Author: Mina Netkova (Class of 2010)

In the second part of Morrison’s novel, we can see the presence of the motif of Beloved in all other motifs identified. Beloved is the moving force in the second part of this novel, since it controls the actions of the other characters, like Sethe and Denver. Beloved feeds of Sethe’s stories from the past, and while Sethe loses her vitality and liveliness, Beloved grows and gains energy and power that lead Sethe to her destruction. Beloved’s presence in the house and their isolation from the outside world is linked to the bondage created between Sethe, Beloved and Denver. This also leads to a creative method of expression, found in the second part only, that Morrison chooses for presentation of the characters thoughts and enables more of a character-bound narration. The stream of consciousness method of expression would not be possible for the characters without Beloved’s presence in one of the main focal points in the novel, 124. 124 is as well another motif in the novel, but not only as a physical space, but also as a center of all the events in the second part. Beloved acts slowly, but manages to acquire her goal, which is keeping Sethe and Denver only for herself. While in the beginning of part two there is the presence of unidentified, unspeakable thoughts as registered by Stamp Paid, as the second part progresses these thoughts unfold through the characters’ streams of consciousnesses. Beloved’s narration is still cracked and interrupted, same as her way of speaking. However, this part is followed by a clarification narrative and a long passage that reminds of a free verse poem and is actually a dialogue between the characters. In this long passage, it is noticeable that Beloved is more than just a character in the novel. At certain instances, it seems as if she is a foil character, and without her the exposure of other characters would not be possible. Nevertheless, in this passage, Beloved presents information, not only about Sethe and Denver, but also a recollection about the Black African-American past. There is the reminiscence of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which alludes to instances from a collective heritage and collective past experience of the African American people. Beloved is strongly tied to the past and her primary function is to pull both Sethe and Denver in the past, and does not let them go on with their lives and focus on building their future. In the second part, after chasing Paul D away, Beloved can finally have Sethe and Denver for her, and uses this to the maximum. They start playing her games, do whatever she wants and restrain from the things they desire.

In the beginning, it all seems as a harmonious and pleasant relationship, a mother has with her daughters, but as the narration progresses, it is clear that is not the case. This is even visible in the beginning of their bonding, when all three of them go ice skating. Beloved is the most stable one and she has things under her control, since she uses the one appropriate pair of skates. Sethe skates with shoes, which demonstrates her current position of being unstable and dependent on the others. And Denver is found somewhere in between, both of them, since she skates with a mixed pair of skates and shoes. Although, all of them fall, there is no one to see them falling. However, somehow Beloved does not seem to fall at all, but it stands still, the same as she keeps things under control and has incredibly strong influence over Sethe especially. Sethe feels the burden of guilt coming all back to her, for murdering Beloved and tries to make it up for her in every way possible. The fact they lock the door of 124 provides the atmosphere for Sethe’s complete dedication to Beloved, without any interruption of the outside world. This goes in favor of Beloved since her initial wish is to gain possession of Sethe. Beloved gives a different connotation of the term mine. The motif of mine is present throughout part II as well, and Beloved is its main proponent. In her stream of consciousness, she keeps repeating, I am Beloved and she is mine. Her hunger for overpowering Sethe and getting in that way a sort of revenge, leads to the inevitable downfall of Sethe and her self-destruction aided by Beloved. Sethe does not seem to have her own opinion or goal in life except for making every wish and demand of Beloved come true. However, Beloved does not manage to fool Denver, so in the third part she asks for help from someone objective and self aware to help them get rid of Beloved, who would still remain present in their memories. The reason why Beloved is one of the motifs, is because she is present in most of the motifs in the novel, including memories and recollections of past events that belong not only to single characters, but also to the collective community of African Americans. Beloved serves in the novel primarily as a foil character, and without her presence the enfolding of the other characters would not be possible. However, she discloses much more than just their memories, such as the shocking recollections of the Transatlantic Slave trade and life of African American people in general.

Author: Ana Angelovska (Class of 2010)

In Part II of Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved, one of the motifs present is the motif of ‘falling’. Namely, the motif of ‘falling’ is presented through two focal points in the narration: the ice skating scene and Paul D’s downfall as a man.

