Chhang, Lebrilla, Menin, Alamin, Duran, Chen 1...Chhang, Lebrilla, Menin, Alamin, Duran, Chen 2 “Denver don’t like for me to talk about it. She hates anything about Sweet Home”

Chhang,Lebrilla,Menin,Alamin,Duran,Chen1

Jonathan Chhang

Jedd Lebrilla

Morgan Menin

Tommy Alamin

Jordan Duran

Ethan Chen

Beloved -Thematic Strands Coalition - Community

What determines community?

“One by one, from Hi Man back on down the line, they dove. Down through the mud

under the bars, blind, groping. Some had sense enough to wrap their heads in their shirts...For one lost, all lost” (130). - Paul D. knows by instinct the desires of the chain

gang as he is part of it himself. “ ‘How come everybody run off from Sweet Home can’t stop talking about it? Look

like if it was so sweet you would have stayed...But it’s where we were...All together. Comes back whether we want it to or not.’ She shivered a little” (16). Sweet Home may have been a place of atrocities but it establishes a sort of camaraderie between

those who experienced said atrocities. “Pick me up on her way back. I believe she would a done that if I was to ask her. I

never did, ‘cause that’s the only day Halle and me had sunlight in it for the both of us to see each other by” (188). Nothing will ever get in the way of Sethe seeing Halle, as

their bond is unbreakable. “How? Your boys gone you don’t know where. One girl dead, the other won’t leave

the yard. How did it work? ...They ain’t at Sweet Home. Schoolteacher ain’t got em” (194). Sethe may consider her children still part of her community because she

establishes a sense of safety over them.


“Denver don’t like for me to talk about it. She hates anything about Sweet Home” (239). Denver does not like to be reminded about a community she is not a part of,

since she has a human instinct to feel included. “Denver thought she understood the connection between her mother and Beloved:

Sethe was trying to make up for the handsaw; Beloved was making her pay for it. But there would never be and end to that…” (295). Beloved is emotionally abusing Sethe

by making her eternally guilty for something she did years ago. However, this is unbecoming of a supportive community. Sethe and Beloved’s relationship cannot

properly be considered a community since the transferred love is a one-way road. “When they caught up with each other, all thirty, and arrived at 124, the first thing they

saw was not Denver sitting on the steps, but themselves” (304). The black women of Cincinnati are united by shared memories. For this reason thirty of them are able to

show up to support the daughter-in-law of Baby Suggs. It doesn’t matter whether or not a group of people is forced to be together or wants to

be together - these people make up a community, because they all share a common lifestyle and depend on each other. A community does not necessarily have to be

together. Members of a community may be bound by familial ties or love rather than by location. For this reason, such love holds priority in a community. (JC)

The three of them, Sethe, Denver, and Paul D, breathed to the same beat, like one tired person. Another breathing was just as tired” (Morrison 22). After passing through

the same ordeal and sharing an experience, Sethe, Denver, Paul D, and Beloved all are established in a sort of community with some understanding. (EC) “Paul D made a few acquaintances; spoke to them about what work he might find.

Sethe returned the smiles she got. Denver was swaying with delight. And on the way home, although leading them now, the shadows of three people still held hands”

(Morrison 59). Through a pleasurable experience together, the participants almost act as if in a family, bonding over their interactions to provide each other selfless

enjoyment. (EC) “Burglar, Howard, the woman in the bonnet and Sethe came to look and then laughed


along with Baby Suggs at the sight [of Stamp when he brings the berries]” (160). Their close familiar tone towards one another, and unguarded stance, all indicate of their

close bond as a community. (EC) “They laughed then. A rust chuckle at first and then more, louder and louder until

Stamp took out his pocket handkerchief and wiped his eyes while Paul D pressed the heel of his hand in his own. As the scene neither one had witnessed took shape

before them, its seriousness and its embarrassment made them shake with laughter” (313). Paul D and Stamp are able to form a sort of small community with their shared

experiences. With their background knowledge of Sethe and the situations they have weathered together, they are able to come to an understanding with each other and

accept each other into a bond to form a community. The bonds that develop with shared experiences, understanding, and common ground are forged into the bond

that is community. (EC) “Walking back through the woods, Sethe put an arm around each girl at her side. Both

of them had an arm around her waist. Making their way over hard snow, they stumbled and had to hold on tight, but nobody saw them fall” (206). Sethe and the

girls share the experience of ice skating together and they form closer bonds because of the experience, as well as their failings and triumphs through fun. (EC)

“In fact there was something about him […] that made the stares of other Negroes kind, gentle, something Denver did not remember seeing in their faces. Several even

nodded and smiled at her mother, no one, apparently, able to withstand sharing the pleaser Paul D was having” (Morrison 58). Community involves a collection of

individuals who interact with each other in a quite personal level, interactions which affect other members of the community. | “Paul D had only begun […] Saying more

might push them both to a place they couldn’t get back from” (Morrison 86). These two display community through their shared experiences, time they spent together in

the same setting. It was at Sweet Home where they became a community. | “A man could risk his own life, but not his brother’s” (Morrison 129). Community is strongest

when the bonds between individuals are strongest. Because of the respect and


mindfulness towards each other we see displayed by the inmates, we can see a strong sense of community among them. They are sharing in this experience;

furthermore, they care enough about each other not to risk the safety of the group or other members of the community. | “Stamp Paid raised his fist to knock on the door

he had never knocked on (because it was always open to or for him)” (Morrison 203). Community usually involves a welcoming attitude shared among its members.

