Focus: How can we better understand the characters in Beloved?
Please turn in your second round of poetry responses.
1. Warming up: Getting together other people who took interest in your character; getting to know that character by responding to some creative writing prompts
2. Discussing the first four chapters of Beloved, Socratic seminar style
3. Wrapping up!
HW:
1. Change of mind: We're going to do the multiple choice practice in class tomorrow. If you already did this last Thursday, you can bring Beloved or your critical review book to read in class.
2. Please read the next four chapters in Beloved by this Friday. For your reading ticket, please find one word that you've taken notice of in the novel so far (perhaps because it's repeated, or because Morrison's using it in a new way), and type a paragraph or two exploring its meaning. Please include at least one textual passage in your response.
3. Next poetry response due next Monday.
• Was the dress literal?
ReplyDeleteo Normal in their house.
o The characters are nonchalant about the situation.
• Magical Realism
o The idea that characters accept something supernatural in a completely realistic setting.
o Toni Morrison commonly works with magical realism.
• How does Paul D’s arrival change the ghost?
o Paul D = Cleanser.
o Levelheaded
o Paul D draws attention to how bad the house really is.
His interruption needs to happen.
o Paul D seems as though he is a savior.
Did not have to do much to get the ghost away.
• Could imply that he wants the ghost to move on.
o Paul D isn’t necessarily trustworthy.
Page 54 and 55.
• Doesn’t think it is good to care for anymore more than just a little bit.
Page 49
• He is hiding secrets from Sethe and Denver.
• Why did the ghost go away?
o Ghost has something against men.
o Men are more powerful in this time.
Ghost loses some of its power as a result.
o The ghost is a baby who may want its mother’s attention.
• Page 44: The ghost is still there waiting, nothing ever dies.
o Kind of a creepy conversation.
• The husband died of Sethe’s previous slave-owners, so the schoolteacher came in and lived with the wife.
o He is called schoolteacher, because he scientifically documents their lives.
o Observes them as if they are animals.
• “Nothing ever really dies”
o Commonly reoccurring statement.
o Never got any conclusion on previous characters (Ex: Hal)
• Page 42
o Paul D reminds her of “sweet home” and serves as an escape from the ghost.
• Is the ghost staying for own will?
o Ghost realizes that the people are growing up thus letting go.
• Is it Sethe holding on to the memory of the baby?
o Now that Paul D is there, she is not thinking about the baby as much.
o All of Sethe’s acceptance is the reason the baby is staying.
o
• Denver in the Woods
o Every character has a secret.
Secrets define the character.
o Cactus
How we see Denver now.
The one beautiful piece shows what we know about Denver thus far.
• Paul D brings out secrets.
• Denver is an introvert.
• Significance of the tree
o Page 18-19.
Tree is the central part of the family (Sethe)
The branches show that Sethe is trying to reach out to her family.
Paul alters tree dynamic.
Tree made of scar tissue
• Who were the men? (in the part where they stole her milk)
o The master’s sons.
Ending Questions.
• Is the ghost holding her hand or Paul D?
• Women coming out of water could be rebirth.
• Why she was smiling the whole time
• Connotations of different plants
• Childish ghost baby having a plan.