A Few Questions

Here's what I think...

1. I think Beloved seduced Paul D because she had just taken the form of a human, a teenage girl, after being a ghost all those years. And let's face it, teenagers are horny. Mix that with a mentality and impulse control and a baby and I think you have an answer! He was there, she was curious, she wanted sex. The red light, and Paul D repeating "red heart"... you got me there.

2. I'm not sure what you mean by this question... you mean before she took human form? I think they just refered to the ghost as the spirit of the dead baby.

3. Sethe definitely didn't know who Beloved was when she first saw her. Would you put it together right away? I don't think I would. It's impossible, after all. It must have been very hard to believe when she finally did realize who Beloved was.

4. I think Paul D disliked Beloved because he was eager to start a new life with Sethe and Beloved showed up out of the blue and messed things up. He also thinks there's something suspicious about her because she seems to have appeared out of thin air.

5. Denver was very lonely and never left the house. I think she was just happy to have someone to play with.

6. In addition to killing Beloved, Sethe tried to kill the other three children too, but didn't succeed. She probably beat them over the head with something enough to knock them up, but not kill them. Pretty horrible.

7. I think Beloved's ultimate goal was to torture Sethe and drive her out of her mind, which she did. She still has the mentality of a baby, so she wents lots of attention from her mother, but she is also a vengeful spirit who doesn't understand why she was murdered so brutally by her own mother. It's a very powerful metaphor for the irreversible trauma and destruction that slavery wreaked on the lives of black Americans. Such a brilliant book and movie.

Hope this helps!

1) I think she wanted to cause problems between Sethe and Paul D and I think she wanted to make Paul D vulnerable. Remember, Paul D said he holds his emotions in so he doesn't get hurt, but Beloved seduced him.

2) I've heard them refer to her as "Baby Ghost" more than once.

3) Well, I'm sure she noticed this from the get-go but I don't think it registered, and she was probably telling herself that she was overreacting. PLUS, Paul D was there and he was distracting her, which is why Beloved wanted to drive him away.

4) Because, I think he just picked up bad vibes from her from the get-go. She showed up mysteriously, all the attention was turned towards her and she never really liked him because she had to share Sethe with him. I think he picked up on this. Remember, the moment he stepped foot in the house, he got terrible visions and vibes, and he fought her ghost, which pissed her off enough to make her come in a human form.

5) Because she was a playmate for Denver and someone for Denver to love and take care of.

6) Because Sethe had probably hit them over the head to try and kill them.

7) She loved her because Sethe was her mother, but she was pissed because she killed her. She wanted Sethe to suffer but she also her all to herself.


"GET NAKED YOU STRANGE WHORE!" - Joe Swanson