Beloved: Paradox 2 key examples

This assertion is paradoxical to the very existence of the novel, which shares the story of Beloved. The use of paradox suggests that the novel is not actually recommending that the story should not be shared or Beloved forgotten, despite the people of Cincinnati forgetting Beloved. Rather, Beloved employs a paradoxical phrase to point to the contradictory way that society sometimes treats the history of slavery. Society often refuses to talk about the legacy of slavery by framing it as firmly in the past rather than affecting our present. However, "forgetting" the trauma of slavery fails to give voice to the generational impact it continues to have on society and thereby worsens this effect.

Instead, the novel encourages an alternative reading of the phrase by recalling Sethe's earlier words about memory.

Some things go. Pass on. Some things just stay.

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Instead of interpreting the line as suggesting the reader not share the story, Sethe's words recontextualize the phrase to mean that this is not a story to let go of. This sentiment also applies to the way Beloved is forgotten. Although the novel claims her name was "disremembered," the title and last word of the novel confirm Beloved's legacy. Furthermore, she still haunts Cincinnati in passing. However, it is not in the all-consuming way she did before. Instead, due to the community confronting her and their past and learning from it, they can control how she influences them. Thus, the paradoxes of Beloved's ending highlight how the story and similar reflections on the trauma of slavery should be handled with caution and respect so that slavery's effects do not persist.

Paradoxically, Sethe's attempt to protect her children from the trauma of slavery harmed and traumatized her children due to what slavery drove her to. The use of paradox highlights how slavery causes people to perform actions that seem confusing to people who have not experienced the similar trauma of motherhood under enslavement. The importance of motherhood to Sethe's paradoxical understanding is highlighted by Paul D's confusion over Sethe's actions.

This here Sethe talked about safety with a handsaw.

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While Paul D also suffered under slavery, he doesn't have the additional trauma of worrying about subjecting children to slavery as well. Sethe viewed slavery as the highest evil, so killing her children was an act of mercy, protecting them from a fate worse than death. The fact that Sethe's defining act as a mother effectively destroyed her role as a mother intensifies the paradox. Her display of love pushes her sons to leave at an early age, causes Denver to isolate herself in the boxwood room, and kills Beloved. While her understanding of safety seems paradoxical, it simply reflects how disturbing the system of slavery is in the first place.

This assertion is paradoxical to the very existence of the novel, which shares the story of Beloved. The use of paradox suggests that the novel is not actually recommending that the story should not be shared or Beloved forgotten, despite the people of Cincinnati forgetting Beloved. Rather, Beloved employs a paradoxical phrase to point to the contradictory way that society sometimes treats the history of slavery. Society often refuses to talk about the legacy of slavery by framing it as firmly in the past rather than affecting our present. However, "forgetting" the trauma of slavery fails to give voice to the generational impact it continues to have on society and thereby worsens this effect.

Instead, the novel encourages an alternative reading of the phrase by recalling Sethe's earlier words about memory.

Some things go. Pass on. Some things just stay.

Cite this Quote

Instead of interpreting the line as suggesting the reader not share the story, Sethe's words recontextualize the phrase to mean that this is not a story to let go of. This sentiment also applies to the way Beloved is forgotten. Although the novel claims her name was "disremembered," the title and last word of the novel confirm Beloved's legacy. Furthermore, she still haunts Cincinnati in passing. However, it is not in the all-consuming way she did before. Instead, due to the community confronting her and their past and learning from it, they can control how she influences them. Thus, the paradoxes of Beloved's ending highlight how the story and similar reflections on the trauma of slavery should be handled with caution and respect so that slavery's effects do not persist.