Moving on from the Past

Let It Go!

Toni Morrison demonstrates that although slavery is over African-Americans are still mentally chained up from the effects and memories of slavery.  Sethe is still trying to mentally escape the memories of her past. Going through all the hardships it is a struggle to keep moving forward and letting go of what happened. Sethe is torn up with guilt and fear. Eventually with Denver's help she is closer to becoming free. In the end Paul D comes back and Sethe and him can continue their lives together. The lesson learned is to not beat yourself up to much from the sins of your past because you can’t change them. In all people make mistakes and to move on with our lives we must focus on the present and future.  Sethe dwells too much on the past and drowns in her guilt that she can’t move on to a brighter future for herself. Sethe learns to be forgiving of herself and tries to move on from the past.  Even though killing your own children isn’t justified ,but from all that she went through I believe Sethe deserves another opportunity to leave her past behind her. In the end Toni Morrison adds the irony to this book that although we should let go of the past she still needs to tell this story because people may learn from it.

In the novel Sethe is represented as the ego which is the decision making component of our personality. The ego focuses on the reality and focuses on reason. Sethe usually looks at things realistically because she has gone through so much she wont bring her hopes up with a fantasy. When Paul D hears the news that she killed her baby, Sethe know that he will leave. She lets go of the hope that people will stay with her in her house for very long. She comes to the logical conclusion that people will abandon her every time ,because what she has done. The ego handles the realistic way of compromising with the Id. The ego also focuses on realistic ways to avoid pain and gain pleasure. Often the ego is weak relative to the headstrong id ,but the ego can point the id in the right direction. As Sethe is the ego then Beloved is the id. Sethe tries to realistically compromise with Beloved and please her needs like spending time with her. Although Beloved takes advantage of Sethe they no longer can compromise and balance each other out.

Sethe goes through moral anxiety that the id and superego create for her and tries to use defense mechanisms to stop fearing the violation of moral principles. In Sethe we see the id, when she tries to kill the white man who tries to give Denver a job. Sethe the superego which is on morals is telling what she did was wrong. Sethe does have good morals, but when she lets the id take control she loses it and the superego makes her feel guilt.

Circularity in Relationships

Circularity in Beloved

In the passage the “Circularity in Beloved” by Philip page recognizes the symbolism of a circle or cycle and what it represents in different stages of the novel. There are different relationships that form the circle of a family but also can break it. In the novel we see the community as a whole form this circle of relationships. Baby Suggs gathers everyone and has them join together shareing and expressing their feelings. Although they can be bonded together they can also exclude people such as Sethe from the circle. There is also times where there are circles of the cycle of life such as a rebirth. Phillip states that Beloved is a representation of this circle of being reborn and a cycle of life. The circle also comes back to the idea of the past and going back from the past and to the future and then to the present. The memory’s of Paul D and Sethe going around from different stages of their lives. In all this whole novel is a circle going back from different parts of their lives and concluding to the present and future.

One of the key elements that Philip discovers are that of the relationship and ties between the characters. He states that “As with the community circle, these family groups can be both healthy and destructive. Clearly, the loss of family is a large part of these characters' tragedy, and their attempts to retain or remake a family reflect their desire to become spiritually and psychologically whole. However,the novel also dramatizes the fact that one potential family may destroy an-other.”

In this quote I believe that Philip states it perfectly on how relationships play out in the novel. Communities are created and then torn down. Everyone desires and needs that close relationship with a significant other but in a way can also fear it. Baby Suggs is a perfect example of how she lost many family members such as her sons and daughters due to slavery. Ultimately she joins the community and holds a sanctuary for the people that are hurt like her. In this case the community healed her.  In many cases there is a joining and breaking relationships throughout the novel. Paul D and Beloved both enter as breaking and completing a circle in the empty space in 124.  As Paul D first comes to 124, he breaks a tie that Denver had with Sethe and the ghosts company. It is first rough but later the shadows of them in a circle holding ands represents a start of a new life. Although when Beloved enters their new lives the tie between the trio is broken again. Paul D leaves breaking out of the circle and therefore causing pain to Sethe. Sethe, Beloved, and Denver then become a trio and go ice skating together having a good time. Ultimately that circle is then broken once again and another so on. In the novel it seems like endless breakups and makeups.

