She Just Flew By Sethe Analysis

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Through the birth to her four children, Sethe finally makes the transition from owned to owner: a transition that ultimately elucidates her act of infanticide. In the scene describing schoolteacher’s approach, the narrator writes, “She just flew. Collected every bit of life she had made, all the parts of her that were precious and fine and beautiful” (192). By referring to her children as “every bit of life she had made”, the narrator displays the maternal claim Sethe feels for her children. After years of being property and having none, Sethe treasures her one and only bit of property- her children- and refuses to abuse the responsibility that accompanies that ownership. By describing her children as “precious”, “fine”, and “beautiful” the