Hello my amazing students,
Hope your holiday break has gone well!! I know that some of you expressed fear that you would forget to post to the blog over break, so you're in luck - I am giving you some time on Monday to blog in class (Ms. R and Ms. O will guide you through this), so that you can respond to me about your holiday reading of Beloved and make some connections to real-life events that have happened over the break. I will be asking some questions as I think about my own reading through page 174 of the book, and I will write the questions below IN BOLD, so that you can have some prompts to think about - you do not have to respond to every question - but I am asking that your response be about 2 paragraphs, so please use evidence and details from your reading to support your ideas! You can also respond to others' comments in your comment, too!
This week I am identifying myself with the character of Denver in Beloved, who I feel has spent so much of her life waiting for her father to return (and what's up with Halle? Do we think that he has passed away? Did he desert his family? I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this character that we've heard about but haven't met)... my wait is for my child to make his or her appearance, and it hasn't happened yet, but I will post a photo next week, for sure! :) Re-reading Denver's birth story made me feel very fortunate to be in the situation I'm in, though, as I have access to health care and modern facilities in which to birth my child. In comparison, Sethe delivered Denver in a row boat and only had the assistance of Amy, they were alone in the woods on the Ohio River, and she had just escaped the brutality of a horrible slave owner, and nearly died in childbirth. I am very privileged.
Denver is a very interesting character to me -- the passion with which she has taken to care for Beloved shows evidence of her immense loneliness, but her feelings about Beloved don't waiver; even though she realizes that her sister really returned from the dead for her mother, she also cannot bear to think of a life without her sister. I wonder, will Denver ever find a way out of the loneliness that seems to consume her? When I read about her birth story, I was thinking about how Denver was born for a reason, against all odds, that she really is a survivor. I wonder what Denver's purpose in life is, and how she will continue to grow as a character. Which character in the novel do you feel the most connection toward, either for the way that they have dealt with a situation you read about, or because of their approach to life?
* * *Spoiler Alert* * *
I also wonder about Paul D's feelings about Beloved -- he has very strong feelings of hatred for her in the beginning, but we learned in our reading over break that she has cast a spell on him, and literally moved him out of Sethe's bed and to sleeping in the shed. I was shocked to learn that Paul D begins sleeping with Beloved... but it seems to me that she will do whatever she can to break him and Sethe up, so that Sethe's focus can return to her all of the time. Beloved seems to be growing in power as a progresses as a character -- first she nearly strangles Sethe in the field from far away, and then she is able to physically move Paul D around the house, slowly moving him away from Sethe. Why is Beloved so obsessed with Sethe? What do you think she wants from Sethe? And why is Denver keeping Beloved's secrets from Sethe (about her scar, about her true identity, about her relationship with Paul D)?
There is so much that we learned by the end of Part 1, and I am not going to spoil the major climax moment this week - we'll talk more about it in next week's blog response. If you'd like, in your comment, you can answer the questions above OR you can write 1 paragraph AND make a list of the 10 most important events you've read in the book so far.
Until next week, my lovelies,
Ms. Lauren
21 comments:
RF. Wg Ghn Ontgk (Ralph Mojica)
- The character that relates most to the experiances in my life is Denver. The reason being is shes frusturated of the house she lives in. Im also frusturated because now that I have a job my parents don't provide gifts or clothes for me but they expect to get things in return.
Beloved is obsessed with Sethe because she knows she is connected with Sethe in some kind of way and she wants to find out how they are connected. Denver on the other hand wants to protect her mother and wants to stay as connected with Beloved as much as she can because she wants tp feel a friendship she never had. If she tell her mother the things Beloved told her she is afraid Beloved won't trust her anymore. Or she would lose Beloveds friendship.
Halle is Sethe husband, who went away after seen how they take Sethe milk, he left his family and dint comunicated with them again not even with Baby Siggs. Maybe because he saw what how they took Sethe milk away and dint do nothing about it. But Paul D. has seen him before and talks to Sethe about it. Paul D actually dint talk to him.
So Beloved! My opinion is that she came as an actual person for Sethe. As her daughter she is hunting Sethe to make feel bad and to remember her how she killed and innocent child (Baloved), I think that is why she is trying to take Paul D away since he has made Sethe happier. Denver want Beloved to stay since she dosent want to be alone, she sees Beloved as her friend the only one she has. Eventough she dosent want Beloved doing nothing to Sethe.
I feel more of a connection with Paul D. Paul D is a very optimistic character who has a high value on life. To me Paul d is one of the bravest characters as well because he doesn't have to stay with Seth or Denver he chooses to even though he knows that beloved "hunts" them. The only reason why he is staying with Seth is because he loves her most men would have left if they knew that the woman they were with was being hunted by their dead baby. I connect with Paul D because he himself is very sentimental as i am and he cares much for Denver even though she isn't her actual daughter he treats her as one.
I am more connected to Denver because Denver has some thing in her she wont let go. Shes mysterious and strange.She feels like shes the only one that no one pays attention to which is necessarily true. Denver feels like that its been he and her mother,and she wouldn't like it any other way
Hi, Mrs. Lauren Fardig-Diop. How are you? I hope the baby's alright and so are you.
-Xavian
Janée saids ...
