While I was reading Beloved, the thing that struck me the most was the reaction of the
townspeople towards Sethe’s plight. I found this the most interesting near the
end of the book, when we hear Ella’s story of her neglect of her own child. I
think this is really startling, because it means that the reason that the
townspeople were so uncaring towards Sethe was not because she killed her own
children, but because of other, pettier reasons.
As a
reader, the center of the plot is when we discover that Sethe murdered her own
children so that they would not have to enter a life of slavery – her character
was set up as a strong and well-meaning woman much before we learn of her
infanticide. Because this fact is set up so late into the book, her character
has already been well developed, so we are meant to see this from her point of
view, instead of just dismissing her as a murderer. In fact, up until the
shocking discovery, Sethe had been portrayed as quite the good character. This
is why I find it so shocking that what may be the turning point for the reader
in terms of their perception of Sethe as good or bad is not the same as that
for the townspeople. In fact, when we learn that the infanticide is not the
only reason for the shunning of Sethe, and that the townspeople actually
understand why she did it and can, in a way, relate to her, the plot thickens.
I
honestly really disliked the way that this was set up. From what the reader is
shown, the main reason that the townspeople hate Sethe is… jealousy? The
turning point for the people seems to be Baby Suggs’ celebration, because it
was too cocky and full of undeserved pride and happiness. It seems like the
townspeople, after also going through many of the things that Sethe went
through, are unwilling (for the majority of the novel) to put away their petty
feelings towards the woman and help her out. However, it's also weird, because there's not much to be jealous of as the plot goes on. As Sethe becomes more isolated and her house becomes haunted, and then when Beloved shows up, there seems to be no reason that the people wouldn't help her.
I was
wondering what you guys think! Do you guys think that the reason that the
people leave Sethe to herself and her family for all those years was jealousy?
Was in fact because of the infanticide? Or was because of something else? Either
way, it’s quite an upsetting story in my eyes, with the people just sitting by
as Sethe was plunged deeper and deeper into a dangerous situation.
I don't really know the answer to the questions you're asking - this is just one possibility. Near the end of the novel, Ella explains why she doesn't like Sethe. "She understood Sethe's rage in the shed twenty years ago, but not her reaction to it, which Ella thought was prideful, misdirected, and Sethe herself too complicated. When she got out of jail and made no gesture toward anybody, and lived as though she were alone, Ella junked her and wouldn't give her the time of day." It seems like it's not so much because of the infanticide or Baby Suggs' party, but because they thought that Sethe was acting pridefully and like she was above them, and they wanted to see her suffer for that.
ReplyDeleteI think that initially, the community was envious of Baby Suggs and so they didn't warn Sethe about schoolteacher. I think that it was more complicated than jealousy, but that was why they didn't mention the fact that schoolteacher was coming. I think that after the Misery, Sethe was acting proud, so people didn't like that. They probably had moral qualms with what Sethe did which made them hate the fact that she was acting proud. I think that they may have also felt bad about not telling Sethe schoolteacher was on his way.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous comments. Perhaps what started out as just jealousy at Baby Suggs' party evolved evolved into more than that after the Misery. The townspeople were wary of Sethe's decision is because they fear that they themselves would have made the same decision had they been in her place.
ReplyDeleteThese are some really complex questions. I think Ha's right that it might have had more to do with fear than with jealousy. Everyone in this community has their own memories of the past and many of them faced similarly impossible situations, and from Stamp Paid and Ella's stories, we can see that they all had to find ways to deal with the memories and guilt as their life went on. In Sethe's case, she was effected by the guilt in a different way and i think maybe the townspeople were scared that they might someday react to a horrible situation in the same way.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the idea that it is jealousy. I think that after the feast that jealousy lead to the hate, but it changed after the horrible event. After that point, the townspeople were more angry that she was proud. I don't think it is jealousy, but rather disgust that Sethe is not realizing what she did was wrong.
ReplyDeleteI think that although the townspeople were initially jealous of Sethe, which led to her not being warned about schoolteacher, I think the reason that they stay away isn't purely out of jealousy for the party or disgust for what Sethe did, but rather that they are ashamed with themselves for not warning Sethe, and partially contributing to the death of her baby.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jack and Alexandre. I don't think that the townspeople were angry at Sethe after the party, they were irritated with her for the feast, but they didn't not warn her because they hated her. After schoolteacher came, they became angrier that she didn't feel bad about what she had done.
ReplyDeleteI'm not exactly sure the answer to the questions your asking, but I thought that an interesting point that you brought up was the structure of the plot and when Morrison decided to reveal the shocking information. I feel that the choice of building up Sethe's character and then finally revealing it was a good idea and I really enjoyed this writing style. This is because i feel like if we had known from the beginning we would've had a much different perspective on Sethe, probably closer to what the townspeople think. But in this way we were now able to really see Sethe as a character and judge her not soley based off of this one action that she has committed. Sorry i didn't answer your questions lol, this just came to mind, nice post!
ReplyDeleteYou ask very many, very good questions. However I don't have any answers. I do however have an opinion on your blog post. I thought that it was an interesting point when you talked about from the beginning we see Sethe as a strong character, this made me think about when she "heals" the dog. At the time that scene was rather odd and off-putting but when put in the context of Sethe strength (killing her child) It makes far more sense.
ReplyDeleteI think that their jealousy over the banquet is not enough to shun her for the next 18 years. The real reason is that they are perplexed that she can be proud of what she did. They are irritated by her pride and self-confidence after the incident. Their jealousy about the banquet is not enough to cause this coldness toward her for 18 full years.
ReplyDeleteI think even after the murder is discovered by the reader Sethe is seen as a good character. I have been thinking about the role of Beloved with redemption and penance. Do you think that Beloved coming back and pushing Sethe to the brink of death is a way to reconnect Sethe to the community while also receiving some sort of punishment for killing Beloved?
ReplyDelete