Community degrades when this welcome is cut off. | “Some brought what they could and what they believed would work [...] They had no idea what they would do once

they got there. They just started out, walked down Bluestone Road and came together at the agreed-upon time” (Morrison 303). As a community rallies in support of Denver,

we see a clearer image of what it entails: a group of individuals who share a common purpose, goal, or experience. These individuals, to different extents, believe Denver is

deserving of some sort of justice, and they gather in support of her. | “Some even laughed outright at Denver’s clothe of a hussy, but it didn’t stop them from caring

whether she ate and it didn’t stop the pleasure they took in her soft ‘Thank you’” (Morrison 294). Regardless of individual predisposition or action, member of a

community care about each other and support each other. As Denver began to integrate herself into this community, the amount care they had for her increased and

the community began to realize that Denver was in fact one of them. (J.L.)

“They were a twosome, saying, “Your daddy” and “Sweet home” in a way that made it

clear that both belonged to him and not her.” (13). Here, Paul D is shown with his children, displaying a clear and obvious bond to their father but not their mother. This is because they had been with Paul D. a majority of their lives and bonded with him as

is normal in such circumstances. Their mother however had been absent from the equation for years, disassociating herself from their community. “All forty-six men

woke to a rifle shot,”(107). While this is a basic quote, in context it shows Paul D’s old community of slaves. The key here is the mentioning of all forty-six men which implies

a group had formed. While undoubtedly some would be closer than others, it goes to


show that your community is primarily decided by the people in your life that share a similar situation to you. (M.M.)

“And on the way home, although leading them now, the shadows of three people still held hands” (Morrison 49). Community is many groups of people and families who do

not necessarily like each other, but respect each other enough to make friendly conversation and help if needed.

“And about the party too, because that explained why nobody ran on ahead; why nobody sent a fleet-footed son to cut ‘across a field soon as they saw the four horses

in town hitched for watering while the riders asked questions” (Morrison 157). This is what a community is not, because if 124 was still considered a part of the community,

someone would have run ahead to warn Baby Suggs and Sethe about the approaching horsemen.

“Beloved, she my daughter. She mine. See. She come back to me of her own free will and I don’t have to explain a thing” (Morrison 200). Community is a safe, loving

environment that accepts people with no questions asked. “‘It’s nice of you to come see me. What brings you?’ Denver didn’t answer. ‘Well,

nobody needs a reason to visit. Let me make us some tea” (Morrison 247). While Denver is not the most accepted person in the community, Lady Jones realizes the

importance of being an accepting member of the community. She can see Denver is in a sticky, uncomfortable situation and doesn’t press her for information, but merely

offers her tea. (JD)

“Some lost direction and their neighbors, feeling the confused pull of the chain,

snatched them around. For one lost, all lost. The chain that held them would save all or none” (130)

For the men who were chained together with Paul D., community was a way of survival. They were forced to work together to escape and regain their

lives, so their struggle determined their community. (T.A.)


“Before 124 and everybody in it had closed down, veiled over and shut away; before it

had become the plaything of spirits and the home of the chafed, 124 had been a cheerful, buzzing house where Baby Suggs, holy, loved, cautioned, fed, chastised and soothed. Where not one but two pots simmered on the stove; where the lamp burned

all night long. Strangers rested there while children tried on their shoes. Messages were left there, for whoever needed them was sure to stop in one day soon. Talk was

low and to the point--for Baby Suggs, holy, didn't approve of extra. ‘Everything depends on knowing how much,’ she said, and ‘Good is knowing when to stop.’"

(101-102)

The community at 124 is comprised of those who spend their time

there. In the past it was comprised of those who enjoyed themselves and spent time with company; community for these people was determined by the place

where they looked forward to spending their time and whom they hoped to spend it with. The community at 124 dramatically changes when those when

the spirit shows up. Then, 124’s community is determined by those who share the experience of the hauntings. (T.A.)

“I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’

I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God.’” (Hosea 2:23) “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,” (Romans 9:25) (xiv)

This first paragraph is just a little background info. This version of Romans 9:25 is, I feel, easier to understand than the one in the book, so I

elected to quote this one instead of the one from the book that uses the word “beloved.” Furthermore, Romans is an expert from a series of letters Paul


wrote to the Romans. More specifically, Paul quotes Hosea 2:23, an expert from the Old Testament, the Torah as it is also known. Effectively then,

Romans 9:25 is a Bible quote that quotes the Bible. I decided to include the quotation from Hosea because I think the message about community is clearer

in it than the one in Romans. (T.A.)

In these verses God says we do not need to be labeled as from his

people “my people” in order to receive his love or be one his people; in effect, He is declaring one does not have to be born into His community on earth or

even affiliated with it actually to be a part of it. Community for Him and the people whom He is addressing is determined by those who they love and

worship, not by anything else. (T.A.)

“A woman, a child, a brother--a big love like that would split you wide open in Alfred,

Georgia. He knew exactly what she meant: to get to a place where you could love anything you chose-- not to need permission for desire--well now, that was freedom”

(191)

Here, community is defined as a place where one is free to love and be

accepted. Therefore, this type of community is of a different sort than that of Paul D’s when he was in the chain gang, so the reason why a community is

founded does not matter as much as how it functions when it is founded. (T.A.) "’Why? Why he [Paul D.] have to ask? Can't nobody offer? What's going

on? Since when a blackman come to town have to sleep in a cellar like a dog?’…"He ask, I give him anything.’ ‘Why's that necessary all of a sudden?’