During the ice-skating scene, because of the lack of stability, as well as the lack of ice skates, the three women – Sethe, Beloved and Denver -, especially Sethe keep on falling. The repetition of the sentence “Nobody saw them falling” (pg. 205) can be interpreted in a few ways. Firstly, in respect to Paul D’s word in Part I – “I’ll catch you ‘fore you fall”(pg. 55) – it can be understood as Sethe’s liberation; that she no longer needs to depend on someone to help her, such as Halle, Amy, Baby Suggs, holy and lastly Paul D. Thus, Sethe is finally free, and has the luxury to fall is she wants to, and no one to hold her back. Secondly, the fact that this ice-skating scene is thick with happiness creates an ominous sense about it. In other words, reading through Part I, it is highly implausible that Sethe and the physical representation of her dead baby will have a picturesque life together. Also, going back to Baby Suggs, holy’s fear that there was “too much” food (pg. 161), and that something bad was about to follow, implies that since there is too much joy now, later the reader should expect sadness. Going back to the sentence – “Nobody saw them falling” – implies that even though it seems that the three women of 124 are finally happy, the other characters of Beloved are not aware that they are “falling”, and that the entire ice-skating scene is Morrison’s way of masking the monstrosity of Beloved. Furthermore, use of diction – “falling” instead of “fall” – implies that Sethe, Denver, and Beloved’s fall was not simply at that instance on the ice, but they will continue to fall, as the narration progresses.

While the first representation of the motif of ‘falling’ was represented through a physical fall, the second representation, namely, Paul D’s downfall is psychological fall. Through Paul D’s character-bound focalization, and thus through his rememory of Sweet Home, Alfred, Georgia and finally 124, the narrator presents Paul D’s fall as a man. Namely, Paul D sees his inability to stay put, and always being pushed or even moved outside a house to a shed, Paul D was being “clipped” (pg. 259) from his masculinity. Also, through this character-bound focalization, Paul D establishes his doubt if Mr. Garner gave him the illusion that he is truly a man, while Paul D is never able to establish it on his own. Specifically, Paul D’s archetypical representation of a ‘wanderer’ shows that he is not the master of his own fate, but a puppet of his own life; others guide his next post. This, in turn denies Paul D from his masculinity. Moreover, the fact that Paul D was not able to ‘claim’ Sethe, form a family and “catch [her] ‘fore [she] fall[s]” represents Paul D as a failed man. Thus, through this memory rollercoaster, Paul D remembers all of the instances he failed to establish himself as a man, which in turn results in his psychological fall(ing).

All in all, in Part II of Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved, the motif of ‘falling’ is portrayed through two key instances in the novel. Specifically, it is presented through the ice-skating scene between Sethe, Denver and Beloved, as well as Paul D’s psychological downfall.

Author: Iskra Dzundeva (Class of 2010)

One of the most defining motifs found within Part II of Toni Morrison’s Beloved is the recurring pattern of voice. Notably, Morrison relies on voice to reinforce the impact of Beloved’s presence, as this character that functions as a foil carries with It a burdensome weight from the past of all African Americans. Cleverly, Morrison distinguishes the menacing voices of the past with those of the present through distinguishing between the power, motive and multitude of the voices; all to portray the (Sethe’s) past’s slow overtake of the (Sethe’s) present.

Namely, in Part II of Morrison’s Beloved, the author enables the women of I24 to develop their voices individually as juxtaposed to their collective voice of the past. Initially, we are introduced to this distinction through Stamp Paid’s account which begins Part II with the assertion “I24 was loud”, clearly emphasizing the importance of sound and voice within this segment of Beloved. As Stamp Paid approaches I24 the narration allows the readers to hear the voices through Stamp Paid’s observations.

