1. Sculpting clay into symbols for each character and seeing what happens when they play together
2. Sculpting your thinking via Socratic seminar: Part 3, Chapter 1
3. Debriefing by finishing the following statements:
Paul D is the central character in Beloved because he...
Denver is the central character in Beloved because she...
The character Beloved represents _____________________ on a personal level but ________________ on a larger, social level.
As Americans, we all live in 124 because...
The most important symbol in Beloved is the _________________ because ________________.
Morrison suggests that memory can be _________________ but also ________________.
Morrison implies that in order to move forward, we must first _________________ because __________________.
HW:
1. Please finish Beloved for our final Socratic on TUESDAY. For your final reading ticket, please take one of the statements above, find three passages from Part 3 that relate to it, and briefly explain how each quotation supports and complicates the statement.
2. Our big timed writing will be on Wednesday next week. Next week will be a little weird; I will be gone on Wednesday because Sam is having a procedure.
3. Complete your poetry response (two weeks in the making) for Tuesday, please.
What changed in the relationship between beloved and sethe?
ReplyDelete-Beloved as a vampire, growing and growing as sethe shrinks, so controlling over Sethe
-Sethe thinking before that she didn't have to ask Beloved for forgiveness, but in these chapters she tries to explain herself more and more.
-Reversal of mother/daughter roles, why beloved looks pregnant and begins to control Sethe
-Both Part 1 and 3 start with “124 was ….” Like Beloved is haunting Sethe once again in this Third and final part
What makes Denver different and allows her to be separate from the Sethe/ Beloved situation?
-Denver has always been separate, even at the beginning when Denver was so attached to Beloved, Beloved was only there for Sethe
What do you think changed in Denver that allowed her to have the strength to leave 124?
-She felt so secluded from Sethe and was finally able to see them from an outside perspective and realize that something needed to change.
-She has always lived in fear of Sethe, finally seeing her weak and helpless allows Denver to overcome her own fears and break free from 124
-Denver has some supernatural qualities, only one born into freedom, does this allow her to see things more clearly than the other characters? Also maybe from when she ingested Beloved’s blood?
Why do you think that Denver leaving 124 changes the community so much?
-They’ve been hidden in 124 for so long, that finally a face is put to the misery and the community feels some guilt for the way that they treated 124 for so long
-It was easier to blame Sethe for her actions, and to think that even Denver was scared of Sethe
Sethe was so prideful when she got out of jail and that also scared the community
There was even an envy for 124 right before Schoolteacher came, now the can heal together and transform all of the guilt and envy into community
Pg 346: do you think that Denver actually cares for her mom now? Or is she still trying to protect Beloved?
-Denver sees both of them as family still, she doesn’t want either of them to die or leave or be hurt, it’s like a right of passage time for Denver, a coming of age as she goes out into the community
-Once she looks from the outside in she can finally see all the trouble occurring in 124
-She’s afraid of either Beloved leaving or Beloved hurting her
Clarity: Denver is not stuck in the past anymore, she is able to think and live in the present and future, critical factor in her ability to grow
ReplyDeleteTree and stump; tree was memory, roots went deep and the stump is the ability to move on from the past and into the future
Denver isn’t haunted as much by 124 because she wasn't born into slavery, as if Beloved represents slavery and all of the guilt it holds and everyone else is held back by the guilt of the past
Symbolism behind the hummingbirds/ice-picks?
What do you think is happening at the end of this chapter?
-I think Beloved is returning to where she was before, alone and with the man without skin
-If Beloved is going back, what is that’s getting rid of her?
She feels the emptiness in the hands that Sethe was holding, she loses strength when Sethe releases guilt and becomes stronger
Basically we see that Beloved is dying, but this scene isn’t sad, why isn’t Denver sad?
-Denver is becoming more mature, good vs. evil
Weather change from gloomy to clear, represents Denver’s clarity
-Sethe goes towards the man this time rather than her children, a change in her from the past, moving on from the past.
-She has to run through the community in order to try and get to the man - she has the community with her now
Part of Sethe’s guilt was from the grudge the community held for her, once they come to her she can let go
Let’s talk about numbers: “3 in the afternoon on a friday” (when all of the women come, emphasis on 30 women, walking slowly towards 124) why are these important?
-Kinda how 124 is missing the 3, they found the missing number and now can face it and move on from the past. the “3” that couldve been missing could be the community
-Back when talking about slavery, they would only work when there was 3 of them so that Sethe wouldn’t die
-3 is a demonic number, Beloved is evil, they are all coming to protect Sethe and Denver from this evil
-The community almost needed Beloved in order to move on from the past
Pg 300: when denver is talking to Janey and sees the Sambo doll, what is the significance, saying as how she just got a job there?
-Morrison does this with the white characters, they are kind but still oppressive and racist towards the blacks
-When they talked about Mr Garner and his treatment, how they could only be men when he said they were men, the whites were still being demeaning
-Little cameo to Invisible Man, paying respect to Ellison
Wrap-up: "What's fair ain't necessarily right" - brainstorm
ReplyDelete