Beloved

Beloved was not exactly the book I had expected to read. I thought I was diving into a book where I would ride along in the adventure of a slave woman escaping from slavery and the though mountain she climbed to make it to freedom. Instead I found myself peering into the life of a misunderstood woman, an outcast in Cincinnati’s black community.
There was a livid ghost in 124, a baby so angry at her mother for sending her to a dark place, unable to live out her life by her mother’s side. The baby ghost reminded Sethe every day of that fateful decision that altered her entire life.

At times I lost myself in the constant switch between past and present. I suppose the two most often molded together whether Sethe liked it or not. I found myself cringing as I read Beloved. Sethe’s experience with Schoolteacher’s nephews was despicable. It’s so hard to comprehend that this was real at one point in time. Only 145 years ago, whites treated blacks like stock animals for breeding and work. This is just unbelievable to me.

Seethe hated being a slave so much that she killed her child because she thought death would be a more peaceful alternative to life as a slave. Although many see Sethe’s actions as sick and twisted, I understand why she killed Beloved. Her children would never be treated like animals. If she had the chance she would have killed the rest of her children and her self as well. She only wanted to be with her children forever, free from someone who lists your animal characteristics on a piece of paper. No human should be put that low.

This story is about survival, getting over your fears and facing them head-on. Denver overcame her fear of leaving her yard so save her mother from Beloved. The black women who loved Baby Suggs and turned their backs on Sethe faced their fears of her to free her from Beloved’s venomous grip. Beloved is about making something of your future; acknowledging the obstacles you’ve overcome in the past but not dwelling on them, learning from past mistakes to grow. Sethe dwelled on the past, trying to make up for lost time with Beloved. She did not see that it was destroying her.

Overall, Beloved gave me a new perspective on slavery that alters significantly than the vision the History textbooks gave me.


Now I am barricading myself in my house today to do some writing…. So excited.