"Geben Sie mir Kaffee, dann mache ich Phänomenologie daraus." (Give me my coffee so that I can make phenomenology out of it.)
-- Edmund Husserl
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
APLAC Beloved Reader/Response
Read the following article on who Beloved is linked here. In the comment section, respond to the essay with your agreement, disagreement or qualification.
37 comments:
Anonymous
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“To say that Beloved represents only something to Sethe in the novel ignores the text that supports her affects on every other character,” is a valid claim made by Joel Booster and supported by sources including Khoolish, Carden, and Watson. When attempting to analyze Beloved’s identity she cannot be pinned down as one thing. Morrison purposely creates this ambiguity to not give her a set identity, confusing the reader—as stated by Khoolish. Booster lists numerous possibilities of what Beloved could be in the novel, because it has already been proven that her identity is uncertain. To continue her list of possible identities, Booster uses Carden’s theory in Khoolish’s article that Beloved is “a mirror for the entire community of former slaves” by reflecting all that the slaves lack. Beloved’s purpose as a mirror supports Booster’s first claim that Beloved has effects on all the characters in the novel. Yes, Beloved is a mirror for former slaves, but more importantly she serves as a mirror to Sethe. It can be assumed that Sethe imprinted on Beloved before she killed her. Beloved still remembers Sethe’s crystal earrings and other characteristics of her mother. Beloved needs Sethe, the mom she remembers from a young age, causing Beloved to make the statement, “I AM BELOVED and she is mine.” Lastly, Watson makes the statement that Beloved serves to represent a “mother’s grief and love.” Sethe kills Beloved to protect her from the School Teacher. This is the ultimate act of love. Sethe does not want her daughter to endure the pain that comes with slavery. It is just to say that this Beloved character that Sethe loves does not have a distinguishable identity because she is intended to have multiple purposes in the novel.
While I agree with the point Joel Booster made when he said Morrison left the reader “without a clear picture” of who Beloved is, I think her ambiguity was intentional (Booster 1). Beloved’s presence in the book is meant to mean different things to the other characters: Sethe, Denver and Paul D. For Paul D, she brings up feelings of unease that parallel his unease with the knowledge that Sethe loved Beloved so much she was willing to kill her. Denver finds hope in Beloved’s presence that she won’t be alone. I disagree with Booster’s claim that Morrison’s ambiguity lessened the “effectiveness of Beloved as a character” and the fact that Beloved needs a function (Booster 2). What makes Beloved a strong character is the fact that she has such a powerful effect on the other characters despite her lack of characterization. Her function is showing how the incarnation of everything that haunts them in 124 can dredge up all the emotion they’ve been suppressing. Booster’s claim on page 4 about Beloved’s proclamation claiming an unnamed “she” is interesting and plausible and Sethe’s claiming Beloved is almost silly considering Beloved’s effect on everyone around her.
I believe that Joel Booster makes a valid claim when he states “Beloved’s purpose in the novel has to do solely with her relationship with her mother Sethe” (Booster 2). Beloved’s presence acts as a bridge connecting Sethe’s present life with her past life at Sweet Home. She continuously reminds Sethe of her past keeping it ever present in her current life. A piece of Sethe died when she slit Beloved’s throat as a baby and when Beloved is back in the picture, Sethe begins to find that piece little by little, for example, sharing her life stories with Beloved - something that normally happens in a mother-daughter relationship, however, something which never happened between Sethe and Denver, her actual “living” daughter. Beloved “literally seems to be sapping physical energy away from her mother” (Booster 2) as Booster puts it and I agree with his claim. Beloved comes into Sethe’s life as a older girl, however, though she may appear to be older, emotionally she is still the little girl who was murdered by her own mother, and now searching for that maternal guidance and relationship she was so instantly stripped of. This accounts for why Beloved seems to be physcially draining Sethe’s energy and takes to look at her with “hunger in her eyes” (Booster 2), hungry for the time she lost to grow and know Sethe as a mother.
Joel Booster makes the valid claim that, “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone” (Booster, 5). Tony Morrison’s Beloved is a highly difficult work that propagates many different argument and theories. This is essentially because Beloved is an ambiguous character that serves many different purposes to many different readers, depending on various perspectives. Beloved is a character whose identity has no one concrete answer. Booster clearly presents this in his essay by referring to ideas from sources such as Khoolish, Ochoa, Carden, Watson, and Shulman—all of whom propose unalike opinions about the role the character Beloved plays in the novel, and all of which make sense. Beloved is a complex character that at times is made to contradict herself, “Morrison does not allow for any clear answers to be built up, because she herself tears them down” (Booster, 1). Although this is true, the following claim that Morrison, “[leaves] the reader without a clear picture of who or what Beloved is supposed to be” (Booster, 1), is an argument that is more faulty. I believe that Morrison does indeed leave readers with a clear picture of who or what Beloved is supposed to be—but not one single picture across the board for all readers. So although no one can prove Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved because she tears down all answers, she does leave each reader with the ability to create their own viewpoint—as we see with all the authors such as Khoolish, Carden, Shulman, and others cited. Morrison purposely leaves the character of Beloved as ambiguous in the plot of the story so that each reader can develop their own personal and clear understanding of Beloved’s role and what she represents to them.
Joel Booster makes a well-supported claim when he says that “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone” (Booster, 5). Beloved by Toni Morrison is an extremely rich and well-developed text that leaves readers with many questions. The character of Beloved is rumored to be the reincarnation of Sethe’s daughter Beloved, thus written into the story in order to develop a relationship with Sethe. But others speculate that she is added to the story in order to illustrate the pain from ex-slaves in the south who are awaiting emancipation, as mentioned in Booster’s essay. But, Booster sufficiently raises enough doubt in the reader’s mind as to the true purpose of having Beloved in the story and illustrates the complexity in the story revolving around Beloved’s character by pointing out the emotional layers in the character. Booster is successful in claiming that the text cannot support a specific reason for having Beloved in the story, thus causing readers to come to their own conclusion.
Joel Booster’s view is shaped narrowly towards the “ambiguity” of Beloved. While I believe this to be completely true, I disagree with Booster’s idea that this ambiguous nature “weakened the effectiveness of Beloved”(Booster). Rather, the “mystique of the character” made Beloved more intricate, matching the structure of the text. Morrison forces the reader to decipher and question who Beloved truly is, which is exactly what Denver, Sethe, and Paul D. were struggling with. Evidently, Beloved’s ambiguity captivates the reader to an extent that makes him or her feel what the characters are enduring. In addition, I believe Morrison leaves so much room for explanation because Beloved is too dynamic of a character to blatantly define. Booster reveals this in his analysis as he points out the many possible symbols Beloved represents, such as “an image of jealous loving rage”, “the natural sacrificial bond which occurs between a mother and a child”, or “the psychological displacement of all African American slave girls”. The ambiguity created by Morrison allows the reader to discover these and many more meanings behind Beloved.
Beloved is a physical manifestation of the power of a mother’s love – enough to go beyond the grave and bring back some form of Sethe’s little girl. Sethe never forgot about her daughter, nor did she ever forget about why she decided to end Beloved’s life instead of letting her little girl grow up a slave. Beloved herself does not have a clear purpose in Morrison’s text, though she identifies herself as Sethe’s and claims Sethe as hers. In Joel Booster’s article, he poses a lot of questions about who exactly Beloved is. He states that “the ambiguity of such a question is neither addressed, nor accepted by Morrison in her book” (Booster). I believe that this is an accurate statement, because as a reader, I never do get an exact answer. However, I believe that Beloved is more than just a girl. I believe that the power of Sethe’s love was able to form a human manifestation of the “rememory” of her little girl. After Paul D thrust the ghostly presence out of the house, Sethe’s symbolic “water breaking” moment symbolized Beloved’s rebirth. Given Booster’s many thoughts about who Beloved might be, I think he is quite accurate when he states that the question of who Beloved is “[is] both answered and not answered numerous times throughout the text” (Booster).
Booster strengthens his argument in the beginning of the essay when he presents an argument in opposition to his, explains it, and then proceeds to point out the flaws of that argument, which strengthens his. Breaking down the opposing argument is not his only method of proving his point; he provides ample evidence and reasoning to support it. While I agree with Booster’s closing point regarding Beloved’s ambiguity as a character, “Whether a manifestation of the collision between one character’s love and guilt, or a reflection of what the buried pain and anguish that an entire community feels after centuries of repression, Beloved can only exist outside of both of these ideas—a mere catalyst for events that ultimately define both Sethe as a character and the post emancipated African American community” (Booster, 6), I do not agree that Beloved can only exist outside of those ideas. I would argue that what makes her so ambiguous (ambiguity being a central trait to what makes her such a complex character) is that she exists not only outside of those ideas, but in them as well.
Joel Booster makes a very legitimate claim when he states “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone” (Booster, 5). Beloved is such an ambiguous character throughout the novel, leaving readers to fill in gaps where information is not given about her and to decide what her ultimate purpose is in the novel. There are many different possibilities as to what Beloved’s role was, but nothing can be certain due to the lack of information given by the author and the room for interpretation as to Beloved's significance in the story. Some may argue that “Beloved’s purpose in the novel has to do solely with her relationship with her mother Sethe” (Booster 2), which is valid because there are many instances in Beloved where we see Beloved trying to destroy Seethe’s relationships with other people, such as with Paul D, and making sure all of Seethe’s attention was on her. Some may argue that Beloved is just “one in a large grouping of painful memories that exists to physically and emotionally torment those who still live to be effected by them” (Booster 4), such as Sethe’s memories of murdering her child. As shown, there are different ideas given that the reader can argue as Beloved’s purpose in the novel; however, it is up to the reader to decide, based on information from the book and outside the book, to state Beloved’s actual purpose in the story.
In the author’s response to Beloved by Toni Morrison, Booster describes various reasons for Beloved’s purpose because it is clear that the character is obscure. The author uses Khoolish’s article to depict Beloved as “a mirror for the entire community of former slaves.” This article is used as support of Booster’s first proposal: Beloved influences all of the characters in the novel. Not only does the ghostly figure depict a mirror for all slaves, she also represents Sethe’s past at Sweet Home. Booster states that Morrison wrote Beloved’s character “without a clear picture,” however this makes it seem as if it was a product of mal writing or forgetfulness when in reality, Morrison created the character with the intention of keeping her ambiguous. She does so to draw the reader’s attention and force the reader to remain deeply engaged in the text. In order for a reader to truly understand Beloved’s character, the author calls for a close reading of the text, otherwise important details will be lost.
