Beloved, like many of the other books we have read, has to deal with the theme of isolation. There was the separation of Sethe and Denver from the rest of the world. There was also, the loneliness of each main character throughout the book. There were also other areas of the book where the idea of detachment from something was obvious. People’s opinions about the house made them stay away and there was also the inner detachment of Sethe from herself.
The theme that Toni Morrison had in mind when the book was written was isolation. One of the main characters suffered most from this theme of isolation indefinitely. Poor Sethe. Through her life she was forced to make many indelicate decisions which could have cost her, her life, but comparatively the only life that was lost was here daughters. The way her daughter was conceived was not what Sethe wanted. When a woman is raped, I feel that she loses part of herself possibly a piece of dignity.
Sethe became detached from herself for she felt that nothing in the world could do right if something like this could happen. Not only did she have to deal with that fact, which created some inner isolation, she also had to make the decision whether or not to kill her daughter or let her suffer through a life of slavery. She made the decision to have her daughter killed. This also created some detachment from herself. Perhaps she felt as if her mind had deceived because she had her daughter killed. But yet, she knew that it was in the best interest for the child for she couldn’t bare to see her child be born into a life of slavery.
The Essay on Brien Life Young Daughter
The short story "Ambush" by Tim O'Brien is a story about a young American soldier, O'Brien, in the Vietnam War. While on watch O'Brien spots a young enemy soldier approaching his position. He throws a grenade and kills the young man. Years later O'Brien's is faced with the decision of answering his daughter when she asks him if he ever killed anyone in the war. Not only was killing the man a tough ...
Whenever I do something bad I feel separated from myself as if there is someone evil inside of me informing me what to do. Sethe however goes through many instances where this probably happened. Another example of how Sethe could have felt apart from herself as well as segregated from the rest of the world, could be of how other people thought of her and her family and what they did to show it. People are cruel, some just show it more than others. I felt bad for Denver and how she was teased at school.
They would tease her and accuse her mother of being a witch, which we know is not true But what it shows is how Denver becomes isolated from the world during the years where friends are needed. I’m sure that at one point or another Denver told Sethe about what was happening at school, which pushed her more and more away from society. Something else that I noticed is that the public never had much interaction with the characters. Possibly this was the authors way of proving the theme of isolation or it is just how I see it.
The theme of isolation as in many of the other pieces of literature that we have read this year can been seen in this novel Beloved. The theme can be seen in the isolation of Sethe and her inner self. It can also be seen with Denver and her separation from society because of the children at school. There is also the detachment of Sethe’s family from the rest of the world because of her past and what people think of the house and the family. Isolation can be a very powerful theme in literature.