Beloved a Symbol to Everyone

Figurations of Rape and the Supernatural of Beloved

In the passage Figurations of Rape and the Supernatural of Beloved , by Pamela E. Barnett which includes several pieces of evidence of where rape and the supernatural clash together. It is a very interesting passage that makes the reader realize how much rape and sexual recurrences are brought up. The careless and dehumanizing way that people are abused and abuse others. Throughout the novel several characters primarily Sethe and Paul D try to leave the past as it is and forget the terrible traumatic experiences recurring.

In the novel Barnett makes a clear statement from the beginning saying, “link between haunting and rape that invigorates the novel's dominant trope:the succubus figure. The character Beloved is not just the ghost of Sethe's dead child; she is a succubus, a female demon and nightmare figure that sexually assaults male sleepers and drains them of semen.” In this quote she is stating that Beloved is not only a haunted image of Sethe’s dead daughter reincarnated ,but symbolizes the hardships of Sethe’s past.  She states Beloved as a “succubus figure” which mean she is a female demon known to have sexual intercourse with men. When Paul D is in the cabin he is sexual assualted by Beloved which brings back terrible memories of Sweet Home and when he was imprisoned. Paul D is also forced to leave 124 being pushed away from Beloved. Beloved also sexual assaults Sethe in a way that reminds her of how the Schoolteacher and the two school boys raped her. It sucks away Sethe’s vitality leaving her weak and helpless. As Sethe grows weaker Beloved grows stronger. Beloved is a symbol of all the hardships that people went through in slavery. Beloved brings back the memories of pain,death, and torture that went on,  putting Sethe and Paul D in fear. Although there all these bad memories coming from Beloved there is also some good things she represents, that Barnett fails to realize. She completes an empty space for Sethe as a daughter relieving guilt and companionship and a sister for Denver.  She is also a figure of a lover and a mystery to Paul D. Eventually, Beloved can represent different things to everyone.

A big theme of this novel is how the characters in the novel are now traumatized by the rape and assault that they lived through in slavery. The characters go through faces of shock or denial. Halle that went through a traumatic experience of Sethe being raped,she was in shock putting butter milk on his face. The strongest symptoms of trauma are that there are recurring flashbacks and strained relationships. Although these feelings are normal they prevent,  such as Sethe and Paul D from moving on with their lives. There is also a post-traumatic stress disorder which is a person that goes through traumatic experience and relive these memories and nightmares. Those nightmares may come and go or be there for times and suddenly experience them daily. They also may avoid things that bring them bad memories, feel unaffectionate, aggressive, and violent. This relates to how Beloved is this recurring nightmare to Sethe and Paul D and are forced to relive these recurrent traumatic experiences.

Lesson of transitioning to Childhood to Adulthood

Childhood transition to Adulthood
                                         

In the beginning of the novel Denver is isolated from society and depends on her mother. Denver is kept away from society because Sethe killed her baby girl and Denver is the only one left to Sethe. Her other brothers Howard and Burglar readily left afraid that Sethe might come after them to. Denver sticks by her mother and creates company of her own. In the novel it states, “Denver's imagination produced its own hunger and its own food, which she badly needed because loneliness wore her out. Wore her out. Veiled and protected by the live green walls, she felt ripe and clear, and salvation was as easy as a wish”(p36). This quote represents how she is lonely and is only amused by her own imagination. She hopes that she won’t be abandoned or alone anymore. Many people have left her life and townspeople avoid her that the only people she has is the ghost and her mother. But in the end of the book she tries to kick Beloved out and help her mother from Beloveds tyranny. She gets the town people to join her and Beloved disappears. The main focus is that Denver doesn’t need to depend on  any one now because she knows who she is and can handle herself.  This relates to the transition of adulthood and how people that we depend on eventually end up depending on you. Denver gets a job and can support herself and help her mother. In my life transitioning to adulthood is a struggle because you have to think about things that you have never thought about before. But like Denver we must all go through hardships to find who we are and make our own lives.

In my lens I realize that Denver is like the superego in the novel. The superego is the values and morals of society and tries to stop the id impulses from taking over.  In the novel Denver tries stopping Beloveds aggression and gathers townspeople to exorcise this demon.   The superego also values ideal self of behaving as a member of society. As Denver reaches out to the community she becomes a contributing member of society. There is also the conscious in the superego as punishing the ego through guilt. Sethe may represent the ego and how Denver believes that Sethe should be guilty from what she has done. But ultimately Denver believes that what is in the past should stay in the past.

