Close Reading Blog #2

"After I left you, those boys came in there and took my milk. That's what they came in there for. Held me down and took it. I told Mrs. Garner on em. She had that lump and couldn't speak but her eyes rolled out tears. Them boys found out I told on em. Schoolteacher made one open up my back, and when it closed it made a tree. It grows there still." (Morrison, 19/20)

   As Paul D comes back to visit Sethe after Sweet Home, she is reminded of all the terrible things that haunt her. They speak of how Sethe was the only one who was able to nurse her daughter, and how she had to get to her as soon as possible. Everyone knew that she was so worried about getting to her child, and these men decided to molest and rape her.
   Previously in the book (12), it was stated that when the men had no one to satisfy them, they used cows. Because she was the only girl on the farm, many of the men lusted over her, thinking of her as nothing more than an animal or a cow, just a sexual object.
   There is an extreme issue of gender inequality demonstrated in this passage. The fact that a nursing mother was pinned down, molested, and had her milk stolen as if she were a cow, is horrible. On top of everything, it states that after telling Mrs. Garner, she was punished and whipped making a "tree" scar on her back. If a man were to do that to a woman now, he would be sent to jail for many years and be labelled a sexual predator.
   Although our society has become more restrictive on crimes like this, the choices of a woman are judged brutally everyday. One may not be whipped and left with physical scars, but the choices that women make are branded on them forever. For example, if a girl decides to wear a revealing shirt, short-shorts, or a small skirt, she is tainted with brutal names such as "whore" or "slut". While if men do so, it's just boys being boys. Women are set to a much higher standard to the world, having to prove themselves, while men believe that they have already proven themselves allowing them to do whatever they please. Some men who haven't evolved even believe that because women dress this way, that they are asking to be raped, and that it is their fault. This is the problem in our world. People should be taught not to hurt others, not to walk on eggshells their whole life trying to please everyone.
   Of course, this does not apply to all men and I am not trying to stereotype them. I am just stating how the world views the differences between men and women.
  It's a present conflict throughout the book that Sethe struggles with her self-image, and how much confidence that she has within herself. Although it wasn't as an accepted belief that women are equal to men, I hope that she will learn over time that she doesn't need anyone to prove herself. I am excited to read through the rest of the book and see how she develops as a character and how her experiences have changed her.