Sunday, April 7, 2019
Beautiful Horror in Beloved
As I read Beloved, I am stunned by the haunting language and style that Toni Morrison uses. It almost reminds me of Baudelaire in that the imagery is so immersive and rich that the reader is transported into the unsettling scene. The use of juxtaposition is also prevalent, as we can see from immediately from the second sentence, "Full of a baby's venom." Placing an image with connotations of innocence and purity next to a word that harbors death leaves the reader stunned as they enter the novel. Another line that struck me reads: "boys hanging from the most beautiful sycamores in the world." Sethe goes on to curse her memory for remembering the beauty of the trees instead of the children that hung from it; a chilling thought emblematic of faded history. This writing technique enthralls me as it seems to mirror the emotions pulsating through the farm in an atmospheric way.
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This post is also very beautifully written and so insightful, Alana! It’s interesting that you mention the book being “haunting” because I feel like it’s haunting in multiple ways. Firstly, the novel feels kind of like a ghost story in parts. Not only is there an angry baby ghost running around 124, but there are other mysterious aspects (i.e. the woman Beloved). Morrison describes a distinct aura in each scene, which helps immerse us in her narrative. For example, a feeling of disapproval and unrest permeates throughout Baby Suggs’ celebration of Sethe’s arrival. I can feel the discomfort oozing from the page.
Furthermore, other topics the novel explores are haunting as well—like slavery, like the torture of the inmates in the Georgia prison, like the schoolteacher’s nephews’ abuse of pregnant Sethe.
Simply put, the institution of slavery was haunting and something that’s painful to remember in present times. The descriptions of Sethe’s whip marks and implications of lynching remind us how inhumane our country behaved just centuries ago and make me grateful for the society in which we live.
When you consider the physical and psychological torture slaves (and even freed African Americans) endured on a daily basis, it’s easy to think it’s just fiction.
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