Julia Goldman
KP
AP Lang
3-26-13
A Wolf in Sheep’s
Clothing: Beloved's Attachment to Sethe
After recovering from her illness
Beloved becomes attached to Sethe. Toni Morrison describes her using animalistic
language that creates an implication of danger behind the initial reading of
friendship. Wherever Sethe was she “was licked, tasted, eaten by Beloved’s
eyes” (68) in the immediate context of the passage Beloved seems to worship
Sethe but the language of “licked, tasted, eaten” has a sinister connotation as
if Sethe’s entire being is being consumed by Beloved. The use of asyndeton also
implies that Beloved would do more to Sethe if given the chance. Beloved is
also described “like a familiar” (68) adding to the haunting aura around her,
not only does she share a name with Sethe’s deceased baby but she also has
haunting qualities about her, creating the feeling she may make Sethe as
miserable in the future as her baby’s death did. Throughout history familiars
have appeared as animals and are there to assist a witch in her magic. This
comparison not only depicts Beloved as a companion to Sethe but also implies an
ulterior motive to her service. The sense of haunting and foreboding is by the
fact that Beloved “rose early in the dark to be there, waiting” (68). Darkness
is often associated with danger and nefarious doings, although on the surface
Beloved’s actions mirror that of an animal waiting for their owner the syntax
of the sentence lends itself to the idea that there is more going on because
Morrison never describes exactly what Beloved is waiting for, just saying that
she was there when Sethe left for work. This sense of ambiguity in Beloved’s
actions, create ambiguity in her motivations of what she will do in the dark.
The animalistic language used to describe Beloved creates a sense of foreboding
in the novel, adding to the supernatural undertones in the house and throughout
Sethe’s life.
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ReplyDeleteThis analysis is strong of Beloved as a character; I think an interesting comparison to build off this analysis could look at the similarities between her and the ghost also called Beloved. This connection might help with the significance of the analysis. I think you could also look at the way Beloved speaks as otherworldly in the line when it talks about how enthralled Sethe was with her voice. Another scene to possible look at from the later reading could be page 87 where Beloved and Denver are talking. The line "I saw her diamonds" implies she has otherworldly powers (87).
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