‘I don't know him all that well.’ ‘You know he's colored!’" (119-120)

Communities form boundaries to help define themselves and to strengthen themselves through conflict against those outside those


boundaries. Stamp defines one of the boundaries of the Ohio community as race and believes the community should do a better job sheltering

Paul D because he is colored. However, Ella disagrees and believes he is not known to her and the rest of the community and he has broken a rule

because of his association with Sethe. (T.A.)

By what rules, both written and understood, do communities come to recognize

themselves?

“He never figured out how he knew - how anybody did - but he did know - he did - and he took both hands and yanked the length of the chain at his left, so the next man

would know too” (130). Communities like Paul D.’s chain gang take part in group activities; in addition they are literally bounded to one another, being forced into a

community together. “That’s the point. The whole point. I’m not asking you to choose. Nobody would. I

thought - well, I could - there was some space for me” (54). Paul D. desires to join Sethe’s “family,” but wants to gain express permission to do so. “It was lovely. Not to be stared at, not seen, but being pulled into view by the

interested, uncritical eye of the other. Having her hair examined as a part of herself [sic], not as material or a style...Denver’s skin dissolved under that gaze” (139). A

reciprocal attraction and attention given between Denver and Beloved keeps the two sisters together.

“Beloved is my sister. I swallowed her blood right along with my mother’s milk” (242). Symbolically by swallowing Beloved’s blood, Denver becomes a part of Beloved, and

vice versa; thus they are inseparable. “High Johnny, wide Johnny, don’t you leave my side, Johnny” (282). Denver is jealous

of a song that Sethe sings to Beloved, because Sethe once sang it to Denver. The song is a symbol of the relationship between mother and child, who together form a

small microcosm of a community.


Communities do not come about explicitly. The bonds are gradually formed through camaraderie and communication (social interaction). The preexisting members of the

group must accept the new member of the community before that person may enter. Otherwise those bonds will not be able to be formed. Community members only feel

like they are a part of a community when the preexisting community reciprocates the camaraderie the newcomer may show. (JC)

“Long, heavy lashes made Denver’s eyes seem busier than they were; deceptive, even when she held a steady gaze as she did now on Paul D. ‘No,’ she said.’ I didn’t see no

such thing.’ Paul D Frowned but said nothing. If there had been an open latch between them, it

would have closed” (Morrison 67). Paul D and Denver come to the understanding that they will be on opposing sides now. But now supporting the veracity of Paul D’s

statement, Denver has shown him that she doesn’t consider him a very close integral part of the community. (EC)

“Her friends and neighbors were angry at her because she had overstepped, given too much, offended them by excess” (163). As a rule in Baby Suggs community, one

should not overshadow their fortune. The people within the community do not like any one of their members seemingly “showing off” and by Suggs hosting such a lavish

feast, she has violated this rule. (EC) “Grandma Baby said there was no defense – they could prowl at will, change from

one mind to another, and even when they thought they were behaving, it was a far cry from what real humans did” (287). It is recognized by Baby Suggs that no rules govern the white man. The African American community is at the whim of their desires and

must be wary of them at all times.(EC)

“His head was thrown back farther than a head could go, his hands were shoved in his pockets. Bulging like moons, two eyes were all the face he had above the gaping

red mouth. His hair was a cluster of raised, widely spaced dots made of nail heads. And he was on his knees. His mouth, wide as a cup, held the coins needed to pay for

a delivery or some other small service, but could just as well have held buttons, pin or


crab-apple jelly. Painted across the pedestal he knelt on were the words ‘At Yo Service’” (300). Even though the Bodwins are generally accepted as nice white folk,

there is still the understanding they are white folk. As this jar shows, even though the Bodwins are more understanding than other white folk, they still may hold some of the

same prejudices. There is the implicit understanding that African Americans are to serve and that African Americans will not be accepted to command. An African

American will never be the master of the house with white people, according to this community’s rules.(EC)

“’Well it is now.’ Her smile, no longer the sneer he remembered, had welcome in it and

strong traces of Sethe’s mouth’ (313). It is now understood that Denver and Paul D won’t quarrel anymore. They have recognized each other through their shared

experience in this ordeal and now respect each other. Past faults have been forgiven and now they recognize each other’s worth. As a rule, they will now treat each other

with the same amount of fairness.(EC)

“Stamp Paid raised his fist to knock on the door he had never knocked on (because it was always open to or for him) and could not do it. Dispensing with that formality was

all the pay he expected from Negroes in his debt. Once Stamp Paid brought you a coat, got the message to you, saved your life, or fixed the cistern he took the liberty of

walking in your door as though it were his own. Since all his visits were beneficial, his step or holler through a doorway got a bright welcome. Rather than forfeit the one

privilege he claimed for himself, he lowered his hand and left the porch” (203). Stamp Paid is recognized in his community to have the privilege of walking through anyone’s

doorway. Symbolically, he is unable to walk through 124’s doorway because they have been isolated by that community. (EC)

“How different they were without her, how they laughed and played and urinated and sang” (Morrison 27). The men of Sweet Home displayed how within a community, it is

understood that those of the community need not fear looseness or transparency.


However, upon the presence of an outsider, the demeanor of a community will change to reflect the image the community wishes to impose upon the outsider. | “The two of

them made a pact: whichever one got a chance to run would take it […]” (Morrison 198). Baby Suggs and her husband come to an agreement that they should take any

opportunity they had to run. As a community, they mutually agreed to self-preservation in any way possible. They allowed each other that guilt-free choice to run

away, even if it was without the other. (J.L.)

