Beloved - Close Reading Analysis
Beloved by Toni Morrison through the Psychoanalytical Lens
"And so they were: Paul D Garner, Paul F Harmer, Paul A Garner, Halle Suggs and Sixo, the wild man. All in their twenties, minus women, f***ing cows, dreaming of rape, thrashing on pallets, rubbing their thighs and waiting for the new girl-- the one who took Baby Suggs' place gayer Halle bought her with five years of Sundays." - Page 13
In this quote, Sethe is recalling her and her mother's experiences at Sweet Home and absence of women at the home when Baby Suggs left to Paul D. Through her reflection, she recalls the desire for sex by each of the brothers when there wasn't a women at Sweet Home.
This passage truly brings out the desires of the men that are enslaved on the plantation.The first portion that makes me wonder about their desires is their names. The first three names all have Paul as the first name and Garner as the last name. This could tell me that they were all bought from the same family. Paul might be a placeholder name because they don't have an actual first name. Having three people from the same family might explain their similar desires and their sense of competitiveness to have sex with a women on the plantation.
Their competitiveness could be amplified because they are "all in their twenties and are minus women". The competitiveness is amplified due to anxiety of not having a women to be with like other men and the scarcity of women coming to the plantation. Also, the fact that Halle bought Baby Suggs her freedom "with five years of Sundays" leaves the plantation workers without a women, but they constantly get reminded of Baby Suggs when she works on Sundays.
The desire never leaves the plantation workers, which is why they "f**k cows, dream of rape and thrash on pallets" because they cannot get their own women. Words like "f**k, rape and thrash" represent the violence and aggressiveness that these brothers put on finding a women. These actions made Sethe very uncomfortable going into Sweet Home for the first time and they deterred Sethe from actually finding a husband at Sweet Home. Even after Sethe left the farm and moved into 124 with Halle, the other Sweet Home brothers act the same around her, as shown by Paul D going to 124 to see Sethe.
- Chris
Being a former slave has its drawbacks. I like how you really use your own voice in this blog. Makes me want to keep reading and keeps me engaged. The desire the men we are reading about is unparalleled to any other book/novel i have read thus far. Keep up the good writing.
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