Excerpt: Sethe And Paul D's Beloved

Beloved Excerpt #1

“He rubbed his cheek on her back and learned that way her sorrow, the roots of it; its wide trunk and intricate branches. Raising his fingers to the hooks of her dress, he knew without seeing them or hearing any sign that the tears were coming fast. And when the top of her dress was around her hips and he saw the sculpture her back had become, like the decorative work of an ironsmith too passionate for display, he could think but not say, ‘Aw, Lord, girl.’ And he would tolerate no peace until he had touched every ridge and leaf of it with his mouth, none of which Sethe could feel because her back skin had been dead for years. What she knew was that the responsibility for her breasts, at last, was in somebody else’s hands” (26).

This passage introduces Sethe’s character and really allows readers to understand part of the reason that she is the way that she is. Sethe and Paul D have history together, hence the reason for the sexual encounter, but what Paul D doesn’t know is the intensity of Sethe’s past and the time between the current moment and their past together. This excerpt delves into Paul D’s view of Sethe and her body, which she has chosen to share with him. During this part of the story, Paul D discovers Sethe’s back scars that came from a

Sethe communicates with readers who sympathize with her situation and her life. Beloved is a girl that just wants to be in her mother’s life, which some readers can really understand. Denver has proven to be a character that speaks reason and, in the end, saves the day and her mother’s life. While Morrison chooses to write women characters that are empowered and hold a certain power over other characters or aspects of the novel, she also chooses to create Paul D. Paul D’s character development truly shows how the slave trade and transitioning back into civilized, everyday life can change a person and make them