“Now here was this woman with a presence of mind to repair a dog gone savage with

pain rocking her crossed ankles and looking away from her own daughter’s body. As though the size of it was more than vision could bear.”(12) Here, Sethe is coping with

her killing of her daughter, which to her is a crime against nature like in most societies. It is clearly against human nature and the rules by which she lives by; however she

valued her child’s life that she did not want her to grow up in slavery. This thought this justified her actions despite the clear breach in the understood rules of humanity.

“Denver neither believed nor commented on Sethe’s speculations, and she lowered her eyes and never said a word about the cold house,”(119). This, although less

important, shows Denver’s acknowledgement toward a more implied rule to always respect your elders and to general not talk back against them in a way as to betray

their loyalties. (M.M.)

“Soothed by sugar, surrounded by a crowd of people who did not find her the main

attraction, who, in fact, said, ‘Hey, Denver,’ every now and then pleased her enough to consider the possibility that Paul D wasn’t all that bad” (Morrison 48). With the arrival

of Paul D and the decision to go to the carnival, Denver comes to understand that even though she may not like Paul D, he brings them a higher level of respect in the community of blacks by showing that someone other than Sethe is in charge of 124.

“It made them furious. They swallowed baking soda, the morning after, to calm the stomach violence caused by the bounty, the reckless generosity on display at 124.

Whispered to each other in the yards about fat rats, doom and uncalled-for pride”


(Morrison 17). The abundance of feasting at 124 upon the arrival of Sethe and Denver upset the entire black community that lived at 124 and ate at the feast. This caused a

deep hatred towards 124 and its permanent inhabitants. “Whole towns wiped clean of Negroes; eighty-four lynchings in one year alone in

Kentucky; four colored schools burned to the ground; grown men whipped like children; children whipped like adults; black women raped by the crew’ property

taken, necks broken. He smelled skin, skin and hot blood. The skin was one thing, but human blood cooked in a lynch fire was a whole other thing” (Morrison 180).

Communities come together when they share a common experience or life event. In this case, lynchings and persecution. Slave and freeman communities rally around the

single thing they live to escape. “Two days later Denver stood on the porch and noticed something lying on the tree

stump at the edge of the yard. She went to look and found a sack of white beans, another time a plate of cold rabbit meat. One morning a basket of eggs sat there. As

she lifted it, a slip of paper fluttered down” (Morrison 249). There is no written rule that mandates assisting struggling neighbors with donations of food, yet food appeared on

the tree stump for Denver and Sethe. The community came together to help out a fellow member of the community. (JD)

“They were young and so sick with the absence of women they had taken to calves. Yet they let the iron-eyed girl be, so she could choose in spite of the fact that each

one would have beaten the others to mush to have her.” (12)

In the Sweet Home community, the respect between the Sweet Home

Men and Sethe creates their rules. Though the rule is unwritten and unofficial the men treat is as one of the commandments and solidify their community in the process. (T.A.)

“Not once. Lillian Garner called her Jenny for some reason but she never pushed, hit

or called her mean names. Even when she slipped in cow dung and broke every egg


in her apron, nobody said you-black-bitch-what's-the-matter-with-you and nobody knocked her down.” (164)

The community that Baby Suggs and Mrs. Garner share is governed by an understanding of mutual respect. This allows Suggs to maintain much of her

dignity and love for Lillian because she never abuses her, verbally of physically. (T.A.)

“The Garners, it seemed to her [Baby Suggs], ran a special kind of slavery, treating them like paid labor, listening to what they said, teaching what they wanted known.

And he didn't study his boys. Never brought them to her cabin with directions to "lay down with her," like they did in Carolina, or rented their sex out on other farms… In

fact, his [Mr. Garner’s] order for them not to leave Sweet Home, except in his company, was not so much because of the law, but the danger of men-bred slaves on

the loose.” (165)

The Sweet Home community employs mutual respect and trust as the

force that binds its members. Therefore, the community is not governed as slaves and master with rules of doing what one is told or suffer, but as partners

and friends who do what one asked and obtain gratitude. (T.A.)

“She was accustomed to the knowledge that nobody prayed for her- -but this free

floating repulsion was new. It wasn't whitefolks--that much she could tell--so it must be colored ones. And then she knew. Her friends and neighbors were angry at her

because she had overstepped, given too much, offended them by excess.” (163)

In her community Baby Suggs broke the unwritten rule of not outshining

one’s neighbors. The community members hold public attention in high esteem and envy those who have more than them, so drawing too much attention is a

taboo in that community. (T.A.)


How do communities both support and punish their members?

“ ‘Stamp leaves the old sty open when there’s a crossing. Knots a white rag on the post if it’s a child too...My name’s Ella, ‘ she said, taking a wool blanket, cotton cloth,

two baked sweet potatoes and pair of men’s shoes from the sack” (108). Stamp supports Suggs’ daughter-in-law by providing her everything she needs on her

journey. “Paul D was shouting, falling, reaching for anchor. ‘Leave the place alone! Get the hell

out!’ A table rushed toward him…” (22). Paul D believes the ghost should not be part of the house since he believes all it does is haunt mercilessly and thus does not deserve to be part of the family.

“And about that party too, because that explained why nobody ran on ahead; why nobody sent a fleet-footed son to cut ‘across a field soon as they saw the four horses

in town hitched for watering while the riders asked questions” (184). No one supported Suggs as Schoolteacher was coming to town because they were cross

with her for providing everyone with too much food and hurting their pride. The benefits of having such friends are lost when they feel insulted.

“Schoolteacher had chastised that nephew, telling him to think - just think - what would his own horse do if you beat it beyond the point of education” (176).