Beloveds relationship Status and Id

Text: Beloved by Toni Morrison

Critical Lens: Psychoanalytic

“It became a way to feed her. Just as Denver discovered and relied on the delightful effect sweet things had on Beloved, Sethe learned the profound satisfaction Beloved got from storytelling. It amazed Sethe (as much as it pleased Beloved) because every mention of her past life hurt ... to Denver's inquiries Sethe gave short replies or rambling incomplete reveries. Even with Paul D, who had shared some of it and to whom she could talk with at least a measure of calm, the hurt was always there-like a tender place in the corner of her mouth that the bit left. But, as she began telling about the earrings, she found herself wanting to, liking it. Perhaps it was Beloved's distance from the events itself, or her thirst for hearing it--in any case it was an unexpected pleasure.”

Beloved enters Sethe and Denver’s life as a daughter and sister. Beloved asks things about Sethe’s past that surprisingly don’t bother her. To the other characters such as Denver and Paul D it isn’t as easy for Sethe to tell them about her past. Beloved also acts like a two-year old wanting sugar and stories. Her desire is to be with Sethe and know more about her.  Beloved is the rebirth of a new baby that has no lines on her skin and is flawless. She is also a representation of the id(part of our personality). The id is the impulsive and unconscious part of our psyche which acts on instincts. A newborn child is all id just as Beloved is like a newborn child.  Like Beloved the id wants immediate satisfaction which gives pleasure and when denied what it wants it goes through unpleasure. The id does not concern with the reality of everyday life or any logic. Beloved demands satisfaction with pleasure such as spending time with Sethe and listening to her stories.  She also not focused on the consequences of her action. Beloved impulses or what she wants must be satisfied immediately, regardless of the consequences.  The thinking process of the id is illogical, irrational, and unrealistic.  Beloved also seems to be in the oral stage still which is the stage of infants of sucking and tasting. If a person is fixated in the oral stage then will not continue to the next stage of development until oral issues are resolved.  Beloved is still dependent of Sethe and ,since she killed her could not go through the next stages of life. 

Image of Beloved looking at Sethe tell a story

Beloved also has a weird relationship with Sethe where she it is sort of like an anxious preoccupied attachment which is instead of feeling real love and trust toward the person they often feel a strong emotional need caused in deprivation in childhood. Beloved wants her emotional needs to be meet and throughout the novel it demonstrates that she doesn't really love Sethe.  Although Beloved clings to Sethe she takes actions that push Sethe away. Beloved is usually clingy, demanding, and possessive towards the end of the novel. Beloved turns from a daughter figure to a tyrant to Sethe.

Sethe's Rememory and Defense Mechanisms

Text: Beloved by Toni Morrison

Critical Lens: Psychoanalytic

Sethe claims,“If a house burns down, its gone, but the place--the picture of it--stays, and not just in my rememory , but out there, in the world. What I remember is a picture floating around out there outside my head. I mean, even if I don’t think it, even if I die, the picture of what I did, or knew , or saw is still out there. Right in the place where it happened.”

Denver states, “If its out there still waiting that means that nothing ever dies”. (p.44-45)

In this passage Sethe looks back and reflects upon her life which is mostly affected by her past. Denver asks her to share what Sethe is thinking about her life and comes to the conclusion that “nothing ever dies”.  Sethe leaves us insight on how the past does not let her move on to the future. Sethe states “rememory” as a combination of remember and memory. She feels Sweet home is there waiting for her and she can never escape her past. Sethe killed her oldest baby girl in the hopes that they will never have to go through what she went through. Sethe in this passage feels guilty because she can never take back what she did although in the moment it was the only thing she could think of. Out there in the world in the paper or in the small town no one will ever look at her the same. Everything is a reminder of what she has done and can not escape it because it will be waiting for her. Sethe is trapped in the past and in the house and in her own memory.  As Paul D (one of the last sweet home men) appears those old memories come back to her of Sweet home that eventually led to her mistake. In this whole book it seems the only one paying the price is Sethe because no one states the awful things that happened in slavery.  Beloved is another thing that is waiting for her and is an image of her baby girl. As Denver says “nothing ever dies” it is like her baby girl never died and is haunting 124.

Memory is a very important part of the novel and how Sethe struggles with moving on with her past. Memory although in the novel is the enemy to Sethe is essential to our lives. Without our memory we would not be able to have our past help us with our present and our future. The process of memory is through encoding, storage, and retrieval.  Encoding is the ways it can be stored usually through our senses and whether it has meaning or not. Sethe might have taken deeply this information of obviously killing her daughter has a lot of meaning to her.  Then the memory is stored in either short term or long term memory. This is how we retrieve information and in this case Sethe has these memory’s in her long term memory. The memories stored in the long-term memory can last a lifetime.

