Sethe and her daughter are isolated from the community due to Sethe’s killing of her youngest child, an action Sethe justifies as “put[ting] my babies where they’d be safe” but one which Paul D sees as a love “too thick” (Morrison 193). Her misjudgment fits Aristotle’s description of the fatal flaw. The trauma she experienced as a slave made her justifiably determined to not let her children return to slavery, but her panicked actions resulted in her isolation the community. As her isolation is caused by herself rather than an external force such as slavery, she is a fitting model for a Greek tragedy protagonist. Sethe’s “thick love” continues to linger after the killing, as she says she wanted to die alongside her youngest child after she killed her so she can continue to take care of her daughter, and states “[Beloved] is mine” after her realization that Beloved is her daughter (Morrison 241).
When Laila’s parents were killed and she was injured, Mariam took her in and sacrificed her time and space in order to take care of Laila (199). Mariam didn’t have kids of her own, yet took care of Laila as if she were her own daughter. She cared enough for the young girl’s well being to take her in and show her kindness. When Rasheed is about to kill Laila, Mariam hits Rasheed with a shovel so hard that it kills him (349). She viewed Laila as her own daughter, and she wasn’t going to let anyone hurt her daughter.
Pearl states how she doesn 't care about her mother 's sin, and she is proud to be her mother 's child. In conclusion, Hester, Gov. Bellingham has been through enough painful punishments for her crime and needs Pearl for companionship and support. Hester was tormented and publicly humiliated for having Pearl and after going threw all that torment she deserves to keep her daughter Pearl. " But she named the infant "Pearl," as being of great price ,—purchased with all she had,— her mother 's only treasure!" ( Hawthorne, 73).
After Joe’s death Janie was able accept that “she hated her grandmother and had hidden it from herself all these years under a cloak of pity... She hated the old women who had twisted her so in the name of love” (Hurston 89). Nanny had expectations and plans for Janie’s life and with the death of Joe she was able to free herself from the idea of love that Nanny had implemented on her from such a young age. Nanny had manipulated Janie’s perception of love so that she would find it necessary to
Ida who is Christine’s sister wanted the best for her which is why she faked legal papers to solve the conundrum of Clara selling Christine to a rich family. Family relationships are shown here because she tried to protect her. That 's what family is for, there are there to look out for one another. No one cares about a person more than their
explicitly states Margaret’s motivation for doing that: ‘The slave mother … killed her child rather than see it taken back to slavery’ (557). These slaves saw death a better alternative than slavery and for the love they had for their children, they preferred killing them than allowing them see the dehumanizing institution of slavery. The slave women have always suffered as an effect of slavery. They were robbed of every possession – even their motherhood. That is why Sethe’s act of destroying her own creation becomes the subject and order of controversies.
In Eudora Welty’s short story, “Why I Live at the P.O.,” the first person narrator is called “Sister.” The most evident narrator’s characteristic is stubbornness. The narrator wants everyone to accept her opinions and inputs as the absolute truth and seems inconsiderate toward others’ perspective. She starts the story by criticizing her sister’s actions, Stella-Rondo. For instance, in the first sentence the narrator places herself as a victim, when she says: “I was getting along fine with Mama, Papa-Daddy, and Uncle Rondo until my sister Stella-Rondo just separated from her husband and came back home again” (1).
Even if one make a regret able mistake, should that person be shamed for a past human error? Scarlett Letter takes place in Salem Massachusetts around the time frame where if something seemed strange to others you were accused of being a witch by all the Puritans and Quakers. If a person was accused of such accusations they were usually hung or stoned. Miss Hester Prynne’s is an independent mother who is doing all she can to make sure she keeps her child since it her against the world. In Nathaniel Hawthorne 's book, “The Scarlett Letter” the story ranges from compassion to forgiveness with Little Pearl as the symbol of savior in Miss Hester Prynne’s life.
She portrayed as an object in the book since she given to Victor as present. Throughout the book Elizabeth’s angelic beauty and motion was emphasis. This shows what women only possess at that time-obedience and ambiguous manner. Justine is a servant who was mistreated by her biological mother. She portrayed as a women status in society as Mary describes her as housework as a domesticated, virtuous, passive and devoted to othersand person but sadly she potrayed petty character which emphasis the tragedy of women in
Jamaica Kincaid 's "Girl" (163) 1. Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” is a daughter’s mimicry of how her mother tells her to perform housekeeping and includes other sensitive topics her mother deems important for proper behavior in her culture. Because of the content and demanding tone, do you find the mother abusive and demeaning, or is something else going on? Explain thoroughly by pointing out passages from the text as your proof Girl’s mother is unmannerly rude probably she thinks that she knows better from the age point of view as well as she knows better the womankind: “slut you are so bent on becoming.” Mother was treated as a slave her entire life and she doesn’t know a better form of treatment towards another womankind, her own daughter.
Jane 's mother 's name was Ruth, she was a courageous, bright and loving woman, so who would be so psychotic as to kill her. She was a slave all of her life and she felt Jane didn 't have the life she deserved. Ruth lived and worked on a plantation while she raised Jane. Ruth worked hard from early dawn until dusk. She always tried to protect her daughter from harm and tried to keep her secret when she was a baby because she was afraid that the man who tried to kill her father was going to come for her and kill her.
Influential Role of Mothers in Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Beloved Though more than a century divides the creation of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) and Toni Morrison’s Beloved (1987), the immense similarities between them can persuade one to read them accompanied with each other. In Uncle Tom's Cabin and Beloved there is an underlying theme of the importance of the influential role of mothers in African American slavery culture and in white culture. They both address the issue of a mother’s rights with the role of strong and influential female characters. Instead of encouraging the belief that women are less than men, the idea is to promote that they are more than obedient and submissive homemakers. Stowe and Morrison do this
The dehumanization that Sethe experienced took away her most desired identity: being a mother. Sethe experienced dehumanization when “those boys came in there and took milk”. Her milk, the substance that would sustain her child’s life, was the one thing that truly belonged to her, but the white boys took it from her, hence diminishing her worth as a woman, a mother, and a human being. Breast milk is the life force for an infant and having this integral human connection taken away from her diminished her self worth. This emotionally scarred Sethe, as she talks more about her milk being taken than the actual scars on her back (19).
Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne Quote - “If thou feelest it to be for thy soul’s peace, and that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow sinner and fellow sufferer!” (3.26) With this quote Dimsdale is talking with hester about the crime that she has committed and asking if someone else is being dragged into this. As with with him saying “and fellow suffer” is like him asking if there is a victimless person that got dragged into her crime that shouldn’t be there.
As the book ends Paul D returns, and finds Sethe laying down in Baby Sugg’s bed ready to die (70). Sethe cried out to Paul that she lost the most meaningful person in her life, Beloved (70). Paul D then hugged her as he told her she was the best thing to ever happen to him (70). Instead of Morrison writing about families being separated, she writes about them being sold as if they were livestock (71). Morrison chose to write about the African-American experiences during slavery (Heinze 127).