Schoolteacher’s beliefs are supposed to dictate those of his nephews, yet he must punish them for disregarding them, for their own good, so that they may improve

themselves and know better not to do otherwise. “And then she moved him. Just when doubt, regret and every single unasked question

was packed away, long after he believed himself…” (261). Beloved sees Paul D. as an intruder and therefore punished him by pushing him out of the community.

“Nobody said, you raise your hand to me and I will knock you into the middle of next week...Honor thy mother and father that thy days may be long upon the land which

the Lord thy God giveth thee” (285). Beloved was unstoppable. Sethe yielded to every request and was never willing to speak against Beloved. However their relationship


deteriorates because of this, and thus their relationship cannot be considered a community. Punishment and criticism, and therefore forgiveness, are prerequisites of

community. “But if you all need to eat until your mother is well, all you have to do is say so” (292).

Mrs. Jones is willing to support a student she once had long ago, simply out of the good of her heart.

“Beloved accused her of leaving her behind. Of not being nice to her, not smiling at her. She said they were the same, had the same face, how could she have left her?

And Sethe cried, saying she never did, or meant to - that she had to get them out, away…” (284). Beloved is not punishing Sethe for Sethe’s good. Rather, she is

punishing her for the sake of revenge. This type of punishing is not an indication of a loving community.

Community members are willing to break the law to cover for their fellows and will do everything they can to make sure that member stays in the community - that is, unless

that member has lost the trust of the other members. In this case, loss of membership in the community may be used as a threat to punish that member. Community

members may also punish another member, but only for their own good, for improvement does not come without criticism. In extreme cases, a community may

temporarily or perhaps eternally revoke the benefits of being part of a community should someone deserve punishment. This may in turn lead to being exiled from the community. (JC)

“It started that way: laughing children, dancing men, crying women and then it got mixed up. Women stopped crying and danced; men sat down and cried; children

danced, women laughed, children cried until, exhausted and riven, all and each lay about the Clearing damp and gasping for breath. In the silence that followed, Baby

Suggs, holy, offered up to them her great big heart” (Morrison 103). This community supported each other by providing others to selflessly lend emotional care to one

another. (EC) “Years ago – when 124 was alive – she had women friends, men friends from all


around to share grief with. Then there was no one, for they would not visit her while the baby ghost filled the house, and she returned their disapproval with the potent

pride of the mistreated” (Morrison 112). This community punishes Sethe for killing her baby by turning their backs on her and ostracizing her. (EC)

“Otherwise the singing would have begun at once, the moment she appeared […] then no words. Humming. No words at all” (179). The community does not support Sethe

as they normally would to one of its members that has fallen. Rather than lend their support through healing hymns, they do little in the way of providing comfort. This is

to punish Sethe for being so proud. (EC) “’Why? Why he have to ask? Can’t nobody offer? What’s going on? Since when a

black man come to town have to sleep in a cellar like a dog?’” (219). Stamp Paid is condemning the actions of the community. Normally they would support one of their

own by providing whatever that person may need, but this time they are punishing this person by ignoring his needs. The unspoken rule, generally, is that everyone in the

community would help someone who is in need. (EC) “When she suddenly stopped coming, Lady Jones thought it was the nickel. She

approached the ignorant grandmother one day on the road, a woods preacher who mended shoes, to tell her it was all right if the money was owed” (290). Lady Jones is

able to provide support to her community by providing the education she has earned and giving it back to all of them, even free of charge. (EC)

“Every now and then, all through spring, names appeared near or in gifts of food. Obviously for the return of the pan or plate or basket; but also to let the girl know, if

she cared to, who the donor was, because some of the parcels were wrapped in paper, and though there was nothing to return, the name was nevertheless there”

(293). The community supports Denver by providing her need of food. They are able to allow Denver to survive in her dire time of need through their small kindnesses.(EC)

“She would hire herself out somewhere, and although she was afraid to leave Sethe and Beloved alone all day not knowing what calamity either one of them would create,

she came to realize that her presence in that house had no influence on what either


woman did. She kept them alive and they ignored her” (296). The members in the community of 124 punish each other by the quarrels they have against their interests.

They are in a toxic relationship in which they all detrimentally affect each other by their spiteful actions. (EC)

“‘I can’t live here. I don’t know where to go or what to do, but I can’t live here. Nobody

speaks to us. Nobody comes by’” (Morrison 17). Communities can punish their members by ostracizing them, either for who they are, what they do, or what they are

involved with. | “‘You can’t leave right away, Paul D. You got to stay awhile’” (Morrison 8). Inversely, members of a community support other members by being welcoming

and inviting them to connect and be involved in each other’s’ lives. | “It made them furious. They swallowed baking soda […] to calm the stomach violence caused by the

bounty, the reckless generosity on display at 124” (Morrison 162). Baby Suggs’ neighbors are disdainful of the life she has been able to live and how plentiful her

blessings are. They probably don’t want her as a part of their community because they believe she has not suffered enough. Therefore, they openly display their anger at

her. (J.L.)

“She shook her head. “Soft as cream. Being alive was the hard part. Sorry you missed

her though.” (7). Here, Paul D asked how badly his and Sethe’s daughter died. Here, Sethe’s old husband supports Sethe on the actions she took to protect her family

from living enslaved by the white folk. “Deep down in her wide black eyes, back behind the expressionlessness, was a palm held out for a penny which Denver would gladly give her, if only she knew how or knew enough about her…”(118). This displays

Denver’s drive to support Beloved whom she views as a member of her community; however, she is unable to do this due to the fact that she doesn’t know enough about

Beloved to really help. (M.M.)


