Traumatic Experiences

Many crazy things happened towards the end of the book. Things I never expected occured, like when Beloved and Paul D got together, Sethe tries to kill the white man who offered Denver a job, and after Beloved had such a great on the household they never speak of her again once she disappears. Their behaviors changed suddenly as these events occurred.

It wasn’t only once that Beloved offered herself to Paul D, but twice. Although they both loved and adored Sethe, they both went behind her back. It was Beloved who forced herself on him. Her sex drive was what got in the way. She raped him and reminded him of the time he got raped by white men at Sweet Home. Remembering this horrific event made him feel inferior to Beloved’s force. Still his sex drive allowed him to ease his traumatic memory as Beloved forced herself on him and made him remember everything. He had no choice but to go through the experience again but in a more pleasing way.

Sethe’s fear of slavery interfered with her train of thought. She was very paranoid of the white man who came to talk to Denver. He was a reminder of her past at Sweet Home and also reminded her of traumatic experiences. This drove her to try to get rid of that man who came off as a threat to her. Her bad memories were taking over her decisions.

As the story comes to an end, so does Beloved. Nobody knows where she went. It seemed as if they didn’t care that she was no longer there. It was as if she was never there because they never spoke of her again. Paul D even admitted that he didn’t care, but he was the only one who spoke of her. Paul D had the urge to say something about her because he knew she was a bad spirit to have around. Denver and Sethe didn’t feel a need to speak of her because they saw they were better off without her. If there was one thing they could agree upon about Beloved, it was that she caused nothing but problems. “It was not a story to pass on,” narrated Toni Morrison.

Many of these events were influenced by the remembrance of Sweet Home. Their pasts have had such an effect on them that they influence their actions and the way they thought. In the end, Beloved was just a temporary curse.