Parallels In Beloved

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Intersecting Parallels The darkness was full of spiteful, sinister, malicious laughter and shrieking whipping the ears and filling the black heart with fear. Toni Morrison in Beloved emphasizes the differences in their impact by creating two characters, Paul D and Sethe, who parallel each other in how they allowed their past to influence them. They demonstrate the extent to which a trauma controlled their life- gripping onto mistakes, losses and experiences that could never be changed. Both Sethe and Paul D allowed themselves to be consumed by their guilt or fear, and denied themselves love and connection because they could not let go. A person becomes trapped in the past by traumatic experiences, unable to move on until he accepts them. Fear…show more content…
Sethe witnessed the loss of family and connection caused by slavery and the impact which it had on Baby Suggs, she realized that she never wanted to lose her children and therefore went to extremes to keep them. Sethe was bitter towards Paul D for not understanding the sacrifices she felt her loved ones deserved, when she scoffed to herself “‘My love was too thick. What did he know about it? Who in the world is he willing to die for? Would he give his privates to a stranger in return for a carving.’” (239). Sethe loved almost too much, there was no limit to what she would sacrifice for her children; blinded by her love for them, for Beloved. Sethe’s rage is evident with her short and somewhat accusatory questions, which also emphasize the parallels between her and Paul D - she would do anything for her children, while Paul D felt that there was an extent to which one should love. . Paul D knew how it felt to lose the things he loved and so he adapted and learned “to love just a little bit, so when they broke its back, or shoved it in a croaker sack, well, maybe you'd have a little love left over for the next one” (54). His diction - broke, shoved, leftover - indicate a more negative, pessimistic tone. Paul D says “when” not “if” it happens, which implies he believes that it is an inevitable occurrence, but in…show more content…
Sethe allowed her fear to control her throughout the novel, but by the end she began to take control and overcome her fears. Sethe “open[ed] her eyes, knowing the danger of looking at [Paul D]...and [saw] it - the thing in him” which made her want to leave the past in the past (321). She stopped allowing her past to dictate her future, and the tone seems peaceful and sweet, as if she has finally found clarity with Paul D in her life. She leaves behind the idea of joining Beloved to live a life of her own in the real world, in the present which offers a future. By opening her eyes, Sethe opens herself to the possibility of life with Paul D, without being dragged down by guilt and pain from the past. Though Sethe failed to, Paul D recognized how detrimental holding onto the past was when he saw Sethe in bed ready to die. There he realized “He want[ed] to put his story next to hers..[he told her] .'We got more yesterday than anybody. We need some kinda tomorrow.’” (322). He parallels the past and the future by specifically mentioning yesterday and tomorrow, and demonstrating a stark difference between him in the beginning and him now -where he is offering Sethe his future, a future for them to share. Paul D emphasizes moving to tomorrow together, because together they can accomplish it, putting their stories together and finding a tomorrow.
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