“’Those white things have taken all I had or dreamed,’ she said, ‘and broke my heartstrings too’… 124 shut down and put up with the venom of its ghost. No more

lamp all night long, or neighbors dropping by” (Morrison 89). By going against her preached word, the community of runaway blacks punished Baby Suggs, and left 124,

feeling betrayed by the lie. “Nobody warned them, and he’d always believed it wasn’t the exhaustion from a long

day’s gorging that dulled them, but some other thing-like, well, like meanness-that let them stand aside, or not pay attention” (Morrison 157). This is a punishment for Baby

Suggs cooking an overindulgent feast for the celebration of her reunion with Sethe and her newborn.

“You pick any house, any house where colored live. In all of Cincinnati. Pick any one and you welcome to stay there. I’m apologizing because they didn’t offer or tell you.

But you welcome anywhere you want to be. My house is your house too” (Morrison 230). Stamp Paid felt guilty about scaring Paul D away from 124, so he tried to

support him in his low point by offering a place to stay. “Some brought what they could and what they believed would work. Stuffed in apron

pockets, strung around their necks, lying in the space between their breasts. Others brought Christian faith- as shield and sword. Most brought a little of both” (Morrison

257). While most of the townspeople did not know what to believe about Denver’s story, thirty of them showed up in front of 124, wanting to help Ella help Denver. (JD)

“A man could risk his own life, but not his brother's [by attempting to escape]. So the eyes said, ‘Steady now,’ and ‘Hang by me.’" (129)

In the escapees’ tight-knit community the men support each other by discouraging one another from breaking the rule. They all know no one want to endanger his brothers, so when someone was tempted all that was necessary

was a reminder no punishment. (T.A.)


“Days of healing, ease and real-talk. Days of company: knowing the names of forty, fifty other Negroes, their views, habits; where they had been and what done; of feeling

their fun and sorrow along with her own, which made it better... That's how she got through the waiting for Halle.” (111)

When Sethe arrives at 124 the community absorbs her and supports her through the troubling time that follows by making her one of its own. (T.A)

“But now she'd gone wild, due to the mishandling of the nephew who'd overbeat her and made her cut and run. Schoolteacher had chastised that nephew, telling him to

think--just think--what would his own horse do if you beat it beyond the point of education. Or Chipper, or Samson. Suppose you beat the hounds past that point that

away.” (176)

Sweet Home under the new regime is not governed by the mutual

respect that it was under the Garners. Instead, it is governed by fear and pain. The Schoolteacher uses this punishment after someone has disobeyed, but is

careful to not over punish or the slaves would run away. Therefore, his punishments are not to satisfy his ego but to obtain higher profits. (T.A.)

“…to belong to a community of other free Negroes--to love and be loved by them, to counsel and be counseled, protect and be protected, feed and be fed--and then to

have that community step back and hold itself at a distance---well, it could wear out even a Baby Suggs, holy.” (209)

Communities support each other by filling the gaps in each other's needs, whether the gaps are physical, as in hunger, or emotional, as in a lack of

love. When members of a community break the rules the rest of the community can withdraw their support as a punishment. This punishment is usually not

intended but is a product of alienation. (T.A.)


“Clever, but schoolteacher beat him anyway to show him that definitions belonged to the definers--not the defined” (225)

In communities comprised of both slaves and their masters breaking rules set by the masters often results in violent punishment, whether break in

the rules was warranted or not. This is one of the many reasons why abusive communities, in the book, and in reality, are so broken. (T.A.)

“She didn't want to jostle them or be jostled by them. Feel their judgment or their pity, especially now. She touched her forehead with the back of her wrist and blotted the

perspiration.” (225)

When community members treat someone differently, for any reason, it

makes that someone feel like less of a community member because they are not thought of as a community member first. Sethe is not thought of as “lovely

neighbor” but as “that poor, poor lady who killed her child and has almost no one”. This change is association is not done on purpose but withdraws the full

affection and protection offered by a community. (T.A.)

“You pick any house, any house where colored live. In all of Cincinnati. Pick any one

and you welcome to stay there. I’m apologizing because they didn’t offer or tell you. But you welcome anywhere you want to be. My house is your house too” (230)

Stamp Paid regrets not supporting one of his community members by being available to shelter him in a time of need with no expectations of

repayment or compensation of any kind. They support each other because that’s what healthy communities do. (T.A.)


In what ways (physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual) do we come to

understand our part in a community?

“You can’t do that. You can’t apologize for nobody. She got to do that...Excuse me,

but I can’t hear a word against her. I’ll chastise her. You leave her alone” (54). Sethe feels a maternal obligation to protect Denver from the criticism of Paul D., who has no

right to censure her daughter. “ ‘They used cowhide on you?’ And they took my milk.’ ‘They best you and you was

pregnant?’ ‘And they took my milk” (20). Milk is a symbol of Sethe’s motherliness, which she takes to the extreme. She is obsessed with her motherhood.

“The present alone interested Denver, but she was careful to appear inquisitive about the things she was dying to ask Beloved, for if she pressed too hard, she might lose the penny that the held-out palm wanted, and lose, therefore, the place beyond

appetite...So she did not ask Beloved how she knew about the earrings, the night walks to the cold house or the tip of the thing she saw…” (141). Denver understands

that Beloved has personal boundaries that she must not infringe upon. “Was that it? Is that where the manhood lay? ....In their relationship with Garner was

true metal: they were believed and trusted, but most of all they were listened to” (147). Paul D., conversely from Sethe, is obsessed with his manhood and wonders if he had

ever actually been a man. His philosophy is founded on the belief that he has the ability to protect as a man and that people need his male strength. This philosophy is

challenged many times however. “You see her you tell her I need her...Thank you” (275). Stamp wishes to see a certain

girl at his plantation. When he finds the chance he faithfully kills her to put her out of her literal misery because of the abuse she was receiving.

