Beloved, By Toni Morrison

Thus far our group is fifty pages into Beloved by Toni Morrison. Firstly, we discussed the motif of the supernatural present in the story. The presence of a ghost pushes the novel’s limits regarding realism. The characters in the story believe that the supernatural help to understand the world around them. We continually questioned why Beloved was behaving in such a violent and disruptive manner. Perhaps, the ghost could be the spirit of Sethe’s murdered third child. Additionally, we questioned why trees were important to the novel as they seem to represent healing, comfort and life. The beautiful trees planted in Sweet Home mask the true horror of the plantation which Sethe remembers. Paul D is able to seek liberty by following flowering trees to the North. Sethe escapes the plantation by means of a forest as well. By imagining the scars on Sethe’s back as a “chokecherry tree” Denver turns a scene of trauma and brutality into a sight of beauty and growth. Trees also may have a darker meaning in the history as all.

Additionally, the scars on Sethe’s back demonstrate the dehumanization that has occurred through slavery. The past tragedy of slavery perpetually haunts Sethe for life. One passage that we found to be particularly interesting was the description of Sethe’s back. The tree shape formed by the scars serves as an indication that Sethe has an incomplete family tree. It may also exhibit the burden of exist itself as Sethe lives an arduous life in which she is plagued by