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Cheri McBryde
Dr. Davidson
English 461
25 May 2017
the classic gothic, complete with a mysterious house guest, and a spiteful
the ghost story is a slave narrative that gives voice to not just a fictional
character and her family, but also to the countless victims of slavery,
woman.
still living with her mother, Sethe, the novels protagonist. Denvers two
brothers, afraid of their mother, ran away eight years earlier. Her sister,
Beloved, at barely two years old, met a horrible death. She was killed by
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Sethe, who would rather murder her children and take her own life, than
died shortly after the boys ran away, of a broken heart, the result of white
men coming into her yard. Therefore, Denver and Sethe are the only ones
left living under the powerful spell (Morrison 5) of a spiteful ghost, at 124
4), which creates a strong yet unhealthy bond between them. In this
situation, Denver both loves and fears her mother. She lives with the
constant fear that if she doesnt keep it from happening, her mother will be
driven to kill again. She also fears the world beyond her yard, because her
mother warns her, if you go there and stand in the place where it was, it will
happen again; it will be there for you, waiting for you. So, Denver, you cant
never go there. Never. Because even though its all over over and done
with its going to always be there waiting for you (Morrison 45). Sethe
thinks she is protecting Denver, but she does more harm than good.
believes she is protecting Denver by keeping her away from the outside
general sense that the world is OK that one is able to trust oneself and
ones perception of reality [and the] ability to connect with other people
McBryde 3
has, in fact, never fully delivered Denver. Fat, dreamy, submissive, fearful
of the world, and fixated on her moment of entry into it, Denver will be
forced to complete the labor by herself (Thurman 75). Its true that Denver
is, metaphorically speaking, forced to complete her own labor, but being
fixated on her birth is not detrimental. On the contrary, its necessary for her
well-being and recovery. Denvers belief that her birth was magical helps to
When Paul D., an old friend of Sethes from Sweet Home, shows up on
their front porch. Sethe is happy to see him, Denver, however, is not. His
presence at 124 Bluestone makes Denver fearful, and anxious. She has not
had contact with the world for the last twelve years, and the people she
loves have either run away or died, yet, she convinces herself that none of
th[is] mattere[s] as long as her mother did not look away (Morrison 15). Paul
D. makes her mother do just that. Furthermore, he gets rid of the ghost of
her sister, making Denver afraid of being alone, and long for a sign of spite
from the baby ghost (Morrison 15). This is a telling moment, because it
in her mothers happiness, Denver feels jealous. It also depicts Denvers part
in initiating the healing process, by wishing for the return of the ghost,
imperative to heal from the trauma her mother passes on to her. In order to
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do that, both Sethe and Denver must face the past, and come to terms with
outsider, and Denver does not trust outsiders. She remembers the last time,
twelve years earlier, visitors sat at [the] table, [with] sympathetic voices
called liar by the revulsion in their eyes (Morrison 14). This prior experience
makes Denver wary of Paul D. Taken out of context, the diction Morrison
employs here connotes a larger social issue; racism. Not overt, but the kind
that stems from the skewed logic of the white mans burden. Morrison
alludes to the ideology that Denver and generations of African Americans are
something that cannot be faced alone, and stresses the need for Denver to
When Paul D. takes Sethe and Denver to the carnival, Denver finally
personality charms the carnival goers, and they greet the trio with warm
smiles and friendly hellos. He treats Denver to sweets, and shes soothed by
sugar [,and the] stares of other Negroes [are] kind, [and] gentle (Morrison
59). When Denver sees her mother smiling back at those who smile at her,
she is overjoyed, she [sways] with delight (58). Its all a bit much. Like the
performers who begrudge having to perform for them, the snake charmer,
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the dancer who cut her dance short, it was all an illusion. Sethe and Denver
are sharing the pleasure Paul D. was having (Morrison 58), but what would
happen if he wasnt there? Morrisons message here is that Denver cant rely
on Paul D. to make everything better. She first has to face her feelings of self-
loathing before she can heal; Denvers need for forgiveness from Beloved is
in response to her own feelings of guilt. Denver feels guilty that she escaped
unscathed from their mothers attack, while her sister died (du Plooy, Ryan).
It is impossible to move on from trauma without coming to terms with it, and
all the sweets and carnivals in the world arent going to make the past go
away. When the three of them get back to 124 Bluestone, Denvers desire for
the ghosts return is fulfilled, and the baby ghost is waiting for them, in the
flesh, in the form of a strange, young woman. By the end of the narrative,
Morrison reveals that this stranger is the catalyst that enables Denver to
stump, as the ghost of her baby sister, and the carnival becomes a distant
her return to life is a refusal to be dismissed and forgotten (du Plooy, Ryan
and, finally, sister, whereas before Beloved, she was lonely, disconnected
and alienated (du Plooy, Ryan p 102). She becomes a strategist (Morrison,
142), and learns to be resourceful. She must employ all her wits to keep
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Beloved from becoming dreamy, or quiet and sullen (Morrison 143). She
even begins to find pleasure in telling stories to Beloved. Over time, she
begins elaborating on the story of her birth, giving blood to the scraps her
mother and grandmother had told her (Morrison 92). In this way, she
thrives, and begins to create her own history. However, healing is not easy,
as Amy Denver declared when Denver was born, anything dead coming
is on the run when she gives birth to Denver, in the woods, somewhere
between Sweet Home and Ohio. A white girl named Amy Denver helps Sethe.