“He leans over and takes her hand. With the other he touches her face. ‘You your best thing, Sethe. You are.’ His fingers are holding hers” (322). Paul D tells Sethe that the

best thing that matters to someone is him or herself. Denver realizes the same thing in this quote: “It was a new thought, having a self to look out for and preserve...All he did


was smile and say, ‘Take care of yourself, Denver,’ but she heard it as though it were what language was made for” (297).

This illustrates the importance of independence in a community: before a community member can love his or her fellows, he or she must love him or herself.

“Denver served them both. Washing, cooking, forcing, cajoling her mother to eat a little now and then, providing sweet things for Beloved as often as she could to calm

her down” (295). Denver has realized that only she can provide for her family now, as Beloved is mentally a child and Sethe has become a metaphorical ragdoll of

Beloved’s. As a mother, Sethe must play the maternal role of the community. Each member of a

community has their own role in all four aspects: physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual. Physically Sethe must provide milk. Emotionally she must provide help

and support and protection. Spiritually she must tend to the ghost baby. Intellectually she lets Beloved stay and befriend Denver. In every role people feel a responsibility

towards the other members of the community. They must dutifully serve the needs of the community and only they themselves can do so. (JC)

“Paul D had only begun […] Saying more might push them both to a place they couldn’t get back from” (Morrison 86). “‘There’s a way to put [the bit] there and there’s

a way to take it out. I know em both and I haven’t figured out yet which is worse’” (Morrison 84). I feel these quotes is relevant here as well because of the mutual

emotional toils Paul D and Sethe remember. The emotional memories remind them of their place as survivors of a community ravaged by the evils of slavery. Additionally,

the physical pain Paul D recalls connects him to countless others who suffered similar trials, an extended community. (J.L.)

‘“A man ain’t nothing but a man,” says Baby Suggs. “But a son? Well now, that’s somebody.”’(23). This quote addresses the question at hand very well. In normal

circumstances, most people usually have to prove themselves to join a specific


community however children of those members can sometimes be the exception of this tend. Being born into a community usually cemented the individual in said

community. ‘“You did it, I saw you,” said Denver. “What?” “I saw your face. You made her choke.”’(101). This section shows Denver expressing shock and a hint of disbelief

toward Beloved’s attack. It shows that she belongs toward the family community and values their lives without doing anything to become part of the community. (M.M.)

“’Look here. I apologize for her. I’m real – ’ ‘You can’t do that. You can’t apologize for nobody. She got to do that.’

‘Then I’ll see that she does.’ She sighed. ‘What I want to know is, is she asking a question that’s on your mind too?’

‘Oh no. No, Paul D. Oh no.’ ‘Then she’s of one mind and you another? If you can call whatever’s in her head a

mind, that is.’ ‘Excuse me, but I can’t hear a word against her. I’ll chastise her. You leave her alone’”

(Morrison 54). Paul D understands his place in the community in this conversation with Sethe, as he

realizes that he has not much say regarding the parenting of Denver. (EC)

“Kneeling in the mist they waited for the whim of a guard, or two, or three. Or maybe all of them wanted it. Wanted it form one prisoner in particular or none – or all”

(Morrison 127). The prisoners here understand that in this primitive sort of community they have no place and the guards rule all. (EC) “Hearing the three of them laughing at something he wasn’t in on. The code they used

among themselves he could not break. Maybe even the time spent on their needs and not his. They were a family and somehow he was not the head of it” (155). Paul D

understands, on both an emotional and intellectual level, that he does not have the same place in the community of 124 as the other three. As an outsider, in the sense

he isn’t biologically part of Sethe’s family, Paul D. does not hold the same privileges as they do. He isn’t able to become the role of the father figure of the family. (EC)


“White people believed that whatever manners, under every dark skin was a jungle.

Swift unnavigable waters, swinging screaming baboons, sleeping snakes, red gums ready for their sweet white blood. In a way, he thought, they were right. The more

colored people spent their strength trying to convince them how gentle they were, how clever and loving, how human, the more they used themselves up to persuade

whites of something Negroes believed could not be questioned, the deeper and more tangled the jungle grew inside. But it wasn't the jungle blacks brought with them to

this place from the other (livable) place. It was the jungle whitefolks planted in them. And it grew. It spread. In through and after life, it spread, until it invaded the whites

who had made it. Touched them every one. Changed and altered them. Made them bloody, silly, worse than ever they wanted to be, so scared were they of the jungle

they had made. The screaming baboon lived under their own white skin; the red gums were their own” (234). Stamp paid comes to recognize the place whites and Africans

hold within their respective communities and toward one another. This intellectual reasoning is a profound reflection of race relations in that period (EC). While analyzing

the nature of racial differences in Cincinnati, Stamp defines many of the barriers between the white and colored communities as products a system of subordination

instituted by white people, “the Jungle whitefolks planted in them [African Americans].” This system is what, in Stamp’s mind, creates the roles for black people to play in the community. (T.A.)

