3rd Beloved Analysis

In the scene where Sethe is recalling what happened after she escaped from Sweet Home, Toni Morrison uses war-like imagery to emphasize the struggles that Sethe encountered in her previous life. Sethe recalls Baby Suggs telling her to lay down her “sword and shield” (101). The military symbols in this passage imply that for Sethe, her life in slavery was a battle that caused great suffering. In addition, the phrase “sword and shield” is repeated several times in the paragraph by Baby Suggs, which produces a calming and almost lullaby-like effect on the reader and Sethe. Sethe then describes her weapons as “heavy knives of defense against misery” (101). The word “heavy” implies that they are burdensome and difficult to carry, which is to be expected given their involvement with the “misery” she has experienced and fought throughout her life.  The image of Sethe laying down her weapons is complemented by the fact that she lays them down “on a bank where clear water rushed on below” (101). The “clear water” of the stream acts as a symbol for cleansing and renewal, symbolizing that Sethe has let her struggles go to be carried off by the water.