3 Perspectives

I feel like this part of the book we have read is a like the key to the book. It explains much of what happened with Sweet Home after Mr. Garner died, and also gives us an in depth look into the four major characters; Sethe, Denver, Paul D, and Beloved. Each part of Sethe’s, Denver’s, and Beloved’s chapter was written in how they would think and act. Sethe’s passage was one giant paragraph describing her love for her daughter and her children, and what led up to her actions. It seemed as though the giant paragraph and the style of Sethe’s ramblings took on her personality. She is a proud woman, but does not seem to keep her head on straight when things begin to faze her. She feels the need to defend herself in any way possible, like when she explains her actions to Paul D. This giant paragraph that told of the stories leading up to why she killed Beloved portrayed that exactly. Denver’s really made me question even more if anything happened to her as a baby. When Sethe was found in the shed with her children, she was trying to swing Denver against a wall to kill her. Any kind of trauma like that to a baby, even if they are being thrown around, is dangerous to the development of the brain. The more we read about Denver and she speaks, the more I begin to wonder if there is anything physically wrong with her after the incident. Although she is 18 years old she acts even more childish that I thought. She holds onto small threads of hope like a little child, as in her waiting for Halle. She also describes herself as one with Beloved, when she says she “swallowed her blood right along with my mother’s milk” (242). Beloved’s passage was rather confusing to read. Half the time I was confused as to what she was talking about, but in the end it made sense. We’re not supposed to know everything about the Beloved that was found sleeping on a tree stump, and she is a puzzling girl. She is like a wide eyed doe trying to learn more about people, suck the life out of people, push people away, all the while keeping herself together. By breaking up her passage in fragments and in poetic form, it’s putting the reader in the mindset of Beloved.