In all Sethe uses defense mechanism which is a mental process when a person unconsciously tries to avoid conscious anxiety and stress. A defense mechanism she uses is Rationalization. Rationalization involves explaining an unacceptable behavior in a rational and logical way, but avoiding the truth. Sethe avoids the truth that she killed her daughter and tries to justify it by saying that she was preventing them from going back to Sweet home. Although there could have been other alternatives like hiding them and such. In all Sethe was abused and therefore terrified in which motivated her to make a terrible mistake.

Mother and Daughter can Merge Into One

Text: Slavery and Motherhood in Toni Morrison’s Beloved by Terry Paul Caesar

Link:https://app.activateinstruction.org/playlist/resource-sview/rid/552bdbf8f0778746029da7fd/id/54f8e4077f8b9adc6fff4e70/bc0/explore/bc1/playlist

Terry Paul’s criticism of Beloved has many different interpretations of the novel. The author notes a similarity in theme of the sentimental novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, written in the mid 1800’s, and Beloved. The main idea in Terry Paul’s criticism, revolves around the concept of possession and ownership between a mother and daughter. It is interesting to see how in Morrison’s novel, according to Terry Paul, motherhood and slavery are “equitable”. He discusses how if motherhood and slavery are the same, “then the mother can feel she is, exactly, a slave to her daughter, just as a daughter can to her mother”. In Beloved we see this between Sethe and Beloved. However, Terry Paul’s criticism raises the question whether the infanticide was to protect Sethe’s own self possession or to genuinely protect the baby from slavery.

There are clear differences between being a woman and being a mother. When Sethe had her children, she was giving up her life. She had to devote all her time to nurture and care for her family. This is where the idea of a mother being a slave to her daughter is reflected. The freedom one has as an individual, is limited when one becomes a parent. In this case, Denver and Beloved’s life is now Sethe’s life. Both mother and daughters merge into almost being one person. In other words, Sethe is “giving herself away”, only one person can actually exist because they are all sharing the same life. Throughout the novel, Beloved’s behavior begins to change. She becomes more oppressive and takes advantage of Sethe. In the criticism, it was mentioned that “Beloved ate up [Sethe’s] life”. Parents do become enslaved by their children.

When reading Beloved through the feminist lens, I never came across this idea and interpreted the novel the way Terry Paul did. I personally feel that the concept explained in the criticism, was difficult to explain. However, by reading this, certain events in the story seem to be more clear to me now. For example, when Paul D “wants Sethe pregnant”, Sethe is not too enthusiastic. My initial thoughts were that Sethe did not want to be pregnant because she felt too old and was now responsible for both Beloved and Denver. To Sethe being pregnant again with Paul D meant giving her life away, to another baby. Sethe wanted to posses her own life, because she has always struggled with the idea of “claiming herself” even though she has been freed. With a newborn baby, Sethe would never claim ownership of herself and continue to be enslaved internally for many years.

Is there a connection yet?

Beloved, a novel about the life of a freed slave who still lives a life of oppression even after slavery. There are times in the book where she is presented with a change in her life such as the Carnival. Beloved has attempted to influence the idea of change but always seems to come back to Sethe holding on to her past. As George Santayana once said, “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”

I have a different mindset than Sethe making it difficult to connect with the novel. For example, when Paul D claims he must fornicate with Sethe every morning so that he does not get tempted to rape Beloved. Here Sethe agrees to this but If I was in her situation I would have argued the fact that he is a grown man who should by now be able to control his urges. If he cannot, then he is no man and should not be living with us on Sweet Home. It almost seems like Sethe is scared of change, to the point where she might of wanted her old life back on Sweet Home.

When I speak about the old life on Sweet home, I mean the time when Baby Suggs was alive preaching in the clearing and Sethe the girl every guy was dreaming of. It got to the point where those men including Paul D had to fornicate with cows to stop themselves from raping Sethe. She may have enjoyed that attention but if she understood her situation it was very degrading. For someone characterized as a strong woman by the general population who has read this book, I do not see any part of her life to be characterized as strong but more of foolish and ignorant.