Right off the bat, Joel Booster reveals an essential insight to his audience when describing the conflict between the readers and the formation of a clear-cut understanding of the ever-so-confusing Beloved. Booster states how "Morrison does not allow for any clear answers to be built up, because she herself tears them down", a key truth when it comes to reading Morrison's Beloved. Booster strengthens this claim with sources like Carden, Ochoa, Shwarz, Watson, and Koolish-five critical readers who try to find answers to satisfy their own desires to uncover who Beloved truly was. Booster's sources label her (Beloved) as a symbol of the love-hate relationship every mother and daughter encounters or that dreadful elephant in the room reminding everyone of the past or Sethe's overall burden or the leading role in the well-known Song of Solomon. Regardless, all of these sources present a definition of Beloved's purpose on an extremely wide scale, there is no consensus what so ever. Perhaps that's what Morrison wanted. Like Booster says Morrison never leaves a clear picture of Beloved to resonate with the reader, this must be Morrison's intention. Morrison didn't designate Beloved to a single purpose because that is unfair to the reader. Because just as Sethe is Beloved's, Beloved is mine. She is mine to interpret and mine to peel apart.
The essay starts out with talking a lot about the ambiguity of the book and I think it can be assumed that readers don’t like ambiguity. I think that most readers want clean, clear-cut answers and because this book doesn’t give any solid answers, the reader feels uncomfortable. Reading this book is like walking in unfamiliar territory blind —you have no idea where you’re going or what the area is like and it’s all foreign and scary. The ambiguity of this book scares the reader and makes them uncomfortable but wasn’t that Morrison’s goal? Morrison wrote the book the ambiguous way she did in order to make the reader uncomfortable. Although that upsets the reader, it’s not a mistake on her part, rather it was a tactful move. I have to say though, not getting clear answers at any point in the novel was frustrating. This book is like a rubik cube! We could sit and try to figure this book out for days and days!! Booster says that because of the ambiguity it essentially “weakened the effectiveness of Beloved as a charter through her inability to paint a clear picture of what her presence was meant to be,” but I have to disagree. I think that Beloved’s ambiguity made her such a strong character. Even though the reader doesn’t exactly know if she is a real person or what, Beloved has a strong effect on the reader and the uncomfortableness and clueless the reader has about who beloved really is keeps the reader reading. The reader wants to know more and wants these questions to be answered but the fact that Morrison doesn’t answer them is just so powerful. One thing that I noticed in the novel but never thought really anything of was that “the mother daughter relationship is only emphasized through someone else’s explanation.” I just think that’s such an interesting thing to catch on too and another thing that I thought was a great point was “Morrison’s way of manifesting both the guilt and burden of Sethe, and the willingness of Sethe to give herself over to such a burden as ;the natural sacrificial bond which occurs between a mother and a child’" (Watson, 161). I found that observation by Watson to be fascinating and I kept thinking about that point for a while after I finished reading. I also just loved this line;: “The bond between these two women transcends history and cultural, and the community in which they live in.” That’s such a powerful sentence. I really liked this essay. I thought it was very eye opening and hearing different people’s perspective was really helpful.
All of Booster's suggestions as to who Beloved is have textual evidence, but "Morrison's ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone," (Booster, 5), and I think that Booster makes a sound claim here. Morrison herself "encourages readers to 'arrive at readings which may or may not coincide with those intended by the author" (Morrison, 29)" (Booster, 6). Obviously Morrison did have an intention for what Beloved was supposed to represent, whether she be a character to move the plot along, a symbol of American slave history, or anything in between. However, every example Booster provides is followed by a counterargument. Therefore, a valid conclusion to be drawn from the character of Beloved is that she is meant to be left up for the interpretation of the reader. Booster synthesizes ideas from Carden, Koolish, Ochoa, Schwarz, and Watson, all who bring forth a unique explanation of their own. If Morrison wanted Beloved to have an obvious definition and purpose, she would have made it clear in the novel. However, there are many possibilities, none of which that may actually be Morrison’s initial intention. Booster drives home this point through his explanation and then refutation of multiple examples from a variety of sources.
Booster presents a conglomerate of arguments—each with convincing points—to try and define who Beloved is. However none of the cases hold water with the text; there are holes to every argument as to Beloved’s identity and function. Booster takes this ambiguity and inability to define Beloved’s character as a “mis-[step] in [Morrison’s] narrative” (Booster, 1) and believes that it “weakened the effect of Beloved as a character” (Booster, 2), but this ambiguity is precisely what Morrison wanted and opens Beloved up to many interpretations. Without the ambiguity—if Beloved were effable—she could not be the same character. It is precisely in her ineffable character that she is able to function in so many ways in the story and at the same time “mani[fest]…re[flect]…cata[lyze]” (Booster, 6) and “uni[fy]” (Booster, 5). It is because of her multi-functional purpose that each argument presented in Booster’s paper can exist and be completely true simultaneously with another: because Beloved cannot be defined and thus cannot be disproven. Consequently, Beloved does “embody the painful belonging that results from abandonment” (Booster, 3) as the interpretation of the Song of Songs gives; she is also a daughter come back from the grave who “forces the focus to be centered on Beloved and Sethe” (Booster, 3). In the same way she is both a “unifying force” (Booster, 5) and “a large grouping of painful memories that exists to physically and emotionally torment” (Booster, 4). So, essentially Beloved can be defined incompletely in many ways. Every definition of Beloved serves to merely define another capacity in which she serves the novel—each capacity adding to a more complete definition of her character as a whole. Her ultimate ineffability thus is not a “mis-step” or weak-point in Morrison’s writing, but a useful way in which she allows Beloved to grow in multiple facets of the story and enhance the ultimate meaning of the entire narrative.
Booster’s arguments rely on a key idea presented by Morrison’s depiction of Beloved: ambiguity. His strongest argument, synthesized from Carden, Koolish, Ochoa, Schwarz, and Watson, is that “Morrison's ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone.” (Booster 5) He supports this argument by providing example after example of what Beloved means to different characters, and even goes so far as to say that Morrison “mis-stepped in her narrative” (Booster 1) by leaving Beloved’s character and purpose so ambiguous. However, he also provides counter arguments to his own, which allows the reader to take their own position on the arguments. He writes that Morrison “encourages readers to 'arrive at readings which may or may not coincide with those intended by the author" (Morrison, 29)" (Booster, 6). I think that Booster argument’s are strong overall and well-supported through his own and other sources, but I would say that Booster ignores a key idea that contradicts his argument that Morrison made a mistake in leaving Beloved so ambiguous: she was meant to be that way. Beloved’s ambiguity is not a puzzle for the reader to decipher; in fact, it is a key component of her character. The uneasiness we feel at not “fully understand[ing] the complexity of what was going on in the house” (Booster 3) is central to the ideas of confusion with one’s past and present selves, the complex relationships between family members, and the ever-ambiguous nature of what “home” means to each person. The vague definition of who or what Beloved is meant to be is a specific choice on Morrison’s part to exemplify core themes of the novel.
Joel Booster emphasizes the “ambiguity” of Beloved, stating, “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone” (Booster, 5). The text alone does not even clarify what purpose Beloved plays in the story. It can be questioned whether Beloved is there to represent the guilt and burden Sethe and her actions, or to highlight the sacrificial bond between mother and child, or even both of these aspects. The author claims that Beloved’s ambiguity weakens her as a character, which is an assertion to contend, for it can be argued that Beloved’s ambiguous persona actually challenges the reader to determine what symbols she encompasses. Beloved’s role is to show how Sethe’s love as a mother can transcend the grave and that at times love can overpower morality. This is shown through the vagueness of Morrison’s writing, and empowers Beloved as a character.
Booster evaluated and commented on the unique ideas from several others who reflected on Beloved’s identity. While I agree with a lot of the ideas, I disagree with some of them as well. I agree with the idea that Beloved “is a unifying force (Booster 5)” because she affects “everyone who stumbled onto [the] house (Koolish, 174)” but at the same time “she herself tears [the family and community to which she set upon] down (Booster 1).” She did not only broke “a bond between two individuals (Booster 5)”, Sethe and Paul D, “but also [broke] the sprit of an emotionally hardened slave (Booster 5)”, conveying the idea that Beloved can be “the emotional repository of an entire community of former slaves (Booster 1).” This oxymoron existed to create the ambiguity in Beloved’s identity. Also Beloved’s relationship with Sethe mirrors the relationship between the former slave community and America, firstly because Sethe murdered Beloved and the slavery American killed the hopes of the former slaves to start a new life in the foreign country, and also because of the parallel between Beloved’s desires to own Sethe evident in her “needing only Sethe, and no one else (Booster 2)” and the former slaves’ desire to own and embrace America, to call it their mother country, which reflects the mother- daughter relationship between Beloved and Sethe. Moreover, it is also agreeable to say that Denver’s perspective of Beloved and Sethe’s relationship might not be the most accurate description. Denver is like the other racial communities in the U.S., and she is viewing the scene from a biased point of view. However, I disagree with the idea that the ambiguity prevalent in the novel “weakened the effectiveness of Beloved as a character through her (Booster 2)” because in the book, Beloved and the family she was born into was finding its own identity and its place in the society as well and this process can only be accurately portrayed and powerfully transmitted to the readers by making them feel like they are experiencing the trial.
“How can one accurately describe an image, idea, or thesis to the ultimately ambiguous character of Beloved?” (Booster). Booster, through his analysis of many arguments about who Beloved really is, furthers the point that Beloved is intended to be a character of ambiguity and uncertainty. Booster discusses multiple arguments that try to define Beloved character and by finding flaw in these arguments, he fully demonstrates that “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone” (Booster). While all of the discussed arguments are valid, I agree most with Booster’s argument because it is evident that Beloved cannot be defined by the text alone. In trying to determine the character and identity of Beloved no one trait, identity or person can be exclusively associated with Beloved. Morrison encourages her reads to “arrive at readings which may or may not coincide with those intended by the author” (Morrison). Thus, Morrison does not intent for Beloved to be understood but to “leave the reader without a clear picture of who or what Beloved is supposed to be.” (Booster). The discussion and dispute of the presented arguments demonstrates that not a single one can define the character of Beloved as she was not meant to be defined.
