Paul D-- does it all tie together

I think Paul D plays a huge role that is not quite so obvious as Denver and Sethe. Paul D consistently discusses his heart of tin—he puts a barrier up to never face his fears of the past. Beloved stands more than just the death of Sethe’s child, but of slavery and African American oppression of a whole. The quote “if [she] hadn’t killed her she would have died” (236) intrigues me because it shows that her mother was simply trying to protect her from the horrors of being an African American during times of slavery. Paul D feels funny about Beloved and thinks she is up to no good. I believe his dissaproval of Beloved has to do with directly with his fear of his past. Sethe also says she killed her daughter to protect her (175), but Paul D. now says Sethe scares him.

These characters tell a story about love and their family relationship, but also represent so much more. Something else that really stuck out to me is that you never know if Beloved is actually real. Sometimes it appears that she is completely human and other time it seems as if she is a ghost or spirit. Beloved is seen by other humans, but disappears in the snap of a finger. Once again I believe this aspect of Beloved’s character directly connects to Paul D. and his views on slavery. This is because sometimes it is hard to believe slavery actually happened and that those horrific events actually occurred.

I am unsure of what is to happen in the end, but I keep thinking about Paul D. I know he is a minor character, however, I feel his disapproval of Beloved, fear of Sethe, and description of his horrifying past will have a large effect on the conclusion of this novel.