Saturday, March 7, 2015

"Oh yes, the past can hurt, but you can either run from it or learn from it."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZfGTL2PY3E

This clip from The Lion King reminds me a lot of Sethe and the issues she faces. The past/running from the past is a key part of Beloved. Sethe is forced to face a literal embodiment of her past when Beloved shows up at her doorstep. Until Beloved forces her to face her past, Sethe spends a large amount of time trying to forget, because the memories are so painful.

Question for the crowd: Do y'all think that Rafiki's advice could pertain to Sethe's situation?

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Yes, I definitely that Rafiki's advice relates to Sethe's situation. I think that Beloved's role or purpose is to get Sethe to confront her past because the past is central to Sethe's identity. Like Rafiki says, I think that it is important for Sethe to learn from her past and recognize how running away from it only leads her to feel empty and feel a lack of identity. Beloved brings out the past no matter what. She brings out the past by having Denver tell her stories and by making Sethe to a certain extent enjoy telling events of the past to her. Beloved is there to prove how although Sethe's past consisted of so much evil and suffering, it is there to teach her how the past molded who she is and how she cannot live in the present without understanding her past. The only way to understand it is to confront it.