Baby Suggs is portrayed interestingly in the novel Beloved. As the format of the novel goes, you first learn of Baby Suggs very late in her days. As a readyer, I thought of her initially as a weak elder, maybe burdening the family with her ill self. As the plot unwrapped and revealed the past, my image of Baby Suggs became inverted. Now, reflecting and comparing the characters with the theme of fear, I think Baby Suggs was a very strong character- so much so in fact, that long after her death, her spirit lives on through the community she affected.
When Halle bough Baby Suggs out of freedom, he gave her a new life. Baby Suggs was unaware of it until she first stepped into official free land. Though she used this new life to bring joy to otheris, this freedom introduced her to fear. From her freedom, she looked back to Hall and Sethe, yearning for their return. "So when Sethe arrived- all mashed up and split open, but with another grandchild in her arms- the idea of a whoop moved closer to the front of her brain. But since there was still no sign of Halle and Sethe herself didn't know what had happened to him, she let the whoop lie- not wishing to hurt his chances by thanking God too soon", (135). Baby Suggs knew to remain wary of what was given to her. She learned as a slave that once something is given, it is more easily and very likely to be taken away.
"... The good news, however, was the Halle got married and had a baby coming. She fixed on that and her own brand of preaching, having made up her mind about what to do with the heart that started beating the minute she crossed the Ohio River. And it worked out, worked out just fine, until she got proud and let herself be overwhelmed by the sight of her daughter-in-law and Halle's children- one of whom was born on the way- and have a celebration of blackberries that put Christmas to shame. Now she stood in the garden smelling disapproval, feeling a dark and coming thing, and seeing high-topped shoes that she didn't like the look of at all. At all," (147).
Though that day was filled with joy, Baby Suggs' fear kept her tied down to knowing, deep down in her ex-slave gut, that no good was to come. When Baby Suggs' fear came true (more was taken from her), she fell in spirit and soul; she became numb and sick.
In "Boom Goes the Novel," a blog by Jennifer Schuessler of New York Times, blogger "Wilfred"
comments on an opinion, "Michael’s claims are absolutely bizarre. I cannot imagine how he would come to believe that Beloved isn’t about inequality." This makes me think about how ex-slaves remain paranoid despite their freedom being legal. More specifically, Baby Suggs slave mindset lingers in her free life, and rightfully so because he fear ends up becoming a reality. Though she has legal freedom, how and why is she treated differently? How might other free slaves be treated and do you agree with blogger "Wilfred"?
(http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/boom-goes-the-novel/#more-2311)
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Although Baby Suggs has legal freedom, she still seems to be treated poorly. After the feast, the entire town still resents both Baby Suggs and Sethe, even after the plentiful amounts of food they provided. Baby Suggs is extremely different from other slaves. Instead of living life casually, she makes sure to fully appreciate all that she has and is not humble by the prospects of loss. Baby Suggs is a slave who celebrates what she has and shows a lot of pride in everything she does.
ReplyDeleteOther slaves may be treated a little more nicely, because they are no so prideful and bragging about the freedom they maintain. I agree with blogger "Wilfred", that Beloved is absolutely about the concept of inequality, considering the book is based entirely on the idea of slavery.
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ReplyDeleteBaby Suggs knew how to live life before the “incident.” She lived everyday to the fullest and like it was her last. The rest of the town resented her for this because they wondered how and why. How could Baby Suggs be living this way after she had been a slave her whole life. The rest of the town believed that Baby Suggs should be just letting the days pass without too much thought. Baby Suggs greatly appreciates her freedom and is going to take full advantage of it.
ReplyDeleteAs for the blogger “Wilfred,” I agree that Beloved is all about inequality. Throughout the book Toni Morrison portrays that there was still a gap between whites and blacks even though slavery was over. An example of this is after Sethe had tried to kill her kids. Baby Suggs was done cleaning up Howard and Buglar when two white kids came up to her and told her their mother expected their shoes to be fixed by Wednesday. “She says Wednesday, you hear? Baby? Baby?” (pg. 153) This shows the complete divide between the white and black community. Sethe had just tried to kill her own children and these two white kids who came to 124 were completely aloof to it. Another example is at the end of the book when Denver is at the Bodwin’s house. Denver considers the Bodwins “good” white people. As she is walking out she sees a figure of a black person. “His head was thrown back farther than a head could go…Bulging like moons, two eyes were all the face he had above the gaping red mouth…Painted across the pedestal he knelt on were the words “AT Yo Service.”” (pg. 255) This shows a complete sense of inequality. The Bodwins were supposed to be good white people yet they still had a very racial figurine in their house. I think Wilfred is right on with the assumption that Beloved is all about inequality.