Ambiguity is the central idea that Joel Booster associates with Toni Morrison’s craft-fully concocted character, Beloved. Supporting his argument with three different perspectives identifying the purpose she holds, Beloved is seen to be a multitude of things including an “embod[iment of] the painful longing that results from abandonment” (Booster 3), a “catalyst of what the events that… change [Sethe and Denver’s] lives forever” (Booster 4), and serve as “a physical manifestation of a mother’s grief and lover” (Booster 2), or “womanhood in general” (Booster 4). While I agree with Booster’s concept that Morrison instilled a large amount of ambiguity in her text, I don’t agree with the claim that she “mis-stepped in her narrative” (Booster 1), and “tears [her answers] down” (Booster 1). On the other hand, it seems that Morrison intentionally made Beloved an ambiguous character as if to give readers room to explore and understand that Beloved could be a symbol for more than one thing. This can be interpreted from how Beloved serves as “a mirror to [his] own desires” and “for the entire community of former slaves” (Booster 2), which then can be related to how Beloved’s purpose effects all the other characters in the book as well in many ways. Booster also says that “all other relationships throughout the novel cease to become anything more than distractions” (Booster 3) which is a valid argument but in context, Beloved seems to be the catalyst of all relationships in the story. She forms a “mother-daughter bond” (Booster 3) with Sethe, which then catalyses a line of events with Paul D, and Denver as individuals and in their lives. Booster does a successful job in portraying the plethora of options possible for Morrison’s purpose of Beloved’s ambiguity, however the real question is not what ideas beloved captures, but rather what she doesn’t. From this, it cane inferred that Morrison integrated all these ideas in for the reader to shape the intentions of Beloved themselves and find out individually what message is being conveyed.
Joel Booster says that "Morrison's ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone." He is right in saying this because Beloved is a character that can be interpreted differently based on the reader because there is not a definitive characterization of Beloved in the book. Booster provides many examples of different interpretations of Beloved with quotes from Khoolish, Ochoa, Carden, Watson, and Shulman. Although Booster is correct with this argument, he goes astray when he says that "Morrison leaves the reader without a clear picture of who or what Beloved is supposed to be." This argument isn't 100% correct because Morrison does leave the reader with a picture of who or what Beloved is supposed to be. She just does it vaguely so that Beloved can be interpreted differently for each reader. She does this because she wants Beloved to connect to every single one of her readers. If she has a fixed characteristic for Beloved, not everyone can connect to her. By leaving who Beloved really is vague, each reader can interpret Beloved in the way that he or she connects to most.
In Morrison’s Beloved, readers are presented with the ambiguous character of Beloved who’s role in the novel cannot be “proved or disproved through textual support alone” (Booster, 5). Morrison left this character up to the unique interpretation of each individual reader. Some readers interpret the character as “a manifestation of the collision between one character’s love and guilt” while others “a reflection of what the buried pain and anguish that an entire community feels after centuries of repression” (Booster,6). I believe Beloved was created for the main purpose of acting as a “mirror” for those around her. Her character did not just affect Sethe, but also Denver, Paul D, and all those in their community. Each character’s response to Beloved gave us an insight to their character. Beloved provoked strong reactions and memories of a painful past for more than just Sethe.
Toni Morrison’s illustration of Beloved is overly ambiguous and so prompts a myriad of unanswered questions that lead to the reader’s growing frustration. Joel Booster’s reasoning in her essay, “Through this ambiguity, Morrison added to the mystique of the character overall, but weakened the effectiveness of Beloved as a character,” does not grasp the power of the character’s vagueness. I believe that Morrison specifically intended Beloved’s identity and purpose to be unclear so that through close analysis of the novel, each individual reader would have to come to their own conclusion on who Beloved is. She did not intend for the character to have one sole purpose, but engineered Beloved to be unrestricted by the limits of time and so could be use to symbolize anything. For example, Booster contributes explanations for Beloved’s identity as embodying the “woman race as a whole” or the “psychological displacement of all African American slave girls of that period” because she did not have the opportunity to grow up, mature, and experience many of life’s opportunities. Likewise, Beloved could be interpreted as a “mirror for the entire community of former slaves, reflecting back the desires that they so desperately suppress.” Rather than handing out direct answers to the reader’s questions, which would be easier and less time consuming, Morrison wanted her writing to reveal more about the reader than the actual characters in a book. In this way, as Beloved has virtually indescribable power to “[loosen] the rust on the ‘tin can’ in which [Paul D] kept his deepest secrets…[and break] down the spirit of an emotionally hardened slave,” so too does the character have the ability to expose the thoughts and emotions of the reader as he or she reaches a unique interpretation.
Although I agree with Booster’s statement that the reader never has a “clear picture of who or what Beloved is supposed to be” (Booster, 1), I disagree that the mystery of her purpose “weakened the effectiveness of Beloved as a character through her inability to paint a clear picture of what her presence was meant to be” (Booster, 2). First, Morrison intended Beloved to be vague because she “does not allow for any clear answers to be built up, because she herself tears them down” (Booster, 1). Morrison would not have made Beloved such a difficult character to understand unless she had a purpose for it. I believe that purpose of the ambiguity was to make Beloved seem more powerful and effective because of her multitude of possible purposes, allowing her to effect more characters in the book. For instance, Booster cites Carden, Watson, Ochoa, Schwarz, and Koolish all coming up with different interpretations of the purpose of Beloved, and each focusing on a specific relationship between her and another character, whether it be Sethe, Paul D., Denver, or the entire community. As a result, the reader is constantly bombarded with the effects of Beloved, as she leaves no one untouched. Despite the uncertainty of Beloved’s purpose, Beloved’s power is not mistaken. Limiting her purpose would mean limiting the number of people she affected, and therefore, her power.
A main issue that the reader comes across while reading Beloved is who is she and what’s her purpose in the story? While she appears to be the passed daughter that Sethe adores and is continuously haunted by, Joel Booster makes a very good point when he says, “the ambiguity of such a question is neither addressed, nor accepted by Morrison in her book” (Booster). Booster does this through his many questions about who Beloved could possibly be but never actually answers them. This is a very accurate representation of who Beloved is in Morrison’s story because it is extremely hard to figure out what she is and her purpose to Sethe and the other characters. One thing that I for sure believe is that Beloved is Sethe’s passed daughter that continues to pop up throughout the story somehow. I also know that Sethe adored her based on how haunted she is by her and how often she is addressed through the book. Whether Beloved now is a ghost, spirit, or reincarnation, I’m not sure, but her presence and relationship with Sethe has a symbolic meaning that I am still trying to figure out. Therefore, I completely agree with Booster’s claims that who Beloved is is answered and then unanswered because of a new answer that has later come up.
Although I follow Booster's argument coherently, I believe that he merely skims over important pieces of evidence in his claim while focusing on Morison's intents and purposes for the character Beloved herself. I however, seek qualify his statement that "Beloved needing only Sethe, and no one else... Beloved's need emotionally..seems to be sapping physical energy away from her mother". After pointing this out, Booster moves on to talk about Morrison's effectiveness in her depiction of Beloved. However, I think that who Beloved is is tied inherently in Sethe's slave experience. I attest to this by pointing out that Beloved is fed with memories, she consumes them like an animal in the same way she consumes actual food. The more Sethe discloses of herself to Beloved, the more she suffers, she "grows thinner" as Beloved feeds off of her rememories of slavery. In the same way, slavery begs to be remembered in the most inconvenient, painful way--in its plain, unabridged truth. Denver serves as the truth that avoids the original question, Sethe never delves too deep into her memories of Sweet Home when talking to Denver--she would rather forget. However, Beloved is the slavery incarnate, benefiting off of her vulnerability and demanding a full retail of her experiences there, at Sweet Home. Although this point about Beloved feeding off of memories is mentioned in Booster's argument, I believe his fault was in overlooking this textual evidence as insight into who Beloved truly is.
It is true when Joel Booster states that Morrison left the reader “without a clear picture” of Beloved and what, or even if, she symbolizes something more. However, his claim that “Beloved’s purpose in the novel has to do solely with her relationship with her mother Sethe” is in my opinion invalid. When evaluating all relationships in the story, and seeing the effect Beloved’s relationship with Sethe has on other members of 124, I have determined that Beloved was not meant to show a mother-daughter relationship, but in fact, a lack of this relationship. Although it is true that Sethe does spend a majority of her time on Beloved, she also neglects Denver. A mother, in my opinion, would disperse herself evenly amongst kids rather than obsess over one and neglect the other. Instead, I believe that Beloved symbolizes the desire for attention and care. In a post-slavery world, it is true that both Sethe and companions suffered years of neglect at Sweet Home. Therefore, I think Beloved symbolizes the necessary attention that all humans need in order to keep going, which is the reason why all members at 124 centralize Beloved and obsess over her presence.
"I am Beloved" (Morrison) is a powerful statement made by Beloved in the novel. This simple statement provides an answer to what seems to be an open-ended question: Who is Beloved? As Beloved defines herself as simply, "Beloved", the readers see that the purpose of her character is up for interpretation. This question of "who is Beloved" is indeed the answer to itself. Without truly providing a definition for Beloved, Morrison leaves her readers the opportunity to define Beloved's role in the novel. Morrison does this, according to Joel Booster, in order to have Beloved's influence reach "far beyond the property lines of 124" (Booster 1). The "property lines" Booster mentions signifies not only Beloved's sphere of influence with the characters within the novel, but also the boundaries between the book and its readers. With allowing Beloved to be an unclear character, Morrison reveals how the character of Beloved is to be interpreted to the readers' discretion. This is evident in the fact that each individual studying Beloved's character comes up with their own, unique definition and interpretation of Beloved's character. This is seen when Booster synthesis arguments from various individuals such as Mary Carden, Reginald Watson, Peggy Ochoa, and Lynda Khoolish - all credible authors - just to name a few. For example, Watson concludes that Beloved is "a physical manifestation of a mother's grief and love" (Booster 2), while another individual, such as Ochoa, concluded from a Christian perspective, that Beloved "exists to embody the painful longing that results from abandonment" (Booster 2). There isn't one simple answer to such a simple question. There are an infinite amount of responses to the question as seen in the diversity of opinions about Beloved's character argued in Booster's piece. Booster's argument is valid because evidence of varying conclusions on the character of Beloved are plentiful and it is evident that each are very different from one another. Morrison leaves Beloved's significance up to interpretation to create a sense of personal connection and understanding to the novel.
Beloved undeniably represents multiple types of relationships and can be seen as an expression of painful feelings. However, author Toni Morrison never makes Beloved’s purpose clear, therefore creating a mysterious and “ambiguous” environment for the reader. Joel Booster successfully argues against many of the purported purposes of the character by incorporating all aspects of the novel into his arguments, but ultimately I disagree with his statement that a lack of clear motive “weakened the effectiveness of Beloved as a character” (Booster). In my opinion, he failed to see that while individually many of the purposes weren’t sufficient, collectively they give Beloved a much larger intention, something that Morrison could have been striving for. Beloved and Sethe do possess a intense mother-daughter relationship, shown through the possibility that Beloved could be “a physical manifestation of a mother’s grief and love” (Booster). But the way that Beloved’s eerie presence affects Paul D and helps Denver grow as a person cannot be ignored either. The claim that Beloved “is a unifying force” and even an empowering one, coupled with the purpose of expressing the guilt and responsibility of a mother can both ultimately serve as Morrison’s possible objective of including the peculiar character of Beloved.
