) who are used "functionally" and "stereotypically" in literature to further/explore a seperate point.
However, as I continued to read and think about her thesis (that Americans' largely naive cultural conciousness of "blackness" enables certain elements of fiction) I began to see that this essay is largely an affront to "modern rascism". Like we talked about in class and Hannah wrote in her blog from a while back, notions and stereotypes - be they directly oppressive or seemingly harmless - pervade our culture. If we could reach the objective of no longer stereotyping and racially profiling African Americans in society, then Morrison's observation would become outdated.
In essence, Morrison addresses the negative aspects of cultural mindset in a way that was new to me. I am looking forward to our class discussion in hopes that we will further the conversation of what it means to stereotype.
One question just to throw out there: Is it ever appropriate to rely on knowlingly rely on cultural perceptions and stereotypes in a literature to prove or explore a theme?
*Also - speaking of cultural conciousness, Bill Gates (being the rich rich man he is) is buying up a very large portion of the nation's potographs to perserve them in a limestone cave that he built under a mountain in Pennslyvannia. (NO JOKE!) This is interesting, I think, because his goal is to "perserve" our society's memories by insuring that the photographs are not destroyed by time. However, these photographs used to be in libraries where anyone could access and see them. Now, in order to see the photographs one must look online and then, if he/she wishes, pruchase a copy. Interesting, I think. Anyway here's the link if anyone is interested in seeing the archives so far: http://pro.corbis.com
Posted by premonp at 05:57 PM | Comments (0)
Kindred vs. Beloved
When I started reading Beloved, I did not realize that I read the novel before. Although I do not remember much about it, the reading came to me very easily. As I was reading Beloved, I kept comparing it to Kindred. First, Kindred portrays the perspective of a modern woman whereas Beloved portrays the perspectives of those who lived that time. Second, in Beloved, the protagonist lives the time after Civil War whereas in Kindred, the protagonist goes back to the time before the Civil War. Third, Kindred seems to portray the racial issue of black and white whereas Beloved seems to portray the issues rising among the pre-slaves who must live through their horrific memories.
These comparisons allowed me to see that Kindred and Beloved are two different stories dealing with the similar topic of slavery. Yes, Kindred still portrays the terror and the horror of slavery, but its main character is a character who determines not to fall completely under the "spell" of slavery. She allows the life of slavery to rule her life as long as it still respected one aspect of her, of her indepedence in sexuality. Beloved, on the other hand, portrays the horrorfying memories of the characters with which they must live through. They cannot even consider their horrors dreams or unreal like Dana and Kevin did; it is too real and too close. Their memories are too vivid. In Beloved, the characters must live to rebuild what have been lost and destroyed, especially the sense of self. More intersting is the fact that even after the Civil War, discrimination and mistreatment were not just memories but reality, still haunting them endlessly.
To me Kindred was like a fiction whereas Beloved is like reality. Both have the elements of fantasy, time traveling and ghost, but the purpose of those fantastical elements are vastly different. Time traveling only considers the survival of self, the ghost deals with the survival of others. Dana travels time as a way to preserve her ancestors and herself; the ghost appears as a sad evidence of the evils in the world. I, then, wanted to ask myself a question: which of the two worlds am I living in? Am I living in the memory of the past, trying to build my present based on it, or am I living in the present, trying to deal with the situations by upholding to something that I cannot compromise? Am I living the present, thinking the past dreamlike, or am I living the present, trying to erase the past and failing to do so? And what are the consequences of living in such a way?
Posted by kimkyoun at 02:41 PM | Comments (0)
March 27, 2007
Weylin's Control: A Social Negotiation?
Furthering some ideas we talked about today in class I want to talk about some of the ways Tom Weylin negotiates control. He is an interesting character because even though he is given the most power of the story, it is societal based and not necessarily a dominant character trait. If fact it is his character that allows for a loss of power.
Specifically, Weylin has power primarily because he is white. It’s true that he is cunning, speaks sharply, and is not lenient with the whip, but these are manifestations of his social role of a slave owner. This is clear because Rufus who seemed impervious to the hatred of his father develops the same disposition. This doesn’t excuse him from the evil and heinous acts he commits but suggests that his hatred may not be innate but the result of his place in the social world.
Therefore it is Weylin’s positive character traits that leech this power. Weylin is an honorable man. Rufus mentions this many times. It is this honor that drives him to relinquish some of his power. For example, he writes to Kevin after he discovers Rufus lied to Dana and did not send her letters. He knew by doing this he would lose Dana around the house, an unpredictable, yet useful resource. He did it anyway though and in doing so, gave some of his power. Not only in the literal sense of the direct control over Dana but by helping receiving help, she lost some of the fear of Weylin. He wasn’t arbitrary pain and punishment. He operated on personal intrinsic laws. This comforted me as a reader as I felt there was finally some consistency to Weylin and with that consistency, weakness and lack of power.