As I have stated before in an earlier post, it is difficult for me to relate my life with Sethe or the novel in general because I have never experienced any form of oppression. The only ways I see myself connecting with this novel is seeing her missed opportunity that I would have also missed such as the twins running away. I would have chosen to run away with them to search for a better life instead of living on Sweet Home.

Jobs as freedom

“I was thinking of looking for work around here. What you think?”

“Ain't much. River mostly. And hogs”

“Well, I never worked on water, but I can pick up anything heavy as me, hogs included.”

“White people better here than Kentucky but you may have to scramble some.”

“It ain't whether I scramble; its where. You saying its all right to scramble here?”

“Better than alright.”

In this passage, on page 50, Sethe and Paul D are at 124 and Paul D is asking about getting a job. Sethe says that only the pig slaughtering and river loading jobs are available to Paul D because those jobs require strength and hands and he has those skills because he was a slave. No other jobs were available to him because other jobs required reading and/or writing and since he was a slave he had no education. He accepts that those are the kind of jobs that are available to him. Having those kind of jobs is different because he would get paid and he will be treated like a person for the first time. White people still own the businesses and wouldn't have degrading jobs. These quotes show that even though Paul D will finally get paid for his labor he still is part of an oppressive social class system. His social class dictates his life.

Reflecting and Responding: Who has the power?

“Mi esposo es la cabeza de la casa, pero yo soy el cuello en que lo mueve”.

I stumbled across this quote from a conversation of my gossiping aunts. My aunt heard it on the radio, regarding “machismo”. The woman who made this humorous statement was saying that even though her husband is the head of the house, she is the one who controls his neck, directing where her husband’s head moves. I found it amusing to hear how much feminine pride the woman had in herself, something that is very unlike of Sethe. Sethe is portrayed as a very strong/hardworking woman with some weaknesses and flaws. However, throughout the novel Sethe somehow controls Paul D in a way that may not be too noticeable.

Sethe has an empty soul that needs to be filled with happiness. I have noticed that her sense of loneliness has almost been used as a secret weapon. She often feels rejected by the people around her. For this reason, Sethe is unable to be happy. When Paul D comes knocking on her door she feels relieved that she has finally found one of her own people from Sweet Home. Reading Beloved through the feminist lens, has allowed me to see something that I didn’t think about before. Men are usually always seen as the superior and dominant figure in society. However, here we can see how much power Sethe actually holds even though she is more quiet and exclusive. With that being said, Sethe’s desire for affection has made Paul D directly engage in having intercourse with her, as if he was under her spell. Not only that, but there is a sense of jealousy from Paul D when Sethe decides to foster Beloved. The gender roles in Beloved seem to switch at times. In some circumstances the power is dominated by the male character’s. Nonetheless, the women in the novel, like Sethe who is more reserved, have power that is not physically distributed. Sethe is able to control some people with her vulnerable personality.

Beloved is mine, Beloved is my daughter.

Text: Beloved by Toni Morrison

Critical Lens: Feminist Lens

“BELOVED, she my daughter. She mine. See. She come back to me of her own free will and I don’t have to explain a thing. I didn’t have the time to explain before because it had to be done quick. Quick. She had to be safe and I put her where she would be. But my love was tough and she back now… I’ll tend her as no mother ever tended a child, a daughter. Nobody will ever get my milk no more except my own children...I’ll tell Beloved about that; she’ll understand. She my daughter” (236).

In this quote, Sethe realizes that the girl who she has welcomed into her family is actually her dead daughter Beloved. The excerpt from the novel is a monologue that shows how Sethe is excited but obsessive with the thought that her daughter is now back in the arms of her mother. Sethe did not want her children to experience the same pain that she and other slaves were going through at that time. Sethe decided that by ending the life of her children, she would be saving her children from the torture of enslavement. Unfortunately, Beloved was the first and only daughter that was killed. Baby Suggs quickly took her children away from Sethe before committing another violent crime.

Now that Beloved has returned as an older girl, Sethe now feels that it is her responsibility to make it up to Beloved and embrace what motherhood truly is about. Sethe is convinced that Beloved understands where the action of killing her daughter came from. Sethe believes that it came from the heart in order for Beloved “to be safe” (236). Her true intentions were good, not bad. She continuously says “she my daughter...she mine” (236). Many new mothers feel overjoyed yet shocked because they cannot believe their baby is now theirs. Sethe reacts in the same way and feels like a first time mom because now that she has her daughter Beloved, she can start a new chapter in her life as a better mother.