The statement “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone” (Booster, 5) is a valid claim made by Joel Booster. Booster presents ample evidence from multiple sources - Koolish, Ochoa, Watson - to prove his point that Beloved is an “ultimately ambiguous character” (Booster,6). The evidence he presents reveals the effect, both good or bad, that Beloved has on multiple characters - not just one. The identity of Beloved cannot be defined as one, concrete thing, but in fact it is upon the reader to decipher, thus the reason that Morrison’s “ultimate purpose” is not textually supported. Booster recognizes this and validates his argument by presenting evidence from multiple sources all interpreting Beloved to represent something different. For instance Watson identifies Beloved to be a tool that is used to contrast “Sethe’s relationship with every character in the novel.” Ochoa, on the other hand, believes that Beloved is a representation of “the painful longing that results from abandonment.” Beloved’s identity and purpose is never presented concretely because she serves a different purpose to every character introduced in the book.
Joel Booster’s argument that “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone” is completely valid and Carden, Koolish, Ochoa, Scharz, and Watson all provide evidence to support Booster’s claim. Beloved has many roles in this book and represents something different to every person she interacts with, which is the reason as to why her purpose in the novel is ambiguous. To Sethe, Beloved represents guilt and the remorse of a lost child as Sethe “explains away her own action, and throws herself over Beloved in the most embarrassing way” (Booster, 3). Sethe’s and Beloved’s relationship, as I have concluded, is not healthy as “Sethe grew thinner…giving up every ounce of food and energy she had to keep Beloved happy” and as she pushed Sethe away from her other daughter Denver and her lover Paul D. How Beloved affects others in response to her relationship with Sethe is when Beloved’s purpose in the novel becomes unclear. Yes, Beloved takes the focus of Sethe away from her daughter and hurts Denver in the process in that way and by not being a true friend and sister to Denver, something Denver had always wanted, so that is a negative. However, the return of Beloved made Denver grow up, “no longer being afraid to leave the house, Denver ventures out on her own to find work and support her mother” (Booster, 5). Beloved affects Paul D by forcing him from the house, which leads to him “loosening the rust on the tin can in which he kept his deepest secrets” (Booster, 5). Also, by the end of the novel, Beloved brings the community that she had once broken, back together. Beloved, in the beginning of the novel, broke the community Sethe lived in by scaring everyone from the house due to her ghostly state. Also, the story of Beloved’s killing drew the community away from Sethe and Denver as well. However, by the end of the novel, “the women of the community gather outside the property of 124 to oust the demon that has plagued one of their own” (Booster, 6). Beloved plays many roles in this novel: a healer, a longing child, a disrupter, the past, and even more. From all the roles she plays and by all the people she affects both positively and negatively, the specific purpose of Beloved in this book is not clear therefor making Joel Booster’s comment that “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone” completely valid.
I believe that Booster’s claim that Beloved’s “ambiguous” identity “added to the mystique of the character overall” is valid, although I disagree with his claim that this ambiguity “weakened the effectiveness of Beloved as a character.” Part of Beloved’s purpose throughout the novel is to create confusion as to who she is; her relationships with Sethe, Denver, and Paul D are each dynamic, complicated relationships that make Beloved’s identity difficult to decipher. However, this confusion was a deliberate choice by the author to strengthen the reader’s connection with the book by requiring them to come to their own conclusions about Beloved. Whether Beloved is “a ghostly manifestation of pain that is associated with Sethe,” a symbol of “the psychological frustrations of Denver,” or “merely the emotional repository for an entire community of former slaves,” it is up to the readers to decide for themselves based on their own interpretations of the novel. Thus, contrary to Booster’s claim that Beloved’s confusing identity “weakens the effectiveness of Beloved as a character,” I believe that Beloved’s complicated identity actually strengthens the effectiveness of Beloved’s character.
In Joel Booster’s essay “Who was Beloved?,” he makes many claims about the intention for Beloved in the novel. She is said to be “a reflection of buried pain and anguish that an entire community feels after centuries of repression” (Booster 6), a “unifying force” (Booster 5), and only made to exemplify the mother daughter relationship between Sethe and Beloved. Although each of his claims is well supported with both evidence from the novel and from other authors, they all have holes in the arguments because of the original intentions of Morrison. Joel Booster makes a valid claim when he states that “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone” (Booster 5) and he actually proves this in his essay although his conclusion does not necessarily explicitly state it. Morrison’s novel Beloved is not an easy read and her ambiguity in her writing only furthers the reader’s difficulty in deciphering who Beloved is. Booster does a good job constructing his essay with support for each claim with evidence from the text as well as other authors. However, as he starts to define Beloved, his argument only opens up to the next claim. Unintentionally, he contradicts himself in order to try to paint a clear picture of Beloved. But, Morrison’s goal is to leave “the reader without a clear picture of who or what Beloved is supposed to be.” (Booster 1). As Booster looks to give Beloved a definite purpose, his argument does not show complete connections because Beloved is not supposed to be defined. Morrison leaves her ambiguous so that the readers could decide what Beloved is and the importance of her in the novel. Therefore, Booster’s argument may have valid statements, but his overall argument cannot be completely proven valid from the text because Morrison purposely makes the Beloved character ambiguous so that each reader can decide her role in the novel.
Joel Booster dares to answer the challenging question of “who is Beloved?” I happen to find it very interesting that before making his statement, Booster inserted the words “I AM BELOVED”. (Morrison). These words by Morrison don’t answer the question in the title, but it brings up the idea that she has no definition. Booster’s claims rely on the idea that Morrison uses ambiguity when defining who Beloved is. Booster introduces this idea of ambiguity in the first paragraph when he says, “Morrison does not allow for many clear answers to be built up, because she tears them down herself.” (Booster 1). I don’t necessarily believe that Morrison tore down her own questions, but I do believe that the ambiguity was used intentionally. Booster later on in his essay made a very valid claim when he said, “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone.” (Booster 6).Beloved is more than just an individual. Booster points out some of the different things that Beloved could be. For example, he says “Beloved could perhaps serve as a mirror for the entire community of former slaves”, she could represent “the bond of mother and daughter”, (Booster 3) or even “womanhood in general.” (Booster 4). I most believe in the claim made at the end of the essay in which Booster says that Beloved is “a reflection of buried pain and anguish that an entire community feels after centuries of repression.” (Booster 6) The remarkable thing about Beloved is that she exists in all of those things, but she exists outside of them as well.
Tony Morrison’s, Beloved, is a difficult to read with concepts that are hard to grasp. Joel Booster’s essay, “Who is Beloved?,” analyzes the relationship between Beloved and Sethe. He says that Sethe is a "unifying force” (Booster 5) shown to represent the bond between mother and daughter. Even though Sethe murdered her child, Booster is saying that Beloved comes back to show that the mother-daughter bond is stronger than death. Beloved constantly refers to Sethe as “mine” to show that the mother-daughter bond is not only strong but also necessary which provides yet another piece of evidence to support Booster’s claim. People who read Beloved always are trying to define and find one concrete purpose for Beloved’s character including Booster. I think Booster made a very strong attempt at defining Beloved and the importance of her character, but at the same time, I think it is supposed to be a mystery. Beloved is a thought provoking character and I do not think she really has a definite answer. Booster comes up with the ideas that “Beloved could perhaps serve as a mirror for the entire community of former slaves”, or could symbolize “the bond of mother and daughter”, (Booster 3) or just “womanhood in general.” (Booster 4). All three of these claims have textual evidence to back them up but I do not think there will ever be a definite answer. Even Booster says, that “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone.” (Booster 5) We will never know for sure if “She the allegorical bride of vengeful love to her mother, or is she was the reflection of past pain and hardship to a community of former slaves?” (Booster 1)
I would agree with the author’s claim that Sethe takes on the “guilt and the burden” of Beloved because she is her child and she is willing to sacrifice what any mother would naturally sacrifice from “morning sickness until the weaning process.” The fact that she killed her own child in order to save her from a bleak future is proof enough of the sacrifices Sethe is willing to and has made in order to “save” her child. I do agree that Sethe and Beloved are the most important characters and have the strongest bond, which makes me wonder why Sethe and Denver do not have the same relationship. I would speculate that the specialness of the bond between Sethe and Beloved comes from the fact that Beloved is still an infant, in a sense. She still needs and craves her mother and “milks” her of every drop of attention and energy. I agree that the ambiguity of Beloved has diminished the character of Beloved to a certain extent. Toni Morrison’s vagueness when defining who Beloved really is along with the use of Denver as an “outside” narrator of the breakdown of Beloved and Sethe’s relationship—the “weaning”—might act as some what of a hindrance to the realization of the truth of the situation, but I believe the opacity of those roles also adds to the complexity of the story because all of the possibilities and theories can all be considered and are no less valuable than having a certain answer. I agree that Beloved is in fact the physical manifestation of those “painful memories” and that Morrison was hinting at the ability of love to “transcend the grave.” However, I do not completely agree that “all other relationships in the novel cease to become anything more than distractions to the story at hand” because I believe that Paul D and Denver are essential. Denver provides the narration for the second half of Beloved and Sethe’s relationship and Paul D is the embodiment of the human condition in a state of bewilderment—he can see his emotion and desire reflected in Beloved. The question ‘Who really is Beloved?’ is a valuable one, but one that can be argued, and thankfully so. The fact that many truths could exist makes the novel open for interpretation and therefore more personal.
In Joel Booster’s essay, he highlights the fact that Morrison never specifically explains Beloved’s purpose in the novel, and he provides possible explanations for what her presence might represent, some of which include the reincarnation of Sethe’s baby, the pain and guilt of Sethe, and the pain and memories of all former slaves. Booster makes solid claims within the essay about Beloved and who she is; however, I do not agree with him when he says that because Beloved’s purpose is not clear, Morrison “weakened the effectiveness of Beloved as a character.” In fact, I think that her effectiveness increases because her presence could mean so many different things. Beloved’s purpose is open to interpretation, so her true identity/purpose can only be realized through thorough analysis and discussion, and it is really a matter of opinion. In this essay, Booster provides a lot of possible explanations for what Beloved could represent, and in a way, she represents all of these things, which I think is what Morrison intended. Another recurring element in Booster’s essay is the importance of the relationship between Beloved and Sethe, which I agree is a very prevalent and important part of the novel, but Booster never really discusses the relationship between Beloved and Denver. He briefly mentions that Beloved could be “manifesting the psychological frustrations of Denver,” but I think their relationship requires more attention. Denver is one of the main characters in the novel, and a big portion of the story involves Sethe trying to protect Denver from her past, so if Beloved is a representation of the memories of Sethe’s past as a slave, the fact that Denver is so attached to Beloved is a key element to the story and is an important factor in figuring out who Beloved is.
