Reading half way through Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved, a lot has happened. One thing that really stands out is that one shouldn’t trust in others too much. Sethe, for example, came out of slavery wanting to give a lending hand to anyone who came by her. She took in Paul D, took in Beloved, and still had to take care of her daughter. Her heart may be just too big, even after all the suffering in slavery. The horrible things that she had gone through never shrunk her heart. Paul D who has gotten very close to her said himself that Sethe was too generous with other people. He especially didn’t like the fact that she let in Beloved. There was a weird feeling he had about Beloved.
Taking note on characters and relationships, Beloved and Denver had a strange relationship. They both had different behaviors led by their drives. With all brothers and sisters gone, Denver was so happy to welcome Beloved into their home. Denver adored her, cared for her, and looked up to her as if Beloved was her sister. The way she acted with Beloved and protected her was driven by her id. Her id was driven by wanting to have someone close to her. On the other hand, Beloved was attracted to Sethe’s attention. She didn’t let anyone get in the way, not even Denver. When Denver tried to tell Beloved to not get so close to her mother Sethe, Beloved snapped telling her to not tell her what to do.
These mixed behaviors and drives are a crash. As Sethe helps others, such as Beloved, Beloved gets drawn closer to her, followed by Denver who wants to keep Beloved close to her, and then Paul D who wants to protect Sethe. Many of the drives among these characters are crashing amongst others.
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