"What he heard, as he moved toward the porch, he didn’t understand. Out on Bluestone Road he thought he heard a conflagration of hasty voices—loud, urgent, all speaking at once so he could not make out what they were talking about or to whom. The speech wasn’t nonsensical, exactly, nor was it tongues. But something was wrong with the order of the words and he couldn’t describe or cipher it to save his life. All he could make out was the word “mine”. The rest of it stayed outside his mind’s reach. Yet he went on through. When he got to the steps, the voices drained suddenly to less than a whisper. It gave his pause. They had become an occasional mutter—like the interior sounds a woman makes when she believes she is alone and unobserved at her work.” (p.203)

This passage of narration disclosing Stamp Paid’s thoughts emanates the power and multitude of the voices which hover around I24. Clearly, Stamp Paid’s observations establish a distinction between the voices within I24 and the voices outside through the focal point “It gave his pause”. This point differentiates the voices in I24’s yard from those within the house, distinguishing those within as the “interior sounds of a woman”, harmless, while portraying those on the outside as “nonsensical”, “a conflagration of hastiness”, and most importantly incomprehensible. Significantly, the reference to the “conflagration of hasty voices” yields a connotation that can be traced back to the narration’s reference to “a hot thing”. Accordingly, the multitude of these voices is driven with anger, with fire, as “the hot thing” from the past has not yet cooled off. Nonetheless, as these voices become a whisper, the voices within do not even come close to resembling the cacophony on the outside, with “all the voices speaking at once”; rather, the voices inside are euphonic and peaceful. Namely, this distinction among the plurality of the voices outside and singularly defined entity of the voices within reveals the notion that there is a clash of voices that hovers about I24, preventing Stamp from entering the house itself as the voices’ motives are “out of his mind’s reach.”

Nonetheless, as Stamp Paid is unable to enter I24, he comes upon a revelation that illuminates the nature of the voices that seem to haunt I24.

“This time, although he couldn’t cipher gut one word, he believed he knew who spoke them. The people of the broken necks, of fire-cooked blood and black girls who had lost their ribbons. What a roaring.”(p.213)

Notably, through Stamp Paid’s intuitive dissemination of the voices’ origin, the narrator discloses the truth that yields the voices’ collective drive. Although the voices’ words are unfamiliar to Stamp Paid and overwhelm him with their cacophonous mesh, something within him—perhaps his African American descent itself—enables him to recognize the multifaceted and heavy “roaring” of his ancestors. Accordingly, the narration within this segment reveals the voices of the “people with the broken necks”, “black girls who had lost their ribbons” and others so as to epitomize the ominous lamentation of those whose voices were never heard during their lives, remaining in limbo, hovering over the present of I24, preventing the women of I24 (Sethe and Denver) from enjoying the freedom of their present.

“Mixed in with the voices surrounding the house, recognizable but undecipherable to Stamp Paid, were the thoughts of the women of I24, unspeakable thoughts, unspoken” (p.235)

As the voices on the outside dominate the voices within, preventing Stamp Paid from redeeming himself and entering I24, the voices on the inside which are truly the thoughts of the women of I24, remain unspoken. Significantly, in Part II’s subsequent chapters we hear each character’s voice individually as Sethe, Denver, and Beloved, respectively, each get a chance to reveal their thoughts. Notably, all three voices are distinct and thus do not resemble a cacophony. Even so, concluding this chapter, the narrative does develop into an ominous cacophony as all three voices clash, respond to each other, and slowly become one. Strikingly so, however, the voice that overbears the others by the end of Part II is that of Beloved, whose repetitive assertion of claim “you are mine” signifies her claim of Sethe’s voice. Namely, this shows that Beloved, carrying the voices of the past, has finally come to overwhelm and usurp the voices of the present, preventing any potential for a future from ever occurring.

Accordingly, as the outside voices’ cacophonous victory signifies Beloved’s claim power, her multifarious voices shift to a singular voice of Sethe’s past that exposes the nature of Beloved’s motive. As Beloved starts to softly hum one of Sethe’s original songs that the mother created to lull her children to sleep, Sethe recognizes her song and realizes that Beloved is one of her own. Notably, as Beloved’s voice prevails from this moment on, Sethe’s voice is lost. The song is the trigger that evokes the past, overwhelming Sethe with guilt and a desire to please Beloved, to please the voices of the past through giving up her present, and her future—Denver.

“When she left the house she neither saw the prints nor heard the voices that ringed I24 like a noose (p.215)”. Unaware of the ominous past that is about to take over her life and enslave her to the yore, in Part II of Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Sethe slowly succumbs to Beloved, as cleverly revealed through Toni Morrison’s swift portrayal of the powerfully frail voices that Beloved embodies.