She rubs Sethes injured feet, and helps her deliver Denver. Morrisons
decision to have a young, indentured servant, a white girl, help Sethe give
the newborn babe, like the blue fern spore, holds within her the promise of
foreshadow the strength of character she must rely on when she faces the
is revealed when she realizes the guilt she feels while telling Beloved, the
story of her birth. Before Beloved came, Denver loves this story. However,
when telling it to Beloved, she hate[s] itbecause it made her feel like a bill
was owing somewhere and she, Denver, had to pay it (Morrison 91). Denver
was seven years old when she learned that her mother had committed
infanticide, and she was so traumatized, that she went deaf, and couldnt
talk, for two years. Now, during her transformation, she must face that truth
again, and Beloved plays an important role in that process. This is illustrated
when Denver and Beloved run into the dark shed while playing a game of
hide and seek. Once inside, Beloved disappears, and Denver finds herself
alone, and afraid. The dark shed becomes the ships hold as Beloved forces
painful experience for Denver, it leads to her eventual healing. She must
When Beloved turns against her, Denver realizes that she has nothing
to feel guilty about, and tells Beloved, I didnt do anything to you. I never
hurt you. I never hurt anybody (Morrison 89). Speaking these words is
therapeutic for Denver. Soon after she voices her innocence, she takes
agency again, when she accuses Beloved of choking Sethe. It happens while
they are in the clearing, where Baby Suggs often preached, and Denver
remembers a time when she wanted to know more than 124 and the field
McBryde 8
behind it (Morrison 119). She remembers when she was seven, and had
taken it upon herself to go to school, and how those two hours in the
afternoon were precious to her. Especially so because she had done it on her
own and was pleased and surprised by the pleasure and surprise it created in
her mother and her brothers (Morrison 121). Here, Morrison hints at the
possibility of a normal life for Denver, one in which she takes pride in doing
things on her own. Another example of Denver taking agency over her life is
when she seeks and finds solace in a room made of boxwood bushes and
how she feels protected by live green walls[where] salvation [is] as easy
as a wish (Morrison 35). While Denver is in this secret green room, she is
closed off from the hurt of the hurt worldwhich became the point
(Morrison 35). The imagery and diction gives a sense of hope, and alludes to
a kind of re-birth for Denver, and the re-birth achieved through healing, is
Initially, Denver is the only one who knows that Beloved is her dead
sister come back to life. Somehow, Sethe doesnt put it together, or she is in
denial. Whatever the case, one night, she hears Beloved hum a song that,
since she made it up, only herself or her children would know, and that is
Beloved ice skating. There arent enough ice skates, so of course, Beloved
gets the one pair, Denver gets one skate, and Sethe thinks she can get along
with just her shoes. However, as soon as she steps on the ice, she falls, and
McBryde 9
as Denver and Beloved try to help her, they get a good laugh, and fall as
Nobody saw them fallingmaking a circle or a line, the three of them could
not stand upright for one whole minute, but nobody saw them falling
Nobody saw them falling (Morrison 205). This repetition connotes that the
good times are coming to an end for Sethe. Later that night, Beloved hums,
and Sethe begins to obsess over her, tries to convince her that she did what
she did out of love. Now Denver finds herself waging a battle against the
sees her starving to death, while Beloved grows bigger, she knows that it is
up to her to save her mother, and herself. She then realizes the newness of
that idea, of having a self to look out for and preserve (Morrison 297),
which illustrates the formation of identity and agency. At this point in the
the trauma of the past, of which she partakes, unlike Sethe and Beloved,
represents the hope that comes with each new generation. Baby Suggs, and
Sethe both suffered first hand trauma, yet, they also had a period of time
when they were able to envision their lives through the lens of freedom, and
this sets the stage for Denver. Like her mother escaping Sweet Home,
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Denver finds the courage to escape from the unhealthy environment of 124
Bluestone.
Once Denver makes the decision to leave 124 Bluestone Road, she
walks out the door and stands on the porch. Her fear of the outside world, of
whites, overwhelms her, and she hesitates. She hears her grandmothers
voice, and reminds her, But you said there was no defense, to which Baby
Suggs replies, there aintknow it, and go on out the yard. Go on (Morrison
288). Ironically, the first place she goes for help is to Lady Joness house, a
woman who is of mixed race. Just as Amy Denver helped Sethe, Lady Jones
helps Denver, and she is literally, a coming together of black and white. She
even has gray eyes. Again, Morrison portrays the importance of working
Denver navigates her way towards the town. When she finds Lady Jones, and
tells her that her mother is ill, and that they were in need of food, Lady Jones
responds softly, Oh baby, oh baby (Morrison 292). The word baby and
the kindness of the voice that says it, gives Denver the courage to go on,
and inaugurates her life in the world as a woman (292). Lady Jones gives
her food, and soon, other townspeople also contribute. Denver goes from
door to door, to thank people for their gifts of food, and because of their fond
memory of Baby Suggs, they are compelled to open their doors and their
hearts to her. She meets Nelson Lord, the boy [whose] words blocked up her
which is a big step for her. Next, she tells Janey about Beloved, and the
each other, and to lay it down. Its during this time that Denver begins to
understand the reason her mother did what she did, and empathizes with
her. In other words, she forgives her mother, and in doing so, forgives
through her that a hopeful future is envisioned at the end of the novel, since
it is Denver who sets in motion the chain of events that leads to the exorcism
her community, Denver is responsible for healing the schism that separated
the community from Sethe (du Plooy, Ryan 46). When Paul D. runs into
Denver, she is on her way to work. He asks her if Sethe is all right, and she
responds, No. No, not a bit all rightI think Ive lost my mother (Morrison
herself from her mother, and go on with her life. This is the message that
Morrison wants to leave with her readers, and through Denver, the
Works Cited
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s-live.
May/June 2014,
http://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/051214p18.shtml. Accessed
20 May 2017.
du, Plooy B. and Ryan P. "Identity, Difference and Healing: Reading Beloved
doi:10.4102/lit.v26i1.217.