Humanizing Sethe
Why did Morrison give us the perspective of Schoolteacher discovering Sethe in the shed? We were asked to write on this in class, and I don't completely understand, but I had one half-formed idea I wanted to put here.
I believe Morrison was essentially trying to defend Sethe's actions - or at least explain them.
Schoolteacher's point of view is, in a book full of horrible things, disturbing. Morrison didn't just make him say racist things, she embedded deep deep racism into the foundation of his thoughts. He wishes Sethe hadn't been beaten so horribly... because now she's no longer profitable to him. He wishes the children hadn't been hurt... so he can own them. Constantly, he compares Sethe and her family to animals. It's jarring, especially because for most of the novel, white characters have had minor roles. While there are lots of descriptions of racism, the main characters themselves aren't racist.
By using the Schoolteacher lens, Morrison shows the reader what it was like for Sethe to live on Sweet Home. Not just by telling us the work she had to do or reminding us of the horrible things that happened, but by showing how the people there thought about her. She forces the reader to imagine what it's like, living under the thumb of people who see and treat you like animals.
And so, by using Schoolteacher to dehumanize Sethe, Morrison humanizes an extremely challenging concept - a mother killing her children. She attempts to help the reader understand why Sethe, without question, chooses death over going back to Sweet Home, for herself and for her family. Slitting a child's throat with a saw is hard to justify, but after experiencing Schoolteacher's inner monologue, as well as his cold analysis of the scene, it's much easier to see warmth in Sethe's brutality.
I completely agree with your interpretation of why Morrison chose to include Schoolteacher's perspective on Sethe attempting to kill her children. I think initially upon reading the last 4 chapters before the end of Part 1, I was taken aback by Sethe's actions. However, after further contemplation, and our discussion in class, I realized that Sethe, at least from the perspective of a mother trying to "save" her children, was justified. Overall, great job!
ReplyDeleteI think you did an excellent job of articulating what was probably Morrison's exact thought process when writing this scene. The scene would be so much less impactful if it was just Sethe thinking about how she doesn't want to go back to Sweet Home, and horrors spoken are always so much worse when they're seen from the proper perspective.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your idea that Morrison includes this scene in order to emphasize and further edify Sethe's reasoning for what she did. Viewing Sethe's actions without this scene for context, it could be difficult to rationalize how a loving person could do what she did, but given the circumstances set out by this scene, it is less of a stretch to see the love behind her actions. Overall, great job!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely! At this point in the novel it's really important for readers to understand just how bad Sweet Home was, because we need to see why Sethe would do something so brutal. By putting readers into such a jarring perspective, Morrison forces us to see how eager these people are to hurt Sethe and her children. Although readers may never completely understand her actions, it does put things into a perspective we have kind of been working towards throughout this book.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I think it's so important to recognize the true horror and inhumanity of Sweet Home (its name is so disturbing in its irony) and why Morrison chose to dive into Schoolteacher's point of view. We can't come close to understand the cruelty Beloved's characters experienced in Kentucky, but Schoolteacher's perspective shows us part of the complete dehumanization they went through, and we can start to understand why Sethe did what she did.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with what you're saying here. I also want to add that because this is a shift in perspective for the reader, it is particularly jarring to see Sethe depicted this way, and it certainly brings out empathy.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the POV makes you defensive of Sethe, which then becomes confusing when you get a graphic description of her trying to kill all her kids. But you're right the overall effect produces empathy
DeleteI completely agree with you Eve, and this was my biggest takeaway when reading this section. It reminded me of how the beginning of the book kind of "throws you in" without much explanation, making you figure it out yourself. I think having that effect in such an essential part of the storyline makes it all the more impactful.
DeleteI like the way you talk about being embedded in the racism of Schoolteacher's perspective. At this point in the book we have seen and heard about many of the things that happen at Sweet Home, and so we have some understanding of how awful it was, but putting it through Schoolteacher's perspective shows it even more clearly.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you and this is what I had been thinking a lot about, too. For me it really forced me to look at this horrible situation and try to understand what she did. I think it was a really good choice made by Morrison, because it was incredibly powerful and effective.
