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Abstract：The studies of the novel Beloved may offer a chance to have a survey of the history of black people. When beloved was first published in 1987, it created a sensation in American literary world. Beloved, has aroused widespread interest and acclaim. The paper tries to have inquires into the novel Beloved from four parts. First part of this paper is about the introduction of the novel and the writer. Second part of this paper discussed the plot summary of this paper for the readers to get a full picture of this novel. The third part is about the analysis of the main characters in the novel. The last part is a conclusion.
Through the analysis of the characters in this novel, the author wants to show that how great a novel it is. And black slaves at that time lived an extreme poor life, and the situation has been greatly improved today.
Key words: Toni Morrison; black slaves; Beloved
1. Introduction
Toni Morrison is a great American author, editor and professor. She showed an early internet in literature when she was just a little kid. She studied humanities at Howard and Cornell Universities. Afterward, she taught at Texas Southern University and since 1989. In 1993, Morrison became the first-African-American woman to receive the Nobel Prize in literature.
Beloved is her fifth novel and her masterpiece. And it brings her the Pulitzer for fiction, and it is the milestone in American literature history.
2. Plot Summary
The story happens in 1873. Sethe and her youngest daughter, Denver, lived in 124 Bluestone, but the house is haunted by the ghost of one of Sethe’s children. Howard and Buglar, Sethe’s sons, run away from home by the age 13. Baby suggs, the mother of Sethe’s husband, dies shortly after the boys left. And there comes a man named Paul D, the last men of the Sweet Home. One day he shows up on Sethe’s doorstep. Sethe invites him into the house. He immediately encounters the ghost, in the form of a pool of red light. He tries to make the family move forward and leave the past behind. In doing so, he forces the ghost of Beloved out. At first, he seems to be successful, but the ghost of Beloved comes back in a form of a young woman. Paul D warns Sethe, but charmed by the young woman. Sethe ignores him. Paul D finds himself being gradually forced out of Sethe’s home by a supernatural presence. And Beloved puts a spell on him one day, forcing him to have sex with her. Paul D overwhelmed with guilt after the incident. When Paul D asks Sethe about it, she tells him that she killed her oldest daughter. However, the revelation was too much for Paul D, and he leaves for good. Sethe comes to believe that the girl is the daughter whom Sethe murdered by slitting her throat with a handsaw when the child was only two years old, and whose tombstone reads only “Beloved”. Upon this realization, Sethe begins to spoil Beloved out of guilt. Beloved recognizes her mother’s guilt and becomes more demanding, throwing hellish tantrums when she does not get her way. At last, Denver reaches out and searches for help from black community. People come and exorcize Beloved. 3. The Analysis of the Main Characters
3.1 The Analysis of Sethe
Sethe is a tough woman with a strong heart. She loves her children in an extreme way. When she runs away from the Sweet Home, she is pregnant with Denver. The teachers from the Sweet Home are after her, wanting to capture her back as slave. On the way she was walking on two feet, and her feet were so swollen that she could not see her arch or feel her ankles. But she could not stop. In a bad situation like that, she does not choose to give up. It takes more than just will and courage, it is because she loves her child so much that she would not let her be a slave just like her. Being a black slave is miserable at that time. Nobody takes you seriously, and they even don’t treat you as human. Sethe had done a lot to make sure her baby become a free person. And Sethe had gone through many miserable things during the journey.
And she is also a great mother with maternal instinct. When Denver said something impolite to Paul D, he felt humiliated and he was angry with Denver. However, Sethe said that she couldn’t hear a word against Denver. Then Paul D thought:” Risky, very risky. For a used- to –be- slave woman to love anything that much was dangerous, especially if it was her children The best thing, he knew, was to love just a little bit.” From here we can see clearly that at that time, a mother couldn’t love her children with her full heart. Why is that? That’s because they are black slaves. The children may die easily because they are not treated as a human being. So if parents settle too much love on them, they may not be able to endure the pain of losing them.
3.2 The Analysis of Beloved
As far as the author is concerned, Beloved is a selfish girl who has been yearning for love for a long time. She was killed by her own mother. So she feels furious because she thinks that her mother doesn’t love her at all. But the truth is just because Sethe loves her too much that she chooses to kill Beloved, she doesn’t want her daughter live a life as hers, which is miserable and painful as black slave. Unfortunately, Beloved doesn’t understand her mother’s love at all, so she decides to come back and take revenge on Sethe.
Beloved wants Sethe’s love and attention desperately. “And it was so much better that the anger that ruled when Sethe did or thought anything that excluded herself.” From here we know that Beloved takes revenge on Sethe by requiring all her love and attention. She couldn’t stand that Sethe’s thought has nothing to do with her. If Sethe pays attention to some other things, she would feel furious. 3.3 The Analysis of Denver
Denver is Sethe’s youngest daughter. No one wants to be friends with her because her house is haunted by Beloved. So she wants to be noticed and loved by even one person. And she also wants to love someone so badly.
“This was the part of the story she loved. And she loved it because it was all about herself.” From here we can see that Denver wants to be an actress of a story, which shows that she wants people’s attention very much. She always has a desire to be the center of the attention but she never has her dream come true.
At first, Sethe is wonder why Beloved and Denver could get along, because Denver is a girl who is unrestricted her feelings all to herself. But then she understands. They spent up or held on to their feelings in harmonious ways. What one had to give the other was pleased to take. And of course, Denver is the one who is pleased to give and Beloved is the one who wants to get her love and attention.
4. Conclusion
The paper tries to analyze the main characters in Beloved. By reading this book, we can get a full picture of what have black slaves suffered in America back then. And we can be aware of the greatness of a mother’s love to her children.
