I thought the image I found was worth sharing because Sethe’s tree is such a prominent symbol in the novel.
Just as Alana mentioned in her blogpost, there is a plethora of juxtaposition in Beloved. Sethe’s tree is a perfect example of this juxtaposition.
Trees are the life-giving backbones of nature. They’re also associated with temptation and sin (like in Genesis). Specifically in relation to slavery and the Jim Crow Era, trees bring to mind the disgusting, horrifying practice of lynching.
In Beloved, Sethe’s tree is a result of an extremely severe whipping. Although she escapes slavery immediately after her whipping, her owners leave her with a permanent reminder of her enslavement and of the power they had over her.
I’d love to hear what y’all think about the symbolism behind Sethe’s tree because I’m sure there’s more to consider!
1 comment:
This is a beautiful post, Jessie. Trees are such a vital part of life and art and literature and so many other important factors to life. They literally help us live by breathing from O2, that’s how vital they are. At the ISAS conference in Austin, there was a project that we had the opportunity to sign up for as a school during the beginning of the festival. Unfortunately we were too late, but many other schools got to each claim their own tree and decorate it with beautiful and unique art installations. A common theme of the art was that it accentuated the already present beauty of the trees, rather than masked it. Things like hanging balloons, geometric designs, hanging portraits or yarned branches made the campus lively and colorful. They brought more attention to the overlooked and over appreciated trees that were already present.
I think we should think about the importance of trees in our every day lives more. Whether that be in what we read, like stories such as beloved, or just how we live, by using less paper.
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