4/8/15
Text: Beloved by Toni Morrison
Critical Lens: Psychoanalytic Lens
Throughout my reading of Toni Morrison's Beloved, I have found that what truly makes human beings diverse is the kind of experiences we all are capable of having as well as the different emotional reactions in response to those experiences. However, there is one experience that is truly universal and usually elicits a similar response from others and that is the psychological pain of loss. While there is obviously no comparison possible between my life as a white upper middle class teenage male and Sethe’s as a female black slave, what bridges the gap between me and others experiencing the novel is that sense of being able to connect by feeling the anxiety and loss that happened in her life. It is inconsequential that we, the reader, have not experienced the same anxiety and loss that she has. Through Morrison’s descriptive writing and setting and our ability to empathize, we are drawn into a shared insight into all the losses that befall a slave.
For me, the depth of Sethe’s experiences are far beyond anything I could even remotely identify with. However, her broken identity is something that I can relate to as it is brought about by one’s environment and experiencing a some sort of personal loss. Sethe’s experiences as a slave where she remarks, "If a Negro got legs he ought to use them. Sit down too long, somebody will figure out a way to tie them up." is vastly different than anything I have ever experienced physically but her descriptions of holding painful memories at bay is something that I can relate to. "To Sethe, the future was a matter of keeping the past at bay. The 'better life' she believed she and Denver were living was simply not that other one." It seems that the emphasis of this text is not to truly compare your own experiences to this horrid life of an ex slave who has endured the atrocities of slavery and how they affect her inner psyche, but to recognize that this book gives you the opportunity to share an experience simply through the author’s description how her characters’ minds work and human beings who have suffered tragedy as well. Morrison provides this shared experience within this novel that ultimately develops the reader’s relationship with her characters and allows the reader to bond and empathize on a very deep psychological level with them.
It's interesting to read all of your blog posts Mark. You really capture the psychological aspects of the characters in Beloved, and relate them to Morrison's own psychology.
ReplyDeleteEven though we in the category (upper white middle class) there are many ways that the book still brings a sense of connection with its readers. While we will never be slaves in the late 1870's we can still feel were they are coming from from our own personal experiences. while it may not be a genuine as a slave from the time but its close enough to get the meaning out of the book.
ReplyDeleteMy blog post is quite similar to this! I agree that we won't experience the same experiences as what Sethe had to deal with, but the book provides a good learning experience for us.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to interpreting the psychoanalytic lens Mark you do a great job i trully enjoy how yo were able to take "Morrisons" interpretation and describe how you see it great job.
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