ReplyDeleteHi Erin, I think that as readers and as Morrison being the author of this novel, there cannot be a justification that can be reached about Sethe's decision, no matter how powerful Morrison's writing may be. I say this not because I do not justify Sethe's actions, but because I am in no place to judge or try to compare what Sethe has done to something that could be at its same level today. I think that what Morrison is trying to do here is to take a person that has brutalized Sethe and the other people at Sweet Home in such vicious ways that when he looks at what Sethe has done, he imagines his actions small in comparison.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we are in no place to judge whether Sethe made the right choice or not, but I would have to say that this scene does attempt to justify Sethe's actions. Not only is the perspective deeply racist, it exists so many worlds away from understanding why Sethe doesn't want to go back. "On account of a beating?" Like, trauma and dehumanization and all that happened in Sweet Home are so much uglier and more complex than that. And I suppose that if it's not for any justification / humanization purposes, it just serves to jar the readers even more at an already difficult scene.
DeleteHi Sam, I think one disconnect that might be happening here is what I meant by justification. I might not be using the real definition, but by justification I don't mean a concrete moral judgement, more like an explanation on Sethe's behalf, giving multiple sides of the story. And with that definition in mind, I think that was absolutely what Morrison was trying to accomplish. Frankly I don't think Schoolteacher or the others are that important in the scene, other than as villains to explain Sethe's mindset. And honestly I think Morrison does want us to approach the situation with moral judgement, or more like moral analysis, in order to drive home the point that it's really a no win situation.
DeleteHey Erin, I love your point here. I almost said the complete opposite in my response to this prompt, as I initially thought that framing this central event from the schoolteacher's perspective blindsided the reader and made it hard at first to understand why she killed her children, but after reading this post, I've reevaluated my interpretation. While Sethe and Paul D's retellings of the horrors they experienced in slavery are horrifying, for me, the most chilling moment of the book was reading the schoolteacher's perspective of Sethe and her children. His cruel and analytical dehumanization of them and seeing them just as livestock or profit ventures during such an incredibly traumatic event was extremely messed up, and definitely stuck with me after I finished the book. Anyway, thank you for broadening my understanding of this novel. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your points here. I think after reading this part of the novel, the reader has to wonder if they can even blame Sethe for what she did. It shows that Sweet Home was full of people who truly view black people as animals, and shows just exactly what Sethe was trying to protect her kids from.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting interpretation. This would mean Morrison is trying to give readers a chance to understand the emotions causing Sethe to kill her children. First considering this passage I almost thought the opposite - that Morrison was writing it from schoolteacher's perspective to take the emotion completely out of the event, to almost lessen the blow, since he describes it in such an objective and horrifying way it's hard to believe you're interpreting the passage correctly, and hard to connect with Sethe. Only after are we brought into Sethe's mind and shown her perspective. But I think you're interpretation makes a lot of sense.
ReplyDeleteI think this scene shows as a reminder to the outside world. We as readers might get "too used" to this perspective of Sethe and it shows us how important killing Beloved is in this moment. Also, although this is one scene out of the whole book, it snaps us back into that painful reality so quickly. It's very effective in the sense that we go through Sethe's perspective first before diving into schoolteacher's then back to Sethe's to full understand where she is coming from.
ReplyDeleteHey Erin, nice post! I agree that that scene really showed why Sethe did what she did. Toni Morrison's writing astonishes me and it's really amazing how she was able to give us that scene. I think that it brought the book to life and was probably one of the most essential scenes. I had chills as I read it because I was so horrified.
ReplyDeleteYou make an excellent point, Beloved is a book of horrors, and yet this passage stands out among the rest. Jarring is a perfect way to describe this section, and I think it's really interesting how as readers we can experience this insane instance of horrific brutality and yet walk away with more understanding and sympathy for the character that committed the act rather than those observing it being done. I think that speaks to Morrison's talent as a writer. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI really like your explanation of this scene! I read it the same way. Schoolteacher's entire monologue is obviously horrifying in its abhorrent racism, but the part of this chapter that struck me the most was his lack of remorse witnessing Sethe killing her kids. Yes, he is regretful of the fact that the harsh treatment of Sethe leads her to kill her kids, but because he this means he can't own them, as you say. There isn't a shred of sympathy or even any deeper questioning of the meaning of what he witnesses--the fact that his and his boys' actions led to such a tragic act. I felt like this aspect of the chapter was what really went beyond other descriptions of Sweet Home in the novel in terms of explaining Sethe's actions.
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