Friday, March 22, 2013
Denver's Attachment to Beloved
We have talked in class on numerous different occasions about how Denver is so attached to Beloved. Before Beloved arrived, she was very close and attached the ghost of the house, and when Beloved arrived, as the reincarnation of the ghost jousted from the house by Paul D, Denver has found herself a new friend. Beloved is Denver's long lost sister, so I think it is only right that she is so attached to her. I also think it is quite normal for Beloved to say that she came to 124 Bluestone Road to see Sethe (her mother). It's almost like a family reunion. Well okay, maybe not because Beloved is trying to seduce Paul D and strangle Sethe. I believe the attempted strangling of Sethe is extremely reminiscent of Beloved having her throat cut. Both instances involve the neck and somehow restrict airflow (and will eventually lead to death). Now I don't know if Sethe was trying to protect Beloved or not when she killed her, but I do find her act in accordance with what Paul D says about not loving anybody to much. Maybe she found out how attached she was to Denver and realized that she couldn't go through that again with another child because it'd to difficult of an emotional journey?
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2 comments:
Denver struggles to find and emotional connection to anyone in her life besides her mother. Both of her brothers left 124, she was ostricised from school, and her younger sister was murdered. She attatches herself to the ghost of beloved because she had nothing else better to do. When Beloved is incarnated, so to speak, Denver automatically relates to her as she connects to the essence of the ghost she grew up with. As far as the strangling incident I also think that the throat theme is important for Sethe cutting Beloved's throat and her "returning the favor" by strangling Sethe.
I personally believe that Denver's attachment to Beloved stems from two different sources. As we had mentioned earlier in class, the descriptions used to describe Denver are quite childish in regards to her actual age. Denver has severely lack social interaction with others due to others being afraid of the ghost in 124 and given the fact that she was African American. In addition to this, Denver's isolation led her to attach herself to whoever she had at hand. In this case, Beloved and Sethe. Denver is possessive of the ghost and later Beloved for the same reason that Sethe has no desire to leave 124 - that is the only true possession that has been hers.
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