Sethe's Crime. Maybe.

Reading about the truth of the crawling already? baby's death (finally) came as a bit of a shock. It made me see Sethe differently, although not quite as differently as one might think after hearing that she murdered her baby daughter. The circumstances surrounding the murder made me feel more pity for Sethe, rather than see her as conniving and evil. In fact, I felt like this was the scene in which we as readers were able to understand Sethe the best. Having not had much of the novel from her point of view, it was she committed this act of love and desperation that we were most able to get inside her head and understand what the heck is going on with her. Up until this point, I saw Sethe as a pretty warm, open and friendly person, though I knew she a dark past. It was very confusing trying to figure out how these two aspects of her character fit together, and the conclusion that I came to was that her friendly personality was a mask for a crazed maniac that was bottled up in her innards. But it turned out to be almost the opposite: her past actions proved her to be more loving than she ever acted after The Misery. In all honesty, her split-second decision to protect her children at all costs was extremely impressive, if unexpected in the interpretation of "protection." But I see her point of view. Those children would never have a hope of escaping Schoolteacher's cruelty once they were in his grasp, because there was something about them that he could not forgive: they must have injured his pride by successfully escaping. He must have wanted them back at all costs. I feel that, were they to return to Sweet Home he would be harder on them than the slaves who were used to the "light touch" of the Garners.

Yet, making such a decision must have been incredibly difficult. In a way, Sethe is kind of a hero. She was able to complete an utterly self-sacrificing and altruistic act, and decide to do so in a split second without thinking twice about what it would do to her emotionally, and how it would affect her for the rest of her life. She suffered as a result: her baby was gone, and she would be forever ostracized by those who knew the truth. Yet, even through this, I think I respect her, because she is a very "no regrets" kind of person. She feels no guilt over what she did, and would do it again. It. Cutting off her two-year-old daughter's head. That's hard to say. But she would do it again. It saved her other children and their freedom, and no one would ever be able to touch Beloved. She loved those babies so much that she make damn sure that no one would ever hurt them or break them the way they did her, the Pauls, Sixo, and especially Halle. If possible, reading this scene makes me like Sethe more than I ever did before, because I don't think many people would have the strength to do what she did. Of course, this is completely messing with my head because I am rooting for a baby-killer, but her circumstances left her no other option.

Run Mourner Run: Was Dean in the wrong? (Also what the heck does race have to do with this story?)

           In class we had a lively discussion, but we never really got a chance to debate what to me seemed like one of the most crucial questions: Was Dean wrong to have slept with Ray? The obvious answer would be yes--he put on a two-faced act and ended up betraying the person he loved by aiding and abetting blackmail. He felt enormously guilty after the fact, shown when he lays in bed and just contemplates everything he did and how it turned out so badly. And, in the end he never makes too much of a fuss about not getting the money and promotion for Terrell because he both realizes that he was foolish to believe that Terrell would ever be that outlandishly generous, while also feeling (I believe) like he deserved what he got for treating Ray the way he did.

 

            But did he? Breaking this issue down, I can't help but notice that this is a prime example of "desperate times call for desperate measures" as his mother was sick, there were bills piling up, and no food. An offer such as Percy Terrell's must have sparked a glimmer of hope in him that he would have done anything to keep. After all, Terrell's request must not have been so outrageous to a boy (excuse me-- 23 year old "man") who is familiar with selling himself. This was just one more client; only this was different because the purpose of Dean's future encounter with Ray was to have a malicious intent, thanks to Terrell. This really was different--something to legitimately feel guilty over. Yes, Dean only met with Ray initially to seduce him for relatively dark purposes (at least on Terrell's end, because Dean only needed money: not a malignant hope). But, after just one short conversation, Dean fell in love with Ray, attracted to not only his body but his slightly pretentious intelligence and worldliness--the complete opposite of the "white trash" that Dean sees himself as. So from that point of view, could Dean having sex with Ray be just the innocent hookup of a smitten young man? He all but forgot the reason behind it (though he never knew the full extent of Percy's motives) and merely enjoyed all of the time that he was able to spend with Ray before the catastrophe of the revealed plot occurred. I don't blame him, but I can see how Ray would be offended that he seemed a double agent. 

           

            On another note, I think race is a significant factor in this story, which can be seen as the motive for the entire plot. Terrell's reasons for wanting to blackmail Ray are certainly sketchy and transparently in only his own interest, as he wouldn't want any competing landowners. Yet judging by his violent and prejudice tendencies towards Dean, I would guess that Percy Terrell is something along the lines of a raging racist. The feelings he has towards African Americans do not allow for any black person to come close to being his superior, and therefore a power struggle ensues. By getting one of his henchmen into bed with Ray (or at least have it done on his terms) Terrell gets as close emotionally to raping Ray as he can, by essentially having this sort of sexual power over him.

           

            This ties back to Dean’s guilt, because I think he realizes the implications of what he has done when he is lying in bed thinking about Ray and knowing that it is too late. But, its unfortunate (though realistic) that he never got to explain the situation to Ray, who had to be hurting while leading his double life.