Sixty Million and More: November 30, 2018

Focus: What does Beloved's violence represent on a metaphorical level?

1. Warming up with three good things and our old friend, Foster:

"If we only understand Beloved on the surface level, Sethe's act of killing her daughter becomes so repugnant that sympathy for her is nearly impossible. If we lived next to her, for instance, one of us would have to move. But her action carries symbolic significance; we understand it not only as the literal action of a single, momentarily deranged woman but as an action that speaks for the experience of a face at a certain horrific moment in history, as a gesture explained by whip scars on her back that take the form of a tree, as the product of the sort of terrible choice that only characters in our great mythic stories--a Jocasta, a Dido, a Medea--are driven to make. Sethe isn't a mere woman next door but a mythic creature, one of the great tragic heroines."  (Foster 91)

Take a look at the shifts in point of view in Chapters 16, 17 and 18.

• How would you describe the point of view(s) in each chapter?

• Why do you think Morrison structures it this way?  What's the purpose of each chapter?

• Other ways of thinking about the above question: Why not just tell the story from Sethe's point of view? How is the story being filtered?

• How does the point of view affect the way you perceive Sethe? Does your perception shift throughout these chapters? Do you agree with Foster that Sethe comes across as a great tragic heroine?

2. Engaging in a Socratic seminar on Beloved, Chapters 16-18

3. Wrapping up with questions, epiphanies and kudos

HW:
1. For MONDAY: Read the first half of Chapter 1 in Part II. We will read the second half of that chapter together in class to catch up. Monday Socratic ticket people may turn in their tickets TUESDAY.

2. For next TUESDAY: 

• Socratic seminar on Part II, Chapter I.

• Paper writers: E-mail me your thesis and any brainstorming you might have. Project creators: Fill out your proposal (it's in the packet I gave you, which is also linked to the website). IF you are completely stuck, don't panic. We will have a work day on Wednesday; you can touch base with me then.

Heads-up! December 12-13: Poetry papers and project are due. Please not that you will NOT be able to revise these because you won't get them back until your final.