Worth Books - Summary and analysis of Beloved: based on the book by Toni Morrison

Summary and Analysis of

Beloved

Based on the Book by Toni Morrison

Contents

Context

Beloved, published in 1987, explores Americas dark history of slavery and its deeply fracturing impact on individuals and society today. The novel takes place during the early postCivil War years until after the nullification of the Dred Scott decision by Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.

Flashing back and forth between locations in a free state (Ohio) and a slave state (Kentucky), and shifting between the realities of the enslaved to their lives as freed blacks, the book addresses the struggles of ex-slaves in coming to terms with the indignities and incredible losses the inhumane system caused.

Toni Morrison first made a name for herself with her previous novels, The Bluest Eye , Sula , and Song of Solomon . She decided to write Beloved to show how painful the construct of racism is on the most vulnerable people in society. The novel went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1988, and was a key component in the decision to award the author the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1997.

Like two other classic American novels about race, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird (as recently as 2016, all three titles have been on the list of most banned books in the United States) , Beloved is considered one of the more important historical novels written about slavery in the twentieth century.

Overview

Beloved is set in two places: Cincinnati, the geographical and symbolic Free North, and the once benevolent-turned-cruel Sweet Home, a plantation in the slave state of Kentucky. The novels narrative is not chronological, but rather it moves back and forth through time as the characters relive their pasts and struggle with the present. It also frequently shifts between perspectives, putting readers into the points of view of the different characters.

The novel begins in 1873, introducing Sethe, Baby Suggs, Denver, and a haunted house at 124 Bluestone Road in Cincinnati: the central theme around which the story of love, devotion, repressed memory, and freedom revolves.

Strong and determined, before a pregnant Sethe reaches the house on Bluestone Road, she escapes from Sweet Home, setting out on the perilous journey to Ohio. A wandering white girl, Amy Denver, finds Sethe in labor and helps her deliver a daughter, whom Sethe names after her. Stamp Paid, an agent of the Underground Railroad, brings mother and infant to the right side of the river and into the arms of Sethes mother-in-law, Baby Suggs, and her other three children. Sethe is free at last.

The Dred Scott ruling deemed escaped slaveseven those whod crossed into the Northproperty of their former slave owners. Facing possible recapture after only 28 days of freedom, Sethe chooses instead to slit her two-year-old daughters throat rather than give her over to the horrors of slavery. She tries to kill her younger daughter, Denver, too, but Stamp Paid stops her. After serving time in jail, she returns her childrenDenver and her two sonsand to Baby Suggs in the house on Bluestone Road. The house is now bewitched by the spiteful ghost of the slain baby.

Not long after, Baby Suggs dies, and Sethes sons are scared off by the bitter spirit, leaving Sethe and Denver alone in the spiteful house. A surprise visit from a former Sweet Home slave, Paul D, sets in motion a chain of events that turns their lives upside down. With a shared history that draws them closer, Sethe and Paul D hope for a small measure of happiness. For a time, the house falls silent.

One fateful day, a mysterious young woman walks out of the river and into the yard. Her name is Belovedthe word Sethe engraved on the babys headstoneher daughters spirit in human form. Initially bringing joy, she gradually deteriorates into a malicious, parasitical force.

The community that once shunned Sethe comes to her rescue, banishing Beloveds evil spell from the house. In the end, Sethe, fragile and traumatized, reunites with Paul D to live out the rest of their days together.

Cast of Characters

Amy Denver: A kind and simple-minded white girl who helps Sethe deliver her fourth child, who Sethe names Denver in her honor.

Baby Suggs: The matriarch of the house at 124 Bluestone Road, the former slave is the mother of Halle Suggs and mother-in-law to Sethe

Beloved: The mysterious young woman and spirit of Sethes third child, the girl she killed to prevent her from being returned to slavery.

Buglar: Sethes second oldest son.

Denver: Sethes youngest child, born during her escape from Sweet Home.

Edward Bodwin: Mrs. Bodwins son and Denvers employer.

Ella: The towns compassionate churchwoman and one of Baby Suggss neighbors.

Halle Suggs: Sethes husband, father to her 6 children, and former slave at Sweet Home.

Howard: Sethes oldest son.

Janey Wagon: A servant in the Bodwin home.

Lady Jones: Denvers caring schoolteacher and friend.

Edward Bodwin and Miss Bowdin: Former abolitionists, the single brother and sister who own 124 Bluestone Road.

Mr. and Mrs. Garner: The kindly slave owners of Sweet Home.

Paul A and Paul F: Paul Ds brothers who were slaves, also known as the Sweet Home men.

Paul D: One of the Sweet Home men and Sethes love interest at 124 Bluestone Road.

Schoolteacher: The antagonist. Mr. Garners brother-in-law, who becomes the manager of Sweet Home after Mr. Garner dies. Hes cruel to the slaves.

Sethe: The protagonist. A soulful and tortured woman who escaped slavery.

Sixo: A tough and courageous slave at Sweet Home.

Stamp Paid: A former slave who works on the Underground Railroad as an agent and helps bring Sethe to 124 Bluestone Road.

Summary

One

In 1873, the house at 124 Bluestone Road is haunted by the ghost of a dead little girl. Sethes sons, Howard and Buglar, are scared away by the venom that possesses the address, leaving their mother, Sethe, their younger sister, Denver, and their dying grandmother, Baby Suggs, to deal with the ill-natured house themselves. Baby Suggs says moving away is useless because all houses have the ghosts of Negro grief in them. She dies shortly thereafter, tired of fighting and heartbroken from the death of her grandchild.

Paul D knew Sethe when they were slaves at the Sweet Home plantation in Kentucky in 1855, and after many years, he shows up at her door in Ohio. When Sethe invites him inside, he walks into a red pulsing light, which he immediately identifies as a spirit. A wave of grief washes over him, and he understands that the spirit is more sad than evil. Sethe introduces him to her daughter, Denver, who is 18 years old, and who, unaccustomed to strangers and overwhelmed by his kindness, becomes emotional. Paul D tells the two women about his memory of Sethe when they were young and she was pregnant, telling him of her plans to escape and follow her children who were already on a wagon to freedom. Denver, excited to meet someone who knew her father, Halle, before he went missing, is eager to hear more about him.

Feeling she can say anything to Paul D, Sethe confides in him about the time back in Kentucky when two white boys assaulted her, holding her down and drinking the milk from her breasts. That act broke her heart, but the beating she got for accusing the boys opened up her back, leaving scars that look like a chokecherry tree. Paul D is tender with Sethe, inciting the house to pitch and shake in anger. When the house quiets, Paul D and Sethe make love. He decides to stick around, and the ghost decides to leave. Tired of always guarding against happiness, Sethe wants to let Paul D into their lives. Denver, however, is suspicious. She is close to the ghost baby and she suspects that its planning something. Paul Ds arrival has messed up those plans and has put space between her and the ghost.