37 comments:
“To say that Beloved represents only something to Sethe in the novel ignores the text that supports her affects on every other character,” is a valid claim made by Joel Booster and supported by sources including Khoolish, Carden, and Watson. When attempting to analyze Beloved’s identity she cannot be pinned down as one thing. Morrison purposely creates this ambiguity to not give her a set identity, confusing the reader—as stated by Khoolish.
Booster lists numerous possibilities of what Beloved could be in the novel, because it has already been proven that her identity is uncertain. To continue her list of possible identities, Booster uses Carden’s theory in Khoolish’s article that Beloved is “a mirror for the entire community of former slaves” by reflecting all that the slaves lack. Beloved’s purpose as a mirror supports Booster’s first claim that Beloved has effects on all the characters in the novel. Yes, Beloved is a mirror for former slaves, but more importantly she serves as a mirror to Sethe. It can be assumed that Sethe imprinted on Beloved before she killed her. Beloved still remembers Sethe’s crystal earrings and other characteristics of her mother. Beloved needs Sethe, the mom she remembers from a young age, causing Beloved to make the statement, “I AM BELOVED and she is mine.” Lastly, Watson makes the statement that Beloved serves to represent a “mother’s grief and love.” Sethe kills Beloved to protect her from the School Teacher. This is the ultimate act of love. Sethe does not want her daughter to endure the pain that comes with slavery. It is just to say that this Beloved character that Sethe loves does not have a distinguishable identity because she is intended to have multiple purposes in the novel.
While I agree with the point Joel Booster made when he said Morrison left the reader “without a clear picture” of who Beloved is, I think her ambiguity was intentional (Booster 1). Beloved’s presence in the book is meant to mean different things to the other characters: Sethe, Denver and Paul D. For Paul D, she brings up feelings of unease that parallel his unease with the knowledge that Sethe loved Beloved so much she was willing to kill her. Denver finds hope in Beloved’s presence that she won’t be alone. I disagree with Booster’s claim that Morrison’s ambiguity lessened the “effectiveness of Beloved as a character” and the fact that Beloved needs a function (Booster 2). What makes Beloved a strong character is the fact that she has such a powerful effect on the other characters despite her lack of characterization. Her function is showing how the incarnation of everything that haunts them in 124 can dredge up all the emotion they’ve been suppressing. Booster’s claim on page 4 about Beloved’s proclamation claiming an unnamed “she” is interesting and plausible and Sethe’s claiming Beloved is almost silly considering Beloved’s effect on everyone around her.
I believe that Joel Booster makes a valid claim when he states “Beloved’s purpose in the novel has to do solely with her relationship with her mother Sethe” (Booster 2). Beloved’s presence acts as a bridge connecting Sethe’s present life with her past life at Sweet Home. She continuously reminds Sethe of her past keeping it ever present in her current life. A piece of Sethe died when she slit Beloved’s throat as a baby and when Beloved is back in the picture, Sethe begins to find that piece little by little, for example, sharing her life stories with Beloved - something that normally happens in a mother-daughter relationship, however, something which never happened between Sethe and Denver, her actual “living” daughter. Beloved “literally seems to be sapping physical energy away from her mother” (Booster 2) as Booster puts it and I agree with his claim. Beloved comes into Sethe’s life as a older girl, however, though she may appear to be older, emotionally she is still the little girl who was murdered by her own mother, and now searching for that maternal guidance and relationship she was so instantly stripped of. This accounts for why Beloved seems to be physcially draining Sethe’s energy and takes to look at her with “hunger in her eyes” (Booster 2), hungry for the time she lost to grow and know Sethe as a mother.
Joel Booster makes the valid claim that, “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone” (Booster, 5). Tony Morrison’s Beloved is a highly difficult work that propagates many different argument and theories. This is essentially because Beloved is an ambiguous character that serves many different purposes to many different readers, depending on various perspectives. Beloved is a character whose identity has no one concrete answer. Booster clearly presents this in his essay by referring to ideas from sources such as Khoolish, Ochoa, Carden, Watson, and Shulman—all of whom propose unalike opinions about the role the character Beloved plays in the novel, and all of which make sense. Beloved is a complex character that at times is made to contradict herself, “Morrison does not allow for any clear answers to be built up, because she herself tears them down” (Booster, 1). Although this is true, the following claim that Morrison, “[leaves] the reader without a clear picture of who or what Beloved is supposed to be” (Booster, 1), is an argument that is more faulty. I believe that Morrison does indeed leave readers with a clear picture of who or what Beloved is supposed to be—but not one single picture across the board for all readers. So although no one can prove Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved because she tears down all answers, she does leave each reader with the ability to create their own viewpoint—as we see with all the authors such as Khoolish, Carden, Shulman, and others cited. Morrison purposely leaves the character of Beloved as ambiguous in the plot of the story so that each reader can develop their own personal and clear understanding of Beloved’s role and what she represents to them.
Joel Booster makes a well-supported claim when he says that “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone” (Booster, 5). Beloved by Toni Morrison is an extremely rich and well-developed text that leaves readers with many questions. The character of Beloved is rumored to be the reincarnation of Sethe’s daughter Beloved, thus written into the story in order to develop a relationship with Sethe. But others speculate that she is added to the story in order to illustrate the pain from ex-slaves in the south who are awaiting emancipation, as mentioned in Booster’s essay. But, Booster sufficiently raises enough doubt in the reader’s mind as to the true purpose of having Beloved in the story and illustrates the complexity in the story revolving around Beloved’s character by pointing out the emotional layers in the character. Booster is successful in claiming that the text cannot support a specific reason for having Beloved in the story, thus causing readers to come to their own conclusion.
Joel Booster’s view is shaped narrowly towards the “ambiguity” of Beloved. While I believe this to be completely true, I disagree with Booster’s idea that this ambiguous nature “weakened the effectiveness of Beloved”(Booster). Rather, the “mystique of the character” made Beloved more intricate, matching the structure of the text. Morrison forces the reader to decipher and question who Beloved truly is, which is exactly what Denver, Sethe, and Paul D. were struggling with. Evidently, Beloved’s ambiguity captivates the reader to an extent that makes him or her feel what the characters are enduring. In addition, I believe Morrison leaves so much room for explanation because Beloved is too dynamic of a character to blatantly define. Booster reveals this in his analysis as he points out the many possible symbols Beloved represents, such as “an image of jealous loving rage”, “the natural sacrificial bond which occurs between a mother and a child”, or “the psychological
displacement of all African American slave girls”. The ambiguity created by Morrison allows the reader to discover these and many more meanings behind Beloved.
Beloved is a physical manifestation of the power of a mother’s love – enough to go beyond the grave and bring back some form of Sethe’s little girl. Sethe never forgot about her daughter, nor did she ever forget about why she decided to end Beloved’s life instead of letting her little girl grow up a slave. Beloved herself does not have a clear purpose in Morrison’s text, though she identifies herself as Sethe’s and claims Sethe as hers. In Joel Booster’s article, he poses a lot of questions about who exactly Beloved is. He states that “the ambiguity of such a question is neither addressed, nor accepted by Morrison in her book” (Booster). I believe that this is an accurate statement, because as a reader, I never do get an exact answer. However, I believe that Beloved is more than just a girl. I believe that the power of Sethe’s love was able to form a human manifestation of the “rememory” of her little girl. After Paul D thrust the ghostly presence out of the house, Sethe’s symbolic “water breaking” moment symbolized Beloved’s rebirth. Given Booster’s many thoughts about who Beloved might be, I think he is quite accurate when he states that the question of who Beloved is “[is] both answered and not answered numerous times throughout the text” (Booster).
Booster strengthens his argument in the beginning of the essay when he presents an argument in opposition to his, explains it, and then proceeds to point out the flaws of that argument, which strengthens his. Breaking down the opposing argument is not his only method of proving his point; he provides ample evidence and reasoning to support it. While I agree with Booster’s closing point regarding Beloved’s ambiguity as a character, “Whether a manifestation of the collision between one character’s love and guilt, or a reflection of what the buried pain and anguish that an entire community feels after centuries of repression, Beloved can only exist outside of both of these ideas—a mere catalyst for events that ultimately define both Sethe as a character and the post emancipated African American community” (Booster, 6), I do not agree that Beloved can only exist outside of those ideas. I would argue that what makes her so ambiguous (ambiguity being a central trait to what makes her such a complex character) is that she exists not only outside of those ideas, but in them as well.
Joel Booster makes a very legitimate claim when he states “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone” (Booster, 5). Beloved is such an ambiguous character throughout the novel, leaving readers to fill in gaps where information is not given about her and to decide what her ultimate purpose is in the novel. There are many different possibilities as to what Beloved’s role was, but nothing can be certain due to the lack of information given by the author and the room for interpretation as to Beloved's significance in the story. Some may argue that “Beloved’s purpose in the novel has to do solely with her relationship with her mother Sethe” (Booster 2), which is valid because there are many instances in Beloved where we see Beloved trying to destroy Seethe’s relationships with other people, such as with Paul D, and making sure all of Seethe’s attention was on her. Some may argue that Beloved is just “one in a large grouping of painful memories that exists to physically and emotionally torment those who still live to be effected by them” (Booster 4), such as Sethe’s memories of murdering her child. As shown, there are different ideas given that the reader can argue as Beloved’s purpose in the novel; however, it is up to the reader to decide, based on information from the book and outside the book, to state Beloved’s actual purpose in the story.
In the author’s response to Beloved by Toni Morrison, Booster describes various reasons for Beloved’s purpose because it is clear that the character is obscure. The author uses Khoolish’s article to depict Beloved as “a mirror for the entire community of former slaves.” This article is used as support of Booster’s first proposal: Beloved influences all of the characters in the novel. Not only does the ghostly figure depict a mirror for all slaves, she also represents Sethe’s past at Sweet Home.
Booster states that Morrison wrote Beloved’s character “without a clear picture,” however this makes it seem as if it was a product of mal writing or forgetfulness when in reality, Morrison created the character with the intention of keeping her ambiguous. She does so to draw the reader’s attention and force the reader to remain deeply engaged in the text. In order for a reader to truly understand Beloved’s character, the author calls for a close reading of the text, otherwise important details will be lost.