I feel Halle observing those men steal Seth's milk took a part of him that he never really got back. It devastated him to a point in which he couldn't handle it, making him feel less of a man to his wife because he could not stop them even if he wanted too. Resulting in him not showing up to runaway with Seth ... he couldn't face her. I feel he has abandoned his family for the selfish reason of not being able to protect them, and the realization is too much for him to handle. In this novel the character I feel the most connection with is Seth because although she has seen heartbreak unclose, has misery as a friend and lives with the horrors of an ex slave she still finds it in her heart to trust and love. I feel it is important to be soft and not let the world steal your heart making you bitter no matter what you have been through which is how I try to approach the world. When speaking of Beloved she is obsessed with Seth because Beloved is the baby ghost and she is her mother. I feel she simply wants Seth as a supporter, a mother. Denver keeps Beloved secrets because she is fearful that Seth will kick be Beloved out, and Beloved is the only friend Denver has and considering Denver's up-bringing filled with loneliness she is dependent on her.
Halle is basically Sethe past husband whom Sethe believed abandoned her, and made schoolteacher take her milk, but thing is that Paul D also has some sault of view point about Halle, which was different from Sethe's. Pau; D talks about how Halle felt bad about what has happened but didn't know how to save Sethe because he was chained down and how he couldn't live with the fact of seeing them doing that to her, but he never specifically talk about if he is dead or not.
-alice
I think in my Opinion Sethe has this hatred regrets look and feeling in her from the beginning and as the book and the movie keeps going on, you realize why she is probably the most outstanding character to me in my opinion, because she has always wanted to protect her children and even though she liked Paul D, she was willing to let him go for Denver, to me I feel like Sethe has this strong emotion in her that makes her character interesting. But I also I agree with you on Denver's lonliness.
Devin says.....
halle was married to sethe and when he went away she got her milk and when she got her milk taken away she was not the same. I think Halle was didnt do anything because he was very scared and didnt want anything else to happen
Hallie is a devoted son that is Sehte's husband. He's a type of person that was able to buy Baby Suggs freedom. He didn't passed away but he devoted his family. After he see Sethe is raped he runs off and now Paul D comes in and talks to Sethe about that horrifying moment. Paul D admires Hallie for all of his inner manliness and his greatest strength is a devotion to women.
The character that I feel most connection towards is Denver because she is a person that helps Beloved in certain things. I that type of person that helps people with direction on how to get places by a train or a bus.
Beloved is so obsessed with Sethe because she is more connected to Sethe and she wants to find out how connected are they. What I think what she was from Sethe is love because I remember when Paul D was asking question about Beloved, she didn't have anyone in her life and every time she is with Sethe or closer she thinks that she a mom to her. Denver is keeping Beloved's secrets away from Sethe is because probably Beloved don't want anyone else or for Denver to tell Sethe about her true identity and wants Sethe to continue to love her for what she knows already about her now.
I believe Halle had passed away. Thinking about it, Denver has been waiting 18 years of her life for her dad to show up. He was a slave, and he lived on Sweet home. I dont think he would be the type of man to desert his family, especially since in the book, he worked for hours to find the money to buy Baby Suggs's freedom.
I feel the most connected to Denver. mostly cause of the way she approaches life and how she handles it. Sometimes she doesn't even bother with saying anything to certain situations.
Whoops,I forgot to put my name, the previous comment with no name is mines.
- Onajah
A character that I feel most connected with is Denver; she started behaving as shy 18-year old and ended in being acting like normal adult. The moment that Denver's mother spent all her money in trying to fulfill all of Beloved's wishes made Denver gather all the strength that she needed and go out to find a job for herself. This I finding simply brave and very caring of her for Sethe. It's because of sethe's bravery that she finally talked Beloved's presence in 124, and that she wanted Beloved gone forever. By the end of the book Denver becomes the mother of the house, and the only one who has herself together in order.
What I think happened to Halle is he was either beat to death,or was sold to another plantation further from where he was a originally at. What Paul D said was that he was beat so bad that his brain just like shut down.
Halle;
I think that Halle its' really dead, Paul D really said that "there was no need to put chains on him(Halle). His mind was gone". And as discussed in class before, a person with the mind on mars, or maybe gone numb can't live longer than a few days. In class, we made a few inferences about why would Halle's mind be gone, and two inferences that stuck with me were; first, that Halle was beaten so badly that it damaged his brain. And second, what he saw the boys of the schoolteacher doing to Sethe in the loft sent him out, meaning he couldn't take it anymore. Another reason to support that Halle might be dead is that Halle, I guess, loved his children and if he was in his senses he would have come back.
I think that Beloved is so obsessed with sethe because she needed her mother after not seeing her for so long and the lady and the bridge as Beloved said that Sethe is the only one that she need and everybody else could leave except for Sethe.
Hey everyone, thanks so much for submitting your thoughts about what happened to Halle, and about Beloved's obsession with Sethe. It sounds like you had some great conversations in class about these topics. I often wonder why Morrison chose to leave Halle out of the story, since as many of you pointed out, he bought his mother's freedom and stayed with Sethe for many years, it doesn't seem like if he was alive that he would've abandoned his family... I would've liked some resolution at the end of the book about what happened to him, but as readers, sometimes we don't get the resolution from the author that we want, and we are left to always wonder.
With regard to Beloved's obsession, seeing the film actually really helped me to clarify this, as the actress who plays Beloved really ACTS like she is a little girl, and it constantly reminds me that the ghost and the character may have been in an adult body, but that Beloved was a toddler when she died! She has the love and adoration for her mother the way a toddler would if they could speak properly, but also the misplaced anger of someone who has been wronged and doesn't have the language to speak about it.
It's cool to see which characters you identify with most, and I hope that writing the blog entries have helped you to think about the characters' experiences and conflicts, so that you can use this book on the Regents exam next week! Your blog scores will be in Engrade or you can email me if you'd like to know your score! Remember, I am asking for a 2 paragraph response! :) Keep up the good thinking and writing!
-Ms. Lauren
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