Bibliography
1. Southam. B.C. Toni Morrison: The Critical Heritage [M].New York: Oxford University Press, 1987
2. Toni Morrison. Beloved. [M]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2005.
3. 张伯香。 《英国文学教程学习指南》[M]。武汉：武汉大学出版社。2006.
Through the analysis of the characters in this novel, the author wants to show that how great a novel it is. And black slaves at that time lived an extreme poor life, and the situation has been greatly improved today.
Key words: Toni Morrison; black slaves; Beloved
1. Introduction
Toni Morrison is a great American author, editor and professor. She showed an early internet in literature when she was just a little kid. She studied humanities at Howard and Cornell Universities. Afterward, she taught at Texas Southern University and since 1989. In 1993, Morrison became the first-African-American woman to receive the Nobel Prize in literature.
Beloved is her fifth novel and her masterpiece. And it brings her the Pulitzer for fiction, and it is the milestone in American literature history.
2. Plot Summary
The story happens in 1873. Sethe and her youngest daughter, Denver, lived in 124 Bluestone, but the house is haunted by the ghost of one of Sethe’s children. Howard and Buglar, Sethe’s sons, run away from home by the age 13. Baby suggs, the mother of Sethe’s husband, dies shortly after the boys left. And there comes a man named Paul D, the last men of the Sweet Home. One day he shows up on Sethe’s doorstep. Sethe invites him into the house. He immediately encounters the ghost, in the form of a pool of red light. He tries to make the family move forward and leave the past behind. In doing so, he forces the ghost of Beloved out. At first, he seems to be successful, but the ghost of Beloved comes back in a form of a young woman. Paul D warns Sethe, but charmed by the young woman. Sethe ignores him. Paul D finds himself being gradually forced out of Sethe’s home by a supernatural presence. And Beloved puts a spell on him one day, forcing him to have sex with her. Paul D overwhelmed with guilt after the incident. When Paul D asks Sethe about it, she tells him that she killed her oldest daughter. However, the revelation was too much for Paul D, and he leaves for good. Sethe comes to believe that the girl is the daughter whom Sethe murdered by slitting her throat with a handsaw when the child was only two years old, and whose tombstone reads only “Beloved”. Upon this realization, Sethe begins to spoil Beloved out of guilt. Beloved recognizes her mother’s guilt and becomes more demanding, throwing hellish tantrums when she does not get her way. At last, Denver reaches out and searches for help from black community. People come and exorcize Beloved. 3. The Analysis of the Main Characters
3.1 The Analysis of Sethe
Sethe is a tough woman with a strong heart. She loves her children in an extreme way. When she runs away from the Sweet Home, she is pregnant with Denver. The teachers from the Sweet Home are after her, wanting to capture her back as slave. On the way she was walking on two feet, and her feet were so swollen that she could not see her arch or feel her ankles. But she could not stop. In a bad situation like that, she does not choose to give up. It takes more than just will and courage, it is because she loves her child so much that she would not let her be a slave just like her. Being a black slave is miserable at that time. Nobody takes you seriously, and they even don’t treat you as human. Sethe had done a lot to make sure her baby become a free person. And Sethe had gone through many miserable things during the journey.
And she is also a great mother with maternal instinct. When Denver said something impolite to Paul D, he felt humiliated and he was angry with Denver. However, Sethe said that she couldn’t hear a word against Denver. Then Paul D thought:” Risky, very risky. For a used- to –be- slave woman to love anything that much was dangerous, especially if it was her children The best thing, he knew, was to love just a little bit.” From here we can see clearly that at that time, a mother couldn’t love her children with her full heart. Why is that? That’s because they are black slaves. The children may die easily because they are not treated as a human being. So if parents settle too much love on them, they may not be able to endure the pain of losing them.
3.2 The Analysis of Beloved
As far as the author is concerned, Beloved is a selfish girl who has been yearning for love for a long time. She was killed by her own mother. So she feels furious because she thinks that her mother doesn’t love her at all. But the truth is just because Sethe loves her too much that she chooses to kill Beloved, she doesn’t want her daughter live a life as hers, which is miserable and painful as black slave. Unfortunately, Beloved doesn’t understand her mother’s love at all, so she decides to come back and take revenge on Sethe.
Beloved wants Sethe’s love and attention desperately. “And it was so much better that the anger that ruled when Sethe did or thought anything that excluded herself.” From here we know that Beloved takes revenge on Sethe by requiring all her love and attention. She couldn’t stand that Sethe’s thought has nothing to do with her. If Sethe pays attention to some other things, she would feel furious. 3.3 The Analysis of Denver
Denver is Sethe’s youngest daughter. No one wants to be friends with her because her house is haunted by Beloved. So she wants to be noticed and loved by even one person. And she also wants to love someone so badly.
“This was the part of the story she loved. And she loved it because it was all about herself.” From here we can see that Denver wants to be an actress of a story, which shows that she wants people’s attention very much. She always has a desire to be the center of the attention but she never has her dream come true.
At first, Sethe is wonder why Beloved and Denver could get along, because Denver is a girl who is unrestricted her feelings all to herself. But then she understands. They spent up or held on to their feelings in harmonious ways. What one had to give the other was pleased to take. And of course, Denver is the one who is pleased to give and Beloved is the one who wants to get her love and attention.
4. Conclusion
The paper tries to analyze the main characters in Beloved. By reading this book, we can get a full picture of what have black slaves suffered in America back then. And we can be aware of the greatness of a mother’s love to her children.
Bibliography
1. Southam. B.C. Toni Morrison: The Critical Heritage [M].New York: Oxford University Press, 1987
2. Toni Morrison. Beloved. [M]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2005.
3. 张伯香。 《英国文学教程学习指南》[M]。武汉：武汉大学出版社。2006.