Right off the bat, Joel Booster reveals an essential insight to his audience when describing the conflict between the readers and the formation of a clear-cut understanding of the ever-so-confusing Beloved. Booster states how "Morrison does not allow for any clear answers to be built up, because she herself tears them down", a key truth when it comes to reading Morrison's Beloved. Booster strengthens this claim with sources like Carden, Ochoa, Shwarz, Watson, and Koolish-five critical readers who try to find answers to satisfy their own desires to uncover who Beloved truly was. Booster's sources label her (Beloved) as a symbol of the love-hate relationship every mother and daughter encounters or that dreadful elephant in the room reminding everyone of the past or Sethe's overall burden or the leading role in the well-known Song of Solomon. Regardless, all of these sources present a definition of Beloved's purpose on an extremely wide scale, there is no consensus what so ever. Perhaps that's what Morrison wanted. Like Booster says Morrison never leaves a clear picture of Beloved to resonate with the reader, this must be Morrison's intention. Morrison didn't designate Beloved to a single purpose because that is unfair to the reader. Because just as Sethe is Beloved's, Beloved is mine. She is mine to interpret and mine to peel apart.
The essay starts out with talking a lot about the ambiguity of the book and I think it can be assumed that readers don’t like ambiguity. I think that most readers want clean, clear-cut answers and because this book doesn’t give any solid answers, the reader feels uncomfortable. Reading this book is like walking in unfamiliar territory blind —you have no idea where you’re going or what the area is like and it’s all foreign and scary. The ambiguity of this book scares the reader and makes them uncomfortable but wasn’t that Morrison’s goal? Morrison wrote the book the ambiguous way she did in order to make the reader uncomfortable. Although that upsets the reader, it’s not a mistake on her part, rather it was a tactful move. I have to say though, not getting clear answers at any point in the novel was frustrating. This book is like a rubik cube! We could sit and try to figure this book out for days and days!! Booster says that because of the ambiguity it essentially “weakened the effectiveness of Beloved as a charter through her inability to paint a clear picture of what her presence was meant to be,” but I have to disagree. I think that Beloved’s ambiguity made her such a strong character. Even though the reader doesn’t exactly know if she is a real person or what, Beloved has a strong effect on the reader and the uncomfortableness and clueless the reader has about who beloved really is keeps the reader reading. The reader wants to know more and wants these questions to be answered but the fact that Morrison doesn’t answer them is just so powerful. One thing that I noticed in the novel but never thought really anything of was that “the mother daughter relationship is only emphasized through someone else’s explanation.” I just think that’s such an interesting thing to catch on too and another thing that I thought was a great point was “Morrison’s way of manifesting both the guilt and burden of Sethe, and the willingness of Sethe to give herself over to such a burden as ;the natural sacrificial bond which occurs between a mother and a child’" (Watson, 161). I found that observation by Watson to be fascinating and I kept thinking about that point for a while after I finished reading. I also just loved this line;: “The bond between these two women transcends history and cultural, and the community in which they live in.” That’s such a powerful sentence. I really liked this essay. I thought it was very eye opening and hearing different people’s perspective was really helpful.
All of Booster's suggestions as to who Beloved is have textual evidence, but "Morrison's ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone," (Booster, 5), and I think that Booster makes a sound claim here. Morrison herself "encourages readers to 'arrive at readings which may or may not coincide with those intended by the author" (Morrison, 29)" (Booster, 6). Obviously Morrison did have an intention for what Beloved was supposed to represent, whether she be a character to move the plot along, a symbol of American slave history, or anything in between. However, every example Booster provides is followed by a counterargument. Therefore, a valid conclusion to be drawn from the character of Beloved is that she is meant to be left up for the interpretation of the reader. Booster synthesizes ideas from Carden, Koolish, Ochoa, Schwarz, and Watson, all who bring forth a unique explanation of their own. If Morrison wanted Beloved to have an obvious definition and purpose, she would have made it clear in the novel. However, there are many possibilities, none of which that may actually be Morrison’s initial intention. Booster drives home this point through his explanation and then refutation of multiple examples from a variety of sources.
Booster presents a conglomerate of arguments—each with convincing points—to try and define who Beloved is. However none of the cases hold water with the text; there are holes to every argument as to Beloved’s identity and function. Booster takes this ambiguity and inability to define Beloved’s character as a “mis-[step] in [Morrison’s] narrative” (Booster, 1) and believes that it “weakened the effect of Beloved as a character” (Booster, 2), but this ambiguity is precisely what Morrison wanted and opens Beloved up to many interpretations. Without the ambiguity—if Beloved were effable—she could not be the same character. It is precisely in her ineffable character that she is able to function in so many ways in the story and at the same time “mani[fest]…re[flect]…cata[lyze]” (Booster, 6) and “uni[fy]” (Booster, 5). It is because of her multi-functional purpose that each argument presented in Booster’s paper can exist and be completely true simultaneously with another: because Beloved cannot be defined and thus cannot be disproven. Consequently, Beloved does “embody the painful belonging that results from abandonment” (Booster, 3) as the interpretation of the Song of Songs gives; she is also a daughter come back from the grave who “forces the focus to be centered on Beloved and Sethe” (Booster, 3). In the same way she is both a “unifying force” (Booster, 5) and “a large grouping of painful memories that exists to physically and emotionally torment” (Booster, 4). So, essentially Beloved can be defined incompletely in many ways. Every definition of Beloved serves to merely define another capacity in which she serves the novel—each capacity adding to a more complete definition of her character as a whole. Her ultimate ineffability thus is not a “mis-step” or weak-point in Morrison’s writing, but a useful way in which she allows Beloved to grow in multiple facets of the story and enhance the ultimate meaning of the entire narrative.
Booster’s arguments rely on a key idea presented by Morrison’s depiction of Beloved: ambiguity. His strongest argument, synthesized from Carden, Koolish, Ochoa, Schwarz, and Watson, is that “Morrison's ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone.” (Booster 5) He supports this argument by providing example after example of what Beloved means to different characters, and even goes so far as to say that Morrison “mis-stepped in her narrative” (Booster 1) by leaving Beloved’s character and purpose so ambiguous. However, he also provides counter arguments to his own, which allows the reader to take their own position on the arguments. He writes that Morrison “encourages readers to 'arrive at readings which may or may not coincide with those intended by the author" (Morrison, 29)" (Booster, 6). I think that Booster argument’s are strong overall and well-supported through his own and other sources, but I would say that Booster ignores a key idea that contradicts his argument that Morrison made a mistake in leaving Beloved so ambiguous: she was meant to be that way. Beloved’s ambiguity is not a puzzle for the reader to decipher; in fact, it is a key component of her character. The uneasiness we feel at not “fully understand[ing] the complexity of what was going on in the house” (Booster 3) is central to the ideas of confusion with one’s past and present selves, the complex relationships between family members, and the ever-ambiguous nature of what “home” means to each person. The vague definition of who or what Beloved is meant to be is a specific choice on Morrison’s part to exemplify core themes of the novel.
Joel Booster emphasizes the “ambiguity” of Beloved, stating, “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone” (Booster, 5). The text alone does not even clarify what purpose Beloved plays in the story. It can be questioned whether Beloved is there to represent the guilt and burden Sethe and her actions, or to highlight the sacrificial bond between mother and child, or even both of these aspects. The author claims that Beloved’s ambiguity weakens her as a character, which is an assertion to contend, for it can be argued that Beloved’s ambiguous persona actually challenges the reader to determine what symbols she encompasses. Beloved’s role is to show how Sethe’s love as a mother can transcend the grave and that at times love can overpower morality. This is shown through the vagueness of Morrison’s writing, and empowers Beloved as a character.
Booster evaluated and commented on the unique ideas from several others who reflected on Beloved’s identity. While I agree with a lot of the ideas, I disagree with some of them as well. I agree with the idea that Beloved “is a unifying force (Booster 5)” because she affects “everyone who stumbled onto [the] house (Koolish, 174)” but at the same time “she herself tears [the family and community to which she set upon] down (Booster 1).” She did not only broke “a bond between two individuals (Booster 5)”, Sethe and Paul D, “but also [broke] the sprit of an emotionally hardened slave (Booster 5)”, conveying the idea that Beloved can be “the emotional repository of an entire community of former slaves (Booster 1).” This oxymoron existed to create the ambiguity in Beloved’s identity. Also Beloved’s relationship with Sethe mirrors the relationship between the former slave community and America, firstly because Sethe murdered Beloved and the slavery American killed the hopes of the former slaves to start a new life in the foreign country, and also because of the parallel between Beloved’s desires to own Sethe evident in her “needing only Sethe, and no one else (Booster 2)” and the former slaves’ desire to own and embrace America, to call it their mother country, which reflects the mother- daughter relationship between Beloved and Sethe. Moreover, it is also agreeable to say that Denver’s perspective of Beloved and Sethe’s relationship might not be the most accurate description. Denver is like the other racial communities in the U.S., and she is viewing the scene from a biased point of view. However, I disagree with the idea that the ambiguity prevalent in the novel “weakened the effectiveness of Beloved as a character through her (Booster 2)” because in the book, Beloved and the family she was born into was finding its own identity and its place in the society as well and this process can only be accurately portrayed and powerfully transmitted to the readers by making them feel like they are experiencing the trial.
“How can one accurately describe an image, idea, or thesis to the ultimately ambiguous character of Beloved?” (Booster). Booster, through his analysis of many arguments about who Beloved really is, furthers the point that Beloved is intended to be a character of ambiguity and uncertainty. Booster discusses multiple arguments that try to define Beloved character and by finding flaw in these arguments, he fully demonstrates that “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone” (Booster). While all of the discussed arguments are valid, I agree most with Booster’s argument because it is evident that Beloved cannot be defined by the text alone. In trying to determine the character and identity of Beloved no one trait, identity or person can be exclusively associated with Beloved. Morrison encourages her reads to “arrive at readings which may or may not coincide with those intended by the author” (Morrison). Thus, Morrison does not intent for Beloved to be understood but to “leave the reader without a clear picture of who or what Beloved is supposed to be.” (Booster). The discussion and dispute of the presented arguments demonstrates that not a single one can define the character of Beloved as she was not meant to be defined.
Ambiguity is the central idea that Joel Booster associates with Toni Morrison’s craft-fully concocted character, Beloved. Supporting his argument with three different perspectives identifying the purpose she holds, Beloved is seen to be a multitude of things including an “embod[iment of] the painful longing that results from abandonment” (Booster 3), a “catalyst of what the events that… change [Sethe and Denver’s] lives forever” (Booster 4), and serve as “a physical manifestation of a mother’s grief and lover” (Booster 2), or “womanhood in general” (Booster 4).