His compassion and love for his son also leave him in moments where he is negotiating rather than commanding. His interactions with Dana show this. Weylin is horribly afraid of Dana, yet when his son gets sick, she is the first one he turns too. He then seems inclined to give her work and a place to stay rather than cast her out as he would with any other problem slave. This becomes more interesting when he tells Rufus that Dana is the one he should have? Why would he want such a strong, intelligent black women as a partner for his son? Would she continue to take care of his impulsive and thick headed son? Is she easy to manipulate? Does he respect her? I’m not sure of any of these, but this falter in Weylin’s ‘hard-line’ attitude sacrifices some of the cruel power he holds.
Posted by willmelv at 11:53 PM | Comments (0)
Afterthoughts on Kindred
First of all, I would like to note Kindred was a fairly simple read for such a potentially complex topic. It seemed as though complex issues such as slavery were portrayed with simple language and relative ease. The constant changes in time and setting could have only added to the complexity, but Butler managed to keep it all simple. Perhaps the fact that the novel was written from Dana's perspective helped all that. Had it been written from an objective manner or third person, situations would all of a sudden have to be examined from several angles. Dana allows descriptions and characterization to remain straight forwards and simple.
Also, there was quite a bit of foreshadowing in the novel. Immediately from the prologue, we know Dana will lose her arm. Then at certain points, Dana seems worried about leaving Kevin behind in that time period when he manages to come with her (pg. 77). Later, he is indeed stranded in antebellum Maryland. Moreover, throughout "The Fight" Dana mentions being capable of using the knife. For example, "I was watching him, feeling frightened, and suddenly very much aware of my knife, of how quickly I could reach it," (pg. 164). Subsequently, in the end, she ends up using the knife. The foreshadowing is readily apparent.
Other than that, I agree with Grant the novel is not purely a science-fictional one. Right now the only basis of its classification as science-fiction is Dana's ability to travel back in time, which itself is neither explained not explicitly addressed. The novel's primarily purpose seems to be to inform and educate the audience.
Posted by kkamaria at 09:06 PM | Comments (1)
Surprise? Not Really
In the novel Kindred, Butler shows how the characters change throughout the story, especially in the cases of Rufus and Tom Weylin. For many readers, these changes alter their outlook on these characters; however, one may ask if any real change occurs at all. While it may help to humanize the characters by implying said changes, a closer inspection shows that there is actually very little difference in the characters from the beginning to the end of the book, at least in terms of personality.
Tom Weylin makes an excellent example. His upholding of his son’s bargain with Dana (to mail the letter to Kevin) tends to cause the reader to grow suspicious of their original feelings on this character. Why should it, though? It was already observed that Weylin believes in keeping promises, as shown by his disdain for Kevin when the latter states that he never intends on releasing Dana (after saying that he bought her under those pretenses). Really, we are still seeing the same man, the same slave owner. He acts as is fit for the time he lives in, and he has a moral code about giving his word. These traits are part of his designed personality, and their expression really should not surprise the reader.
The same could be said of Rufus. In the beginning of the book, the reader identifies him as a sweet-manner child (mainly due to the description given from Dana’s point of view). Later in the story, it is again the intention of the author to show the character as having undergone a change, this time from the adorable child to the hormone-driven young slave master. One must once more question this supposed transition: was Rufus ever truly sweet or innocent? He attempted to set fire to the house to get back at his father, and admits to burning down the stables to achieve the same end. Later in life, he attempts to rape a woman because she won’t leave her husband for him. It has always been Rufus’s nature to use force and violence to make his point or get what he wants.
While, in retrospect, these similarities tend to stand out (at least to me), it is perhaps a credit to Butler’s writing that she can make someone believe that a profound change has occurred, even when it really hasn’t.
Posted by gdejongh at 12:25 PM | Comments (0)
March 26, 2007
Tom and Kevin
In class we discussed the parallels between Kevin and Rufus as well as between Alice and Dana, but in the beginning of the storm we also see parallels between Tom and Kevin. This is not something that has really been explored just because of the stark difference in characteristics between Kevin and Tom, but when he comes back to the present after spending 5 years in the past, he does develop some similarities to Tom, as noticed by Dana. First off his accent changes, and he sounds more like Tom and Rufus. Dana says, "He had a slight accent....he did sound like Tom and Rufus Weylin." This is a small thing but still draws parallels to the Weylin men. Another example of this is later in this chapter when Dana says that "the expression on his face was something I'd seen, something I was used to seeing on Tom Weylin. Something closed and Ugly." This is a bigger comparison, because she sees Kevin as being like the terrible monster Tom is, something she would never had said before his time there. I think this is strong case for how the society shapes the individual. We see Tom as being a bad person, but it is because of the society he lives in. What he does is right in the time period, and the fact that Kevin has also changed after living in the past for five years bolsters that notion. Kevin does not partake in the same atrocities as Tom, but still its the change in his personality that must be noted. How much do you guys think society has a role in the way the characters are developed?