The tone of the passage makes Sethe seem like she is going insane. The language she uses to claim her daughter by repeatedly saying “She mine. See” shows how child like she is, excited to have her daughter back with her. For all the harm that Sethe has done to her loving daughter, she now feels culpable and wants to “tend her as no mother ever tended a child, a daughter” (236). It is up to Sethe to protect and nurture her children from all the bad in the world by giving them all the love they need. Specially, Beloved. She says, ““because you are mine...I have to show you these things, and teach you what a mother should” (237). Sethe’s mother might have not given her the attention she needed, but the lack of affection she experienced has taught Sethe how to become a better mother. Sethe seems to be filled with life and motivation. She is absolutely inspired to be a better individual and also embrace how special motherhood is. Sethe was never able to experience this at Sweet Home. She was worried about protecting her children from the white men.

Just Let go

Reading Beloved through a New Historical lense was quite interesting. As I continue reading, I notice more and more of her oppression even after slavery. I started to notice her oppression when Beloved rose from the river and started to live with Sethe. At that point, I noticed that Sethe could not let go of her past and seek for change. She always said that she had a soft spot for Beloved due to the fact that she seems to be an older resemblances of a newborn. It was difficult for me to connect with this book because I have never been oppressed in my life nor have I been limited with opportunities.

The only connection I can make between Beloved and my life would be the extreme change this country has been through to allow people with all backgrounds to have an opportunity to live a better life. I would describe Sethe as a strong minded woman but is easily blinded by her past unable to see the opportunity she had available to her. Slavery was no longer allowed in the United States yet she decides to stay on Sweet home where there is no opportunity. She could of left for an education, a better job, she could of done so many things but she holds on to her past so tightly that it prevents her from moving on.

As stated before, It was difficult for me to connect with this book due to the fact that I have never experienced a limitation on freedom or opportunity. In addition there were many conflicting ideas that Sethe had done that I would of never have even considered. One of those decisions was to let a stranger live on Sweet Home for free and for a long period of time without even know who she really was. In addition, the most frustrating event was when I found out that Paul D was supporting himself and 3 other people (Sethe, Denver, and Beloved). I respect Paul D for stepping up to support his family but when Sethe allows Beloved to stay without really consulting Paul D was a turning point in my characterization of Sethe.

However the thought ran across my head that maybe Sethe was just trying to be similar to Baby Suggs in the way that she helped runaway slaves or freed slaves starting their new life. But as she continued to take care of Beloved this thought soon turned into the idea that Sethe was no longer a strong woman but a scared woman who is afraid of what the future holds for her so she holds onto the past.

Responding and Reflecting: The Repercussions of Slave Tattoos

After reading Beloved through the feminist lens, I have consistently noticed the idea of slavery and the impacts it has on women slaves. Sethe feels shunned by society because she, herself, has been living a dreadful life yearning for freedom. As the only female slave on the plantation of “Sweet Home”, the actions made against her have left her with awful memories and most importantly, an unforgettable past that she cannot overcome. Various actions like the ones of the white boys, the loss of her children, and the betrayal from society have made it hard for Sethe to move forward.

Sethe has a scar on her back resembling a “chokecherry tree”. The tree is a symbol of her own remorse that is continuing to grow. Trees are usually used to show life and joy, however, the tree symbolizes the opposite, capturing all the horrific memories when she was once a slave. Sethe is internally and externally wounded. She perfectly knows it. When Sethe takes Denver and Beloved ice skating, due to their inexperience on ice, Sethe, Denver, and Beloved collapse to the floor, “but nobody saw them falling” (205). They begin to laugh, but later Sethe’s tears of laughter turn into mournful tears. During the 1800’s, women in general were portrayed as fragile, emotional, and sensitive to their feelings. This perception may still exist today, but the repercussions women slaves had to cope with were traumatizing.

In the novel, Sethe is depicted as a very strong woman, but it has not always been easy for her. Gender roles are a key aspect since all slaves had different and unique experiences. Simple things like taking food home from the restaurant where Sethe works, terrifies her. Why? Because she remembers Schoolteacher torturing her good old pal, Sixo, for stealing one of Sweet Home’s pigs. For Sethe, accepting her past has been a sentimental experience. Similar to a tattoo, it will always be permanent on one’s body wherever they go. Sethe’s chokecherry tree “tattoo”, is a reminder of her life. Being a slave has scarred Sethe, and can never be removed. Her experience is stuck in her conscious, not allowing her to live the life she fully desires too.