While I agree with Booster’s concept that Morrison instilled a large amount of ambiguity in her text, I don’t agree with the claim that she “mis-stepped in her narrative” (Booster 1), and “tears [her answers] down” (Booster 1). On the other hand, it seems that Morrison intentionally made Beloved an ambiguous character as if to give readers room to explore and understand that Beloved could be a symbol for more than one thing. This can be interpreted from how Beloved serves as “a mirror to [his] own desires” and “for the entire community of former slaves” (Booster 2), which then can be related to how Beloved’s purpose effects all the other characters in the book as well in many ways. Booster also says that “all other relationships throughout the novel cease to become anything more than distractions” (Booster 3) which is a valid argument but in context, Beloved seems to be the catalyst of all relationships in the story. She forms a “mother-daughter bond” (Booster 3) with Sethe, which then catalyses a line of events with Paul D, and Denver as individuals and in their lives. Booster does a successful job in portraying the plethora of options possible for Morrison’s purpose of Beloved’s ambiguity, however the real question is not what ideas beloved captures, but rather what she doesn’t. From this, it cane inferred that Morrison integrated all these ideas in for the reader to shape the intentions of Beloved themselves and find out individually what message is being conveyed.
Joel Booster says that "Morrison's ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone." He is right in saying this because Beloved is a character that can be interpreted differently based on the reader because there is not a definitive characterization of Beloved in the book. Booster provides many examples of different interpretations of Beloved with quotes from Khoolish, Ochoa, Carden, Watson, and Shulman. Although Booster is correct with this argument, he goes astray when he says that "Morrison leaves the reader without a clear picture of who or what Beloved is supposed to be." This argument isn't 100% correct because Morrison does leave the reader with a picture of who or what Beloved is supposed to be. She just does it vaguely so that Beloved can be interpreted differently for each reader. She does this because she wants Beloved to connect to every single one of her readers. If she has a fixed characteristic for Beloved, not everyone can connect to her. By leaving who Beloved really is vague, each reader can interpret Beloved in the way that he or she connects to most.
In Morrison’s Beloved, readers are presented with the ambiguous character of Beloved who’s role in the novel cannot be “proved or disproved through textual support alone” (Booster, 5). Morrison left this character up to the unique interpretation of each individual reader. Some readers interpret the character as “a manifestation of the collision between one character’s love and guilt” while others “a reflection of what the buried pain and anguish that an entire community feels after centuries of repression” (Booster,6). I believe Beloved was created for the main purpose of acting as a “mirror” for those around her. Her character did not just affect Sethe, but also Denver, Paul D, and all those in their community. Each character’s response to Beloved gave us an insight to their character. Beloved provoked strong reactions and memories of a painful past for more than just Sethe.
Toni Morrison’s illustration of Beloved is overly ambiguous and so prompts a myriad of unanswered questions that lead to the reader’s growing frustration. Joel Booster’s reasoning in her essay, “Through this ambiguity, Morrison added to the mystique of the character overall, but weakened the effectiveness of Beloved as a character,” does not grasp the power of the character’s vagueness. I believe that Morrison specifically intended Beloved’s identity and purpose to be unclear so that through close analysis of the novel, each individual reader would have to come to their own conclusion on who Beloved is. She did not intend for the character to have one sole purpose, but engineered Beloved to be unrestricted by the limits of time and so could be use to symbolize anything. For example, Booster contributes explanations for Beloved’s identity as embodying the “woman race as a whole” or the “psychological displacement of all African American slave girls of that period” because she did not have the opportunity to grow up, mature, and experience many of life’s opportunities. Likewise, Beloved could be interpreted as a “mirror for the entire community of former slaves, reflecting back the desires that they so desperately suppress.” Rather than handing out direct answers to the reader’s questions, which would be easier and less time consuming, Morrison wanted her writing to reveal more about the reader than the actual characters in a book. In this way, as Beloved has virtually indescribable power to “[loosen] the rust on the ‘tin can’ in which [Paul D] kept his deepest secrets…[and break] down the spirit of an emotionally hardened slave,” so too does the character have the ability to expose the thoughts and emotions of the reader as he or she reaches a unique interpretation.
Although I agree with Booster’s statement that the reader never has a “clear picture of who or what Beloved is supposed to be” (Booster, 1), I disagree that the mystery of her purpose “weakened the effectiveness of Beloved as a character through her inability to paint a clear picture of what her presence was meant to be” (Booster, 2). First, Morrison intended Beloved to be vague because she “does not allow for any clear answers to be built up, because she herself tears them down” (Booster, 1). Morrison would not have made Beloved such a difficult character to understand unless she had a purpose for it. I believe that purpose of the ambiguity was to make Beloved seem more powerful and effective because of her multitude of possible purposes, allowing her to effect more characters in the book. For instance, Booster cites Carden, Watson, Ochoa, Schwarz, and Koolish all coming up with different interpretations of the purpose of Beloved, and each focusing on a specific relationship between her and another character, whether it be Sethe, Paul D., Denver, or the entire community. As a result, the reader is constantly bombarded with the effects of Beloved, as she leaves no one untouched. Despite the uncertainty of Beloved’s purpose, Beloved’s power is not mistaken. Limiting her purpose would mean limiting the number of people she affected, and therefore, her power.
A main issue that the reader comes across while reading Beloved is who is she and what’s her purpose in the story? While she appears to be the passed daughter that Sethe adores and is continuously haunted by, Joel Booster makes a very good point when he says, “the ambiguity of such a question is neither addressed, nor accepted by Morrison in her book” (Booster). Booster does this through his many questions about who Beloved could possibly be but never actually answers them. This is a very accurate representation of who Beloved is in Morrison’s story because it is extremely hard to figure out what she is and her purpose to Sethe and the other characters. One thing that I for sure believe is that Beloved is Sethe’s passed daughter that continues to pop up throughout the story somehow. I also know that Sethe adored her based on how haunted she is by her and how often she is addressed through the book. Whether Beloved now is a ghost, spirit, or reincarnation, I’m not sure, but her presence and relationship with Sethe has a symbolic meaning that I am still trying to figure out. Therefore, I completely agree with Booster’s claims that who Beloved is is answered and then unanswered because of a new answer that has later come up.
Although I follow Booster's argument coherently, I believe that he merely skims over important pieces of evidence in his claim while focusing on Morison's intents and purposes for the character Beloved herself. I however, seek qualify his statement that "Beloved needing only Sethe, and no one else... Beloved's need emotionally..seems to be sapping physical energy away from her mother". After pointing this out, Booster moves on to talk about Morrison's effectiveness in her depiction of Beloved. However, I think that who Beloved is is tied inherently in Sethe's slave experience. I attest to this by pointing out that Beloved is fed with memories, she consumes them like an animal in the same way she consumes actual food. The more Sethe discloses of herself to Beloved, the more she suffers, she "grows thinner" as Beloved feeds off of her rememories of slavery. In the same way, slavery begs to be remembered in the most inconvenient, painful way--in its plain, unabridged truth. Denver serves as the truth that avoids the original question, Sethe never delves too deep into her memories of Sweet Home when talking to Denver--she would rather forget. However, Beloved is the slavery incarnate, benefiting off of her vulnerability and demanding a full retail of her experiences there, at Sweet Home. Although this point about Beloved feeding off of memories is mentioned in Booster's argument, I believe his fault was in overlooking this textual evidence as insight into who Beloved truly is.
It is true when Joel Booster states that Morrison left the reader “without a clear picture” of Beloved and what, or even if, she symbolizes something more. However, his claim that “Beloved’s purpose in the novel has to do solely with her relationship with her mother Sethe” is in my opinion invalid. When evaluating all relationships in the story, and seeing the effect Beloved’s relationship with Sethe has on other members of 124, I have determined that Beloved was not meant to show a mother-daughter relationship, but in fact, a lack of this relationship. Although it is true that Sethe does spend a majority of her time on Beloved, she also neglects Denver. A mother, in my opinion, would disperse herself evenly amongst kids rather than obsess over one and neglect the other. Instead, I believe that Beloved symbolizes the desire for attention and care. In a post-slavery world, it is true that both Sethe and companions suffered years of neglect at Sweet Home. Therefore, I think Beloved symbolizes the necessary attention that all humans need in order to keep going, which is the reason why all members at 124 centralize Beloved and obsess over her presence.
"I am Beloved" (Morrison) is a powerful statement made by Beloved in the novel. This simple statement provides an answer to what seems to be an open-ended question: Who is Beloved? As Beloved defines herself as simply, "Beloved", the readers see that the purpose of her character is up for interpretation. This question of "who is Beloved" is indeed the answer to itself. Without truly providing a definition for Beloved, Morrison leaves her readers the opportunity to define Beloved's role in the novel. Morrison does this, according to Joel Booster, in order to have Beloved's influence reach "far beyond the property lines of 124" (Booster 1). The "property lines" Booster mentions signifies not only Beloved's sphere of influence with the characters within the novel, but also the boundaries between the book and its readers. With allowing Beloved to be an unclear character, Morrison reveals how the character of Beloved is to be interpreted to the readers' discretion. This is evident in the fact that each individual studying Beloved's character comes up with their own, unique definition and interpretation of Beloved's character. This is seen when Booster synthesis arguments from various individuals such as Mary Carden, Reginald Watson, Peggy Ochoa, and Lynda Khoolish - all credible authors - just to name a few. For example, Watson concludes that Beloved is "a physical manifestation of a mother's grief and love" (Booster 2), while another individual, such as Ochoa, concluded from a Christian perspective, that Beloved "exists to embody the painful longing that results from abandonment" (Booster 2). There isn't one simple answer to such a simple question. There are an infinite amount of responses to the question as seen in the diversity of opinions about Beloved's character argued in Booster's piece. Booster's argument is valid because evidence of varying conclusions on the character of Beloved are plentiful and it is evident that each are very different from one another. Morrison leaves Beloved's significance up to interpretation to create a sense of personal connection and understanding to the novel.
Beloved undeniably represents multiple types of relationships and can be seen as an expression of painful feelings. However, author Toni Morrison never makes Beloved’s purpose clear, therefore creating a mysterious and “ambiguous” environment for the reader. Joel Booster successfully argues against many of the purported purposes of the character by incorporating all aspects of the novel into his arguments, but ultimately I disagree with his statement that a lack of clear motive “weakened the effectiveness of Beloved as a character” (Booster). In my opinion, he failed to see that while individually many of the purposes weren’t sufficient, collectively they give Beloved a much larger intention, something that Morrison could have been striving for. Beloved and Sethe do possess a intense mother-daughter relationship, shown through the possibility that Beloved could be “a physical manifestation of a mother’s grief and love” (Booster). But the way that Beloved’s eerie presence affects Paul D and helps Denver grow as a person cannot be ignored either. The claim that Beloved “is a unifying force” and even an empowering one, coupled with the purpose of expressing the guilt and responsibility of a mother can both ultimately serve as Morrison’s possible objective of including the peculiar character of Beloved.