Posted by sriravi at 11:15 PM | Comments (0)
Kindred
In the novel Kindred, Octavia Butler parallels many characters in her story. In class, we discussed a couple of them, such as Rufus's parallel to Kevin. While I was reading, I noticed several additional parallels. For example, two different parallels occur in the scene in which Dana provents Alice from going to see the birth of Carrie's baby. As Dana is cooking dinner, she says that she "sat [Alice] down at the table and gave her a knife and some potatose to peel. The scene reminded [her] of my [her] first time in the cookhouse when [she] had sat peeling potatoes until Kevin called me away" (155). Here, Octavia creates a parallel between Alice and Dana. Dana, who many characters are starting to see as "white" at this point in the story, is paralleled with Alice, a young woman who has been a slave for multiple years. Another example of a parallel such as this occurs in this same scene, only the parallel is between Sarah and Dana. As Alice begins to speak openly about running away, Dana says, "'Be careful how you say things ilke that. You could get into trouble.' I felt like Sarah, cautioning" (156). There is also the countless comparisons throughout the story of how Dana acts as both Rufus and Alice's mother. This suggests that Dana is capable of being a suitable mother for Rufus, a white man, and Alice, a black woman.
All of these parallels/comparisons are prevalent in this story. I believe Butler uses these literary techniques in order to address the idea of racism through the interactions of these characters. By bringing forth all of these parallels and comparisons among the black and white characters, Butler portrays the humanity behind all of these characters, and uses their similarities to tie all of the characters into human kind, rather than a world of blacks and whites. Using this technique, she ties us all together as human beings. Seeing these similarities, we can get a more clairvoyant view of how wrong it is to treat our fellow human beings, people like us, as slaves. In conclusion, Butler uses the relationships between characters to deepen our understanding of the times of slavery.
Posted by hlfish at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)
Alice's Death
I find it interesting that the return of Dana is coupled by the death of Alice. As far as we (the readers) know, Dana is supposed to return when Rufus is about to experience death, but Rufus did not appear to be physically suffering. However, he was emotionally dead. He sold his own children and drove Alice into killing herself. He was so emotionally distraught that he could potentially do harm to himself and others. Were there other motivations besides Alice that drove Rufus to sell the children? Maybe, he is smarter than we all think. Maybe he manipulated Alice into killing herself so that he would appear so emotionally distraught that Dana would return. He would, in fact, have Dana all for himself. There is also another significance to the death of Alice. Since Dana and Alice were seen as the same woman in the novel (according to Rufus), it would appear that Dana would die as well. Dana did seem to die a bit inside, potentially driving her to kill Rufus. Rufus had the ultimate control because he had killed Dana inside and consequently was able to control her. Dana had to put a stop to this underlying control by removing it through force. The death of Alice served as a catalyst to the very weird and complicated finish to the novel.
Posted by dlalonde at 10:44 PM | Comments (0)
Control
In class one of the topics that came up when talking about Kindred was control and the power and control the slaveowners have over their slaves. One thing that came out of this was the issue of the slaves killing themselves and whether this was the ultimate form of control. In the last chapter of Kindred Dana comes back to the past to find Alice dead, after killing herself. Alice had tried to run away and Rufus, in retaliation told Alice he had sold their children, when in reality he had sent them to live with his mother's sister. When he took away her children, Alice felt she had nothing left to live for and this changed any part of her opinion about her that might have been good. She ended her life becauses there was nothing else for her, she did not want to live any longer. Rufus is devastated when he realizes she has killed herself and hates that Dana blames him. He gets free papers written for the two children and vows to raise them as free. Eventually though, Rufus tries to be with Dana. I'm not sure if it is because he feels like she is so much like Alice and he misses Alice, or if it is because he has wanted Dana all along. I guess what I'm asking is this: Does Rufus show his ultimate control over Dana when she kills herself, or is it Dana showing that she does have some, even if it is little, control in her own life?
Posted by erinwils at 03:14 PM | Comments (0)
March 25, 2007
Movement through space
In Octavia Butler's novel, Kindred, travel through space and time occurs in a very interesting way. As I noted before, in a previous blog, time passes differently in the time periods as if the different time periods are different worlds. But as I finished the story, the travel through space intrigued me more.
When Dana would leave 1976, she would return in a different location in her house. In the first episode, she left the living room and returned to the living room on the opposite side. In the second episode, she left the kitchen and returned to the bedroom. In the third episode, she left in the bedroom and returned in the bathroom. At first, the movement through space didn't seem to mean anything. It seemed to be just a random occurance. As I thought about it more, I noticed that wherever she came back, it was always in her house, which is weird since when she goes to the 1800s she doesn't always go to Weylin's house. Then I noticed that her position as she left the 1800s was the same when she arrived back in 1976. For example, she was kneeling next to Rufus when Weylin aimed a gun at her in the first episode and found herself kneeling in her living room.
