Beloved

After reading the second part of “Beloved,” things are starting to become more clear in the storyline. I can follow not only the storyline, but also I am beginning to understand the character’s story lines more so than before. I feel as though I am more drawn the Denver’s character, and especially her interaction with Beloved. Denver just sounds like a sad girl, one who feels trapped in a house she does not wish to belong to. Her need to take care of others, as in Beloved, was a great parallel to that of Sethe. Denver’s need to care for Beloved was like Sethe’s need to care for her baby while talking about the men taking her baby’s milk away. I thought it was an interesting parallel, considering that Denver tends to dislike Sethe for almost trapping her in the home.
Before they had even mentioned how Beloved is actually the baby girl that died, I started noticing the clues that were supposed to point the reader in that direction. Beloved just seems like a creepy character, for lack of better descriptive words. Until we learn even more about her, she just seems like a leech, preying on Sethe and especially Denver. Denver feels this need to be connected to Beloved, truly believing this is her dead sister. Beloved is Denver’s only connection in a world that feels so lost to her. By taking care of her when she is sick, Denver is making up for Beloved’s death in the afterlife (but really, how believable is a dead baby living on a bridge for 17 years or so coming back to the house?). Beloved also seems to take full advantage of Denver, treating her like a dear sister on minute and an enemy the next, which has Denver fawning over Beloved to keep her happy. It’s sad though, because Beloved even tells Denver that Sethe is the one she needs in her life, saying “She is the one I need. You can go but she is the one I have to have” (89). It’s foreshadowing Beloved’s character as a leech, and perhaps is out for revenge. It will be interesting to see how it is that Beloved died and why she felt the need to come back and prey off of the family.