The statement “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone” (Booster, 5) is a valid claim made by Joel Booster. Booster presents ample evidence from multiple sources - Koolish, Ochoa, Watson - to prove his point that Beloved is an “ultimately ambiguous character” (Booster,6). The evidence he presents reveals the effect, both good or bad, that Beloved has on multiple characters - not just one. The identity of Beloved cannot be defined as one, concrete thing, but in fact it is upon the reader to decipher, thus the reason that Morrison’s “ultimate purpose” is not textually supported. Booster recognizes this and validates his argument by presenting evidence from multiple sources all interpreting Beloved to represent something different. For instance Watson identifies Beloved to be a tool that is used to contrast “Sethe’s relationship with every character in the novel.” Ochoa, on the other hand, believes that Beloved is a representation of “the painful longing that results from abandonment.” Beloved’s identity and purpose is never presented concretely because she serves a different purpose to every character introduced in the book.
Joel Booster’s argument that “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone” is completely valid and Carden, Koolish, Ochoa, Scharz, and Watson all provide evidence to support Booster’s claim. Beloved has many roles in this book and represents something different to every person she interacts with, which is the reason as to why her purpose in the novel is ambiguous. To Sethe, Beloved represents guilt and the remorse of a lost child as Sethe “explains away her own action, and throws herself over Beloved in the most embarrassing way” (Booster, 3). Sethe’s and Beloved’s relationship, as I have concluded, is not healthy as “Sethe grew thinner…giving up every ounce of food and energy she had to keep Beloved happy” and as she pushed Sethe away from her other daughter Denver and her lover Paul D. How Beloved affects others in response to her relationship with Sethe is when Beloved’s purpose in the novel becomes unclear. Yes, Beloved takes the focus of Sethe away from her daughter and hurts Denver in the process in that way and by not being a true friend and sister to Denver, something Denver had always wanted, so that is a negative. However, the return of Beloved made Denver grow up, “no longer being afraid to leave the house, Denver ventures out on her own to find work and support her mother” (Booster, 5). Beloved affects Paul D by forcing him from the house, which leads to him “loosening the rust on the tin can in which he kept his deepest secrets” (Booster, 5). Also, by the end of the novel, Beloved brings the community that she had once broken, back together. Beloved, in the beginning of the novel, broke the community Sethe lived in by scaring everyone from the house due to her ghostly state. Also, the story of Beloved’s killing drew the community away from Sethe and Denver as well. However, by the end of the novel, “the women of the community gather outside the property of 124 to oust the demon that has plagued one of their own” (Booster, 6). Beloved plays many roles in this novel: a healer, a longing child, a disrupter, the past, and even more. From all the roles she plays and by all the people she affects both positively and negatively, the specific purpose of Beloved in this book is not clear therefor making Joel Booster’s comment that “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone” completely valid.
I believe that Booster’s claim that Beloved’s “ambiguous” identity “added to the mystique of the character overall” is valid, although I disagree with his claim that this ambiguity “weakened the effectiveness of Beloved as a character.” Part of Beloved’s purpose throughout the novel is to create confusion as to who she is; her relationships with Sethe, Denver, and Paul D are each dynamic, complicated relationships that make Beloved’s identity difficult to decipher. However, this confusion was a deliberate choice by the author to strengthen the reader’s connection with the book by requiring them to come to their own conclusions about Beloved. Whether Beloved is “a ghostly manifestation of pain that is associated with Sethe,” a symbol of “the psychological frustrations of Denver,” or “merely the emotional repository for an entire community of former slaves,” it is up to the readers to decide for themselves based on their own interpretations of the novel. Thus, contrary to Booster’s claim that Beloved’s confusing identity “weakens the effectiveness of Beloved as a character,” I believe that Beloved’s complicated identity actually strengthens the effectiveness of Beloved’s character.
In Joel Booster’s essay “Who was Beloved?,” he makes many claims about the intention for Beloved in the novel. She is said to be “a reflection of buried pain and anguish that an entire community feels after centuries of repression” (Booster 6), a “unifying force” (Booster 5), and only made to exemplify the mother daughter relationship between Sethe and Beloved. Although each of his claims is well supported with both evidence from the novel and from other authors, they all have holes in the arguments because of the original intentions of Morrison. Joel Booster makes a valid claim when he states that “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone” (Booster 5) and he actually proves this in his essay although his conclusion does not necessarily explicitly state it. Morrison’s novel Beloved is not an easy read and her ambiguity in her writing only furthers the reader’s difficulty in deciphering who Beloved is. Booster does a good job constructing his essay with support for each claim with evidence from the text as well as other authors. However, as he starts to define Beloved, his argument only opens up to the next claim. Unintentionally, he contradicts himself in order to try to paint a clear picture of Beloved. But, Morrison’s goal is to leave “the reader without a clear picture of who or what Beloved is supposed to be.” (Booster 1). As Booster looks to give Beloved a definite purpose, his argument does not show complete connections because Beloved is not supposed to be defined. Morrison leaves her ambiguous so that the readers could decide what Beloved is and the importance of her in the novel. Therefore, Booster’s argument may have valid statements, but his overall argument cannot be completely proven valid from the text because Morrison purposely makes the Beloved character ambiguous so that each reader can decide her role in the novel.
Joel Booster dares to answer the challenging question of “who is Beloved?” I happen to find it very interesting that before making his statement, Booster inserted the words “I AM BELOVED”. (Morrison). These words by Morrison don’t answer the question in the title, but it brings up the idea that she has no definition. Booster’s claims rely on the idea that Morrison uses ambiguity when defining who Beloved is. Booster introduces this idea of ambiguity in the first paragraph when he says, “Morrison does not allow for many clear answers to be built up, because she tears them down herself.” (Booster 1). I don’t necessarily believe that Morrison tore down her own questions, but I do believe that the ambiguity was used intentionally. Booster later on in his essay made a very valid claim when he said, “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone.” (Booster 6).Beloved is more than just an individual. Booster points out some of the different things that Beloved could be. For example, he says “Beloved could perhaps serve as a mirror for the entire community of former slaves”, she could represent “the bond of mother and daughter”, (Booster 3) or even “womanhood in general.” (Booster 4). I most believe in the claim made at the end of the essay in which Booster says that Beloved is “a reflection of buried pain and anguish that an entire community feels after centuries of repression.” (Booster 6) The remarkable thing about Beloved is that she exists in all of those things, but she exists outside of them as well.
Tony Morrison’s, Beloved, is a difficult to read with concepts that are hard to grasp. Joel Booster’s essay, “Who is Beloved?,” analyzes the relationship between Beloved and Sethe. He says that Sethe is a "unifying force” (Booster 5) shown to represent the bond between mother and daughter. Even though Sethe murdered her child, Booster is saying that Beloved comes back to show that the mother-daughter bond is stronger than death. Beloved constantly refers to Sethe as “mine” to show that the mother-daughter bond is not only strong but also necessary which provides yet another piece of evidence to support Booster’s claim. People who read Beloved always are trying to define and find one concrete purpose for Beloved’s character including Booster. I think Booster made a very strong attempt at defining Beloved and the importance of her character, but at the same time, I think it is supposed to be a mystery. Beloved is a thought provoking character and I do not think she really has a definite answer. Booster comes up with the ideas that “Beloved could perhaps serve as a mirror for the entire community of former slaves”, or could symbolize “the bond of mother and daughter”, (Booster 3) or just “womanhood in general.” (Booster 4). All three of these claims have textual evidence to back them up but I do not think there will ever be a definite answer. Even Booster says, that “Morrison’s ultimate purpose in creating the character of Beloved cannot be proved or disproved through textual support alone.” (Booster 5) We will never know for sure if “She the allegorical bride of vengeful love to her mother, or is she was the reflection of past pain and hardship to a community of former slaves?” (Booster 1)
I would agree with the author’s claim that Sethe takes on the “guilt and the burden” of Beloved because she is her child and she is willing to sacrifice what any mother would naturally sacrifice from “morning sickness until the weaning process.” The fact that she killed her own child in order to save her from a bleak future is proof enough of the sacrifices Sethe is willing to and has made in order to “save” her child. I do agree that Sethe and Beloved are the most important characters and have the strongest bond, which makes me wonder why Sethe and Denver do not have the same relationship. I would speculate that the specialness of the bond between Sethe and Beloved comes from the fact that Beloved is still an infant, in a sense. She still needs and craves her mother and “milks” her of every drop of attention and energy. I agree that the ambiguity of Beloved has diminished the character of Beloved to a certain extent. Toni Morrison’s vagueness when defining who Beloved really is along with the use of Denver as an “outside” narrator of the breakdown of Beloved and Sethe’s relationship—the “weaning”—might act as some what of a hindrance to the realization of the truth of the situation, but I believe the opacity of those roles also adds to the complexity of the story because all of the possibilities and theories can all be considered and are no less valuable than having a certain answer. I agree that Beloved is in fact the physical manifestation of those “painful memories” and that Morrison was hinting at the ability of love to “transcend the grave.” However, I do not completely agree that “all other relationships in the novel cease to become anything more than distractions to the story at hand” because I believe that Paul D and Denver are essential. Denver provides the narration for the second half of Beloved and Sethe’s relationship and Paul D is the embodiment of the human condition in a state of bewilderment—he can see his emotion and desire reflected in Beloved. The question ‘Who really is Beloved?’ is a valuable one, but one that can be argued, and thankfully so. The fact that many truths could exist makes the novel open for interpretation and therefore more personal.
In Joel Booster’s essay, he highlights the fact that Morrison never specifically explains Beloved’s purpose in the novel, and he provides possible explanations for what her presence might represent, some of which include the reincarnation of Sethe’s baby, the pain and guilt of Sethe, and the pain and memories of all former slaves. Booster makes solid claims within the essay about Beloved and who she is; however, I do not agree with him when he says that because Beloved’s purpose is not clear, Morrison “weakened the effectiveness of Beloved as a character.” In fact, I think that her effectiveness increases because her presence could mean so many different things. Beloved’s purpose is open to interpretation, so her true identity/purpose can only be realized through thorough analysis and discussion, and it is really a matter of opinion. In this essay, Booster provides a lot of possible explanations for what Beloved could represent, and in a way, she represents all of these things, which I think is what Morrison intended. Another recurring element in Booster’s essay is the importance of the relationship between Beloved and Sethe, which I agree is a very prevalent and important part of the novel, but Booster never really discusses the relationship between Beloved and Denver. He briefly mentions that Beloved could be “manifesting the psychological frustrations of Denver,” but I think their relationship requires more attention. Denver is one of the main characters in the novel, and a big portion of the story involves Sethe trying to protect Denver from her past, so if Beloved is a representation of the memories of Sethe’s past as a slave, the fact that Denver is so attached to Beloved is a key element to the story and is an important factor in figuring out who Beloved is.
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