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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 April 16, 2007 10:40 PM