Thoughts on the Ending

When I first read the ending, I did not understand what had happened because it all happened so quickly. After rereading it, I finally realized what I had missed. The most interesting part of the ending was when Beloved disappeared. Throughout the whole book, Beloved had been hanging around Sethe's house and eventually became like family. She turned out to be the real Beloved, the one who Sethe (as her mother) killed at the age of 2. It was not until last few chapters that we learned her motivations. When Beloved and Sethe opened their front door to find many colored women singing, they were fine until a man, whom Sethe thought was schoolteacher, came close. Sethe turned into an animal; she finally reached her breaking point and snapped, ready to kill an innocent man. After Ella punched her in order to stop her from doing something she would have regretted, Beloved disappeared. I believe that the reason she was there the whole time was to make sure that Sethe suffered, and she did just that. Beloved made sure that there was barely anything left of Sethe to make her pay for killing her own daughter. Sethe felt guilty, so she went along with it, thinking that one day it would be enough and all would have been forgiven. Sethe barely had anything in her; she had no food or strength, so she lost her sanity as well. Beloved left because she got what she was there for, so she did not have a purpose anymore. Once Sethe let loose on Mr. Bodwin, Beloved must have realized that she really did have nothing sane left of her, so her work was done. The ending of this book wrapped up the question on everyone's minds, and it was the perfect ending to this book.

Important Quote (up to page 281)

"Tell me something, Stamp." Paul D's eyes were rheumy. "Tell me this one thing. How much is a nigger supposed to take? Tell me. How much?" "All he can," said Stamp Paid, "All he can."

Because this book is mainly about runaway slaves and their lives after they escaped, there were many stories about the characters' pasts. When Paul D asked this question, it showed me that there are many hardships that slaves had to face even though they seem strong now. Everyone in this book who was formerly a slave had it so hard that they would not be the same person had things like that not have happened to them. The same goes for everyone else in the world. You cannot look at someone's face or what they wear and make assumptions right away. Do not judge a book by its cover because everyone has a different story to tell why they act the way they do. While reading this book, it really made me think about that concept. When I read about Paul D, or Sethe, I assumed that they were strong people. It was not until I actually read the things that went on in their lives (losing family members, getting beaten, etc.) until I realized that they had to go through Hell in order to gain that strength. When Paul D questioned how much more he could take, I could tell that he had gone through enough to push him to his breaking point. Everyone has had it worse then we thought, and it only takes getting to know someone to find out what the story was.

Thoughts on Ghosts (up to page 222)

As I continue to read this book, it has been coming clearer to me that the main purpose is to express all of the ghostly things that happen to the main characters. In other words, the plot surrounds the idea of Sethe's dead daughter, Beloved, is haunting her and Denver because of what she did to make her angry. Because the other character, Beloved, has been involved with the family, the thought of her daughter coming back on Earth to seek vengeance is even more present. Both Sethe and Denver are convinced that Beloved is there as the real-life version of who she would have been if she was still alive. Even though this book is fiction, some may say that ghosts really do exist. In my opinion, they do not. I do not think that someone that has died can come back to haunt anyone. If there is someone (i.e. a deceased relative or friends) that is always on one's mind, their mind will play tricks on them, causing them to believe that they are in each other's presence. The idea that someone can come back to life in a body that is not there own is crazy to me; it just does not make sense. Of course, there are some things I believe in that seem out of the ordinary. For example, when my grandmother was alive, she used to do this thing where she would place a penny on one of her toes and flick it off, a talent that no one else had. Ever since she died, my whole family has found pennies (we call them "pennies from Heaven") in places that we wished she could have made it to, like our sporting events or anything else she used to support us in. Although they may just seem like regular pennies, they have meaning to my family because it is as if my grandmother is flicking another penny off of her toe to show us that she is still with us. I do not believe that people can feel the deceased's presence, because one they are gone, they are gone. I do believe that there will always be signs that they are there, but nothing like what happened in Beloved.

Predictions (after reading up to page 159)

As I continue to read the book, it becomes more dense. Many things continue to happen all at once.The part that I have read up to is when Beloved pulled out her own wisdom tooth. In the previous chapter, there was a lot of talk about Sethe becoming pregnant again, because Paul D wants to have another baby. The focus of that chapter was that they actually tried, and millions of thoughts went through both of their minds as they did it. I predict that this encounter works out, and that they will have a baby. If she does, in fact, become pregnant, I do not think they will tell the girls right away, in fear that they will leave because they are against it. If and when Denver and Beloved find out, I think that Beloved will be the most upset. In the previous chapters, Denver expressed that she truly does feel as if Beloved is the human version of her deceased sister's ghost. She thinks that Beloved is thereto perform some sort of task. If Beloved really is Sethe's daughter in a different body, she will be extremely upset that Sethe is going to have another baby. Not only because she hates Paul D in the first place, but because Sethe's real daughter has finally come back (Beloved) and she is still not satisfied. I also think that at some point, Denver will try to run away because of how much she dislikes Paul D. There are many things that could happen, but there is only one way to find out.

Favorite Character and Why

In the book, my favorite character is Denver. There are so many reasons to like her, but the main reason is that she is the most like me. Not only is she a strong woman, but she also is very stubborn. One quality of hers that I admire is her ability to be independent. Sethe, her mother, was raised to be independent, so she raised her daughter to be the same way. Denver is able to take care of her own problems as well as Beloved's, the woman that the family found on the side of the road. She made sure to let her mother know that Beloved was HER responsibility, and that she would care for her for as long as she had to. This is another reason why Denver is my favorite character thus far. She has a warm heart because of the way she took the woman in like she was her own family, and treated her in such a way that Beloved did not want to leave. Even though Denver is kindhearted, she can also be stubborn, which is another thing we have in common. Since the beginning of the book, she has always had an idea that her deceased baby sister, Beloved, has been haunting the house she and her mother live in. Her mother as well as Paul D both think that she is imagining things, and that she is crazy to think of something like that. Despite all of the conflict that goes along with the subject, she still clings to that idea. She also was skeptical of having Paul D stay with them, and she did not feel completely comfortable. She continued to ask him when he was leaving, as if his stay was only for a short time. Denver is my favorite character because she is someone I can relate to in some way.

First Impression and Opinion of the Book

In chapters 1-5 of the book, many things were going on at once. It took me a while to adjust to the author's writing style. The author tends to make the characters reflect on the past quite often, so it is sometimes difficult to understand what time frame the author is in. Other than that, I very much enjoy reading the book thus far. In a way, I like how Toni Morrison makes the characters look back on the past; it gives the reader some insight on where they are coming from and what their intentions are. In my opinion, although it has taken me a few chapters to get used to the book, I think that I am going to enjoy reading the rest of it.

Reading Plan

For my book, I would like to read a chapter or two a night. Each of the chapters are about 10 pages long, so I will often read 2 chapters. If I have a lot of homework in my other classes, I will likely read just one. The chapters are very dense judging by to the first one I already read, so it will give me enough time to fully understand the chapter as I read it. I think that i could be done reading in 2 and a half weeks, which brings me to February 28th. This will allow me to do my project the last week before break without a problem. When it comes to blogging, the blogs will be due Mondays and Thursdays. Because my group consists of only me, I will most likely discuss the book with you, or not carry out a discussion and continue to read in class.