Beloved Analysis: Deaths and Its Effects

Tragedy in someone’s past can affect their entire life. The loss of a sibling, especially one with a violent demise, can cause physical disabilities, unhealthy obsessions, emotional tolls, and strained relationships. There are many works of literature that use the death and its effects to show character development and to deepen the plot. In Beloved, a novel written by Toni Morrison that shows how slavery has negatively impacted the lives of former slaves, Denver is affected by Beloved’s tragic death in many ways: physically, mentally, and emotionally.

When Denver, confronted by Nelson Lord, began to wonder what exactly happened with her mother when Denver was a baby, “she went deaf rather than hear the answer” (105). Deep down Denver knew what her mother had done but she didn’t want the truth to surface; she didn’t want to face what her mother did to Beloved and what she planned on doing to Denver and her brothers. So, instead of accepting the answer her mother gave her, her subconsciousness made it impossible for her to hear it. This physical act of denial lasted for two years. Once she became deaf, she stopped going to Lady Jones because “there was no point in going back...if you couldn’t hear what anybody said” (206). Unfortunately, this decreased her education and involvement in the community.

As a result of the murder of her sister that her mother committed, Denver developed an obsession for both Sethe and, later on, Beloved. When Paul D is first introduced, Denver hates that Sethe is paying attention to him instead of her. In that moment, all the losses she’s had does not matter “as long as her mother did not look away as she was doing now, making Denver long, downright long, for a sign of spite from the baby ...

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...ive, she is no longer afraid of her mother, and she has a sense of community.

Toni Morrison chose to add the effects Beloved’s death had on Denver to amplify the change in her by the end of the book. Although apart the effects are quite simple, together they connect to form an intricate web. Fear leads to obsession; obsession leads to denial; denial leads to isolation; isolation leads to loneliness. But just like any other web, once one part is broken, the others soon deteriorate as well. When Denver puts her love for Sethe before her fear of her, she starts a domino effect. Once the fear and obsession are gone, she meets people which ends her life of isolation and loneliness. Her life with Beloved is done, relieving her of the tragedy that surrounded her and is now allowed to live in peace.

Works Cited

Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York: Knopf, 1988. Print.