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Cheri McBryde

Dr. Davidson

English 461

25 May 2017

The Transformation of Denver in Toni Morrisons Beloved

In Beloved, Toni Morrison gives readers a historical fiction in the form of

the classic gothic, complete with a mysterious house guest, and a spiteful

ghost. However, it is more than just an entertaining read. Interwoven within

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,

including those of the Middle Passage. Yet another strand of Morrisons

narrative is a depiction of the intergenerational and historical trauma caused

by the enslavement of African Americans. Above all, Beloved is a story of

hope and healing, represented by Denver, the daughter of the protagonist,

whose birth itself is a miracle. As the narrative progresses, Denver

transforms from a fearful, co-dependent adolescent, into a confident, strong

woman.

In the beginning of the narrative, Denver is introduced as the only child

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

return to Sweet Home. Furthermore, Denvers grandmother, Baby Suggs,

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

Bluestone Road. In this toxic environment, Denver and Sethe [wage] a

perfunctory battle against the outrageous behavior of that place (Morrison

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.

Denver is unable to have a normal childhood, because she is trapped

by a powerfully cohesive but potentially annihilating force-maternal love

(Thurman 74). Because of the corrupt moral consequences of slavery, Sethe

believes she is protecting Denver by keeping her away from the outside

world, but Denver grows up without internal resources [which] includea

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
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and receive support (Coyle). In her protection of Denver, ironically, Sethe

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

give her a sense of her place in the world.

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

reveals Denvers skewed perception of normalcy. Instead of taking pleasure

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,

Denver is initiating the healing process. Denver represents the future; it is

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

the emotions that torment them.

Denver believes that the haunting of 124 Bluestone is an

enchantment (Morrison 45), and feels a sense of safety in the presence of

the ghost, and Paul D. threatens this enchantment. Furthermore, he is an

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

up against. As the narrative progresses, Morrison also suggests that its

something that cannot be faced alone, and stresses the need for Denver to

reintegrate with the townspeople.

When Paul D. takes Sethe and Denver to the carnival, Denver finally

has a positive experience with the townspeople. Paul D.s outgoing

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

forgive both, her mother, and herself.

Denver immediately recognizes the strange young woman sitting on a

stump, as the ghost of her baby sister, and the carnival becomes a distant

memory. With Beloveds appearance, Morrison gives voice to the voiceless,

her return to life is a refusal to be dismissed and forgotten (du Plooy, Ryan

38), and her presence is an important part of Denvers growth. She

conceptualizes herself as a caretaker, babysitter, friend, protector, educator

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

back to life hurts (Morrison 42).

The story of Denvers birth is a key part of Morrisons narrative. Sethe

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

birth to Denver is an allusion to the necessity of a joining of forces. She

alludes that for there to be a chance of healing for America, African

Americans, and whites must work together. Furthermore, the representation

of Denver as a symbol of hope for future generations can be seen in the

imagery Morrison employs in the spores-often mistook for insectsare

seeds in which the whole generation sleeps confident of a futureDenver,

the newborn babe, like the blue fern spore, holds within her the promise of

her peoples future (Coonradt 179). The circumstances of Denvers birth

foreshadow the strength of character she must rely on when she faces the

repercussions of her mothers obsession with the past.


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Evidence of Denvers need to deal with unresolved issues about herself

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

Denver to re-live the experience of panic, suffocation and thick darkness

where the self is reduced to nothing (Rodrigues 157). Although this is a

painful experience for Denver, it leads to her eventual healing. She must

face her fear so that she can overcome it.

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
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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

the point of the process.

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

when it clicks. To lead up to this moment, Morrison once again employs

figurative language in depicting a night when Sethe takes Denver and

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
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as Denver and Beloved try to help her, they get a good laugh, and fall as

well. Three times, two of them in stand-alone sentences, Morrison stresses,

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

outrageous behavior, but this time, she is on her own.

As Denver watches her mother humiliate herself for Beloved,

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

narrative, through a series of catalytic events, Denver begins to truly

transform. Because Denver was born free, she can effectivelynegotiate

the trauma of the past, of which she partakes, unlike Sethe and Beloved,

second-hand (du Plooy, Ryan). Denver grows up post-slavery, and

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

together, of looking past color.

Relying on the memory of walking to Lady Joness house for school,

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

earsnow they opened up her mind (Morrison 297).


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Denver begins to imagine a world that doesnt include her mother,

which is a big step for her. Next, she tells Janey about Beloved, and the

condition her mother is in, which illustrates another step towards

independence; she takes her grandmothers advice, to love herself, to love

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

herself, which represents the pinnacle of Denvers transformation. It is

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

of Beloved and the communal reincorporation of Sethe. In reaching out to

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

315). Although this is sad news, it illustrates Denvers ability to separate

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

embodiment of hope and healing, she does just that.


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Works Cited

Coonradt, Nicole M. "To Be Loved: Amy Denver and Human Need--Bridges to

Understanding in Toni Morrison's Beloved." College Literature, no. 4,

2005, p. 179. EBSCOhost, mantis.csuchico.edu/login?

url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=edspmu&AN=edspmu.S1542428605401680&site=ed

s-live.

Coyle, Sue. Intergenerational Trauma-Legacies of Loss. Social Work Today,

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

within the Context of John Caputos Theory of Hermeneutics." Literator,

Vol 26, Iss 1, Pp 23-48 (2005), no. 1, 2005, p. 23. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.4102/lit.v26i1.217.

Solomon, Barbara H. Critical Essays on Toni Morrisons Beloved. New York:

G.K. Hall, 1998. Print. pp. 74-75. 157

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