The movement through space plays an interesting role when Dana leaves the 1800s for the last time. When she leaves, Rufus fingers are grasping Dana's arm and when she returns to 1976, the wall is "grasping" her arm. In this episode, she doesn't just return to the house, she becomes a part of the house. I get that Butler is trying to create some symbolism, like the the wall is holding her like Rufus was. I'm just curious if there is some significance to the house. The house doesn't just play a role in the final episodes, it plays a role in the whole story. After all, Dana's travels did start the day after she moved into the house. Perhaps the house is like a worm hole to Rufus?
Posted by emlauren at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)
*insert creative title here*
So everyone has finished the book! Let me just preface this by saying that I cannot WAIT for our class discussion on Tuesday when we all get to consider the novel in its entirety. Dorky, I know.
Oh, yeah. IF YOU HAVEN'T FINSIHED YET, READ NO FURTHER.
I think the way that Alice and Dana essentially merge in the eyes of Rufus post-Alice's suicide presents such a huge paradox for the reader. It puts Dana in a position where she can either entirely "become" a slave, submitting to a master's sexual as well as mental rule, in the same way that Alice was an ante bellum southern slave. Or, she has the option of killing Rufus (seeing as Hagar has been born and her lineage is safe) which she seems reluctant to do. She must weigh these options and oddly enough she makes this judgement with a mix of a modern and a ante bellum mindset. For instance she says:
"I would never be to him wha Tess had been to his father - a thing passed around like the whisky jar at a husking. He wouldn't do that to me or sell me or..." (260)
The fact that she compares herself to a whisky jar is our first key to her identification with the time period. She also pragmatically considers the implications for her as a slave if she submits to him.
All in all, this twisted sense of identity and self that Dana achieves by the last few pages of the novel seems to blur her sense of ancestry as well as clarify it.
Does anyone have any different takes on this last scene in which Dana kills Rufus? I know it is a pivotal scene which leaves much to be discussed and I for one have come to no diffinitive conclusions regarding its meaning.
Posted by premonp at 02:30 PM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2007
Final Thoughts
I like how the end of the story picks up where the story begins in the prologue. It's kind of like the 'Pulp Fiction' kind of thing we were talking about in class (if you don't know what I'm talking about, watch the movie). I wonder why Rufus didn't come back to 1976 with Dana. I thought that if anybody was in contact with Dana while she was time-traveling, they would go with her (i.e. Kevin). Maybe since he was dying or something he couldn't, or maybe it's meant to be left unexplained. I guess since Dana wound up with her arm stuck in a wall explains something because that never happened before.
Posted by hellauer at 02:47 PM | Comments (0)
March 23, 2007
Significantly different
Our class discussion the other day made me think about the time travel in Octavia Butler's Kindred. Much more time passes in the past than the present: "'You know how long you were gone?' 'A few minutes. Not long.' 'A few seconds. There were no more than ten or fifteen seconds between the time you went and the time you called my name.'...'All that couldn't have happened in just seconds'" (16). Here Kevin is explaining to Dana that she was in the past for a few seconds in the terms of present time, but Dana feels like she was gone for minutes.
Every time Dana and Kevin go into the past, much more time occurs in the past than in the present. At first I thought nothing of it, just a piece of trivia, but now I am starting to wonder, is Butler trying to say something?
I think the disparity in time is used to show how different the two eras are, especially for Dana. As a slave, every momement must feel like eternity. I cannot even imagine the pain of being whipped and beaten, but I assume it does not go quickly. In the present (1970's), African-Americans still face racism, but they are enslaved.
Do you think this was Butler's intention, or do you think she did it for a different reason?
Posted by carliner at 05:20 PM | Comments (0)
Feeling sorry for Rufus
I found myself, at many points during the story, feeling sorry for Rufus. At one moment I despised him, and then at the next moment, I felt a great deal of compassion for his character. I believe that these feelings stem from the fact that if this was a real life situation, and a person like Rufus existed in our time, he would be considered a great person. Rufus had many genuine qualities that most characters based in that time period would not have had. Basically, I believe that Rufus' character was simply a product of his generation. It would have been interesting to develop this story in the opposite direction. What if Rufus had gobe forward in time to resue Alice? I think his character could have taken a drastic turn to a more positive character. This thought makes me look to our countries actual past and wonder what many of the famous people in United States history may have done if they existed in this time. Would Abraham Lincoln still be considered the great man that he is? What about George Washington? There are many names that could apply, but I believe many of them would have much different reputations if they existed in present day, with their past-day mindset.
Posted by shankamp at 11:15 AM | Comments (0)