“Then Sethe spit up something she had not eaten and it rocked Denver like a gunshot. The job she started out with, protecting Beloved from Sethe, changed to protecting

her mother from Beloved. Now it was obvious that her mother could die and leave them nothing and what would Beloved do then? Whatever was happening, it only

worked with three – not two – and since neither Beloved nor Sethe seemed to care what the next day might bring (Sethe happy when Beloved was; Beloved lapping

devotion like cream), Denver knew it was on her” (286). Denver now comes to intellectually realize her role in the community. Before, based on pure emotion, Denver

was afraid of Sethe repeating the killing of any of her children. However, Denver now


understands that Beloved is the threat, a leech weakening Sethe who will not be a threat. Denver realizes she must be the one to protect Sethe from Beloved and

change things in their community for the better. (EC)

“Denver kept her eyes on the road in case they were whitemen; in case she was walking where they wanted to; in case they said something and she would have to

answer them. Suppose they flung out at her, grabbed her, tied her” (288). From her past, Denver emotionally understands her role in the wider community. From stories of

her mother and Grandma Baby, Denver feels her role in the community is one of weakness, where in any moment, anything can impulsively force her into

misfortune.(EC)

“Then it seemed to Denver the thing was done: Beloved bending over Sethe looked

the mother, Sethe the teething child, for other than those times when Beloved needed her, Sethe confined herself to a corner chair” (295). Physically, emotionally, and

intellectually, Denver lays out the understanding of each person in the community of their role. Denver is simply the person to provide fuel to continue the community; no

more, no less. Sethe is emaciated, both physically and emotionally, and her role in the community is to arrange for all the needs of Beloved. And Beloved is there to make

Sethe suffer and serve her own needs. Physically, she has grown larger than Sethe and preys on her now for her own satiation.(EC)

“Denver thought she understood the connection between her mother and Beloved: Sethe was trying to make up for the handsaw; Beloved was making her pay for it. But

there would never be an end to that, and seeing her mother diminished shamed and infuriated her. Yet she knew Sethe’s greatest fear was the same one Denver had in the

beginning – that Beloved might leave” (295). Denver again provides insight to the understanding within the community. Sethe understands her role of attempting to gain

forgiveness from herself and Beloved. Beloved understands she has free reign for her own whims; acting as a child.(EC)

“That anybody white could take your whole self for anything that came to mind. Not

just work, kill, or maim you, but dirty you. Dirty you so bad you couldn’t like yourself


anymore. Dirty you so bad you forgot who you were and couldn’t think it up. And though she and other lived through and got over it, she could never let it happen to

her own” (295-6). This is Sethe’s spiritual, emotional, and intellectual understanding of her role in the community. She feels she has a duty to prevent her experience to pass

down to her children, that that is the greatest evil. Thus, she acts the way she does and establishes her role in the community.(EC)

“Edward Bodwin thought him an odd man, in so many ways, yet he had one clear

directive: human life is holy, all of it. And that his son still believed, although he had less and less reason to. Nothing since was as stimulating as the old days of letters,

petitions, meetings, debates, recruitment, quarrels, rescue and downright sedition. Yet it had worked, more or less, and when it had not, he and his sister made themselves

available to circumvent obstacles” (307). Spiritually and intellectually, Edward Bodwin has come to understand his part in the community as a defender of people in general,

African Americans specifically. From the beliefs of his father, Bodwin has established his role to defend the African Americans and provide anything to save them.(EC)

“He licked his lips. ‘Well, if you want my own opinion – ‘

‘I don’t,’ she said. ‘I have my own,’

‘You grown,’ he said” (314).

Denver has now grown up and Paul D. has come to understand that, in all ways,

Denver now has an independent role in the community.(EC)

“In fact there was something about him- when the three of them stood together watching Midget dance-that made the stares of other Negroes kind, gentle, something Denver did not remember seeing in their faces” (Morrison 48). Paul D goes around at

the carnival, being friendly and conversational. No one questions who he is, or what his background is (as far as we know), and it seems he assimilated quickly into the

community.


“’Good, ‘cause I got a lot of digging up to do.’ But the news they dug up was so pitiful she quit. After two years of messages written by the preacher’s had, two years of

washing, sewing, canning, cobbling, gardening, and sitting in churches, all she found out was that the Whitlow place was gone and that you couldn’t write to ‘a man named

Dunn’ if all you knew was that he went West” (Morrison 146-147). Members are a part of communities simply by their mere presence, because even though her family is not

with her, she still thinks of them as her close community. “Sethe had gone to bed smiling, eager to lie down and unravel the proof for the

conclusion she had already leapt to. Fondle the day and circumstances of Beloved’s arrival and the meaning of that kiss in the Clearing” (Morrison 181). Members are

inherently a part of the community should the other members not outcast you. “They forgot her like a bad dream. After they made up their tales, shaped and

decorated them, those that saw her that day on the porch quickly and deliberately forgot her… So they forgot her. Like an unpleasant dream during a troubling sleep”

(Morrison 274-275). Beloved was accepted into the community as soon as she showed up on the tree stump in part one. And just like that, as soon as she

disappears, she fades from the minds of those who saw and knew her. Her presence did not leave a hole in the lives of Sethe, Denver, and Paul D. (JD)

“Who [Baby Suggs] decided that, because slave life had ‘busted her legs, back, head, eyes, hands, kidneys, womb and tongue,’ she had nothing left to make a living with

but her heart-- which she put to work at once. Accepting no title of honor before her name, but allowing a small caress after it, she became an unchurched preacher” (102)

Baby Suggs evaluated what she was able to do and takes her place in her community in the only way she is physically able to. She chooses to embrace it. She helped to the best of her ability using what abilities she had left

to help with.(T.A.)


“Still, they [the Cherokee] protected each other as best they could. The healthy were sent some miles away; the sick stayed behind with the dead--to survive or join them.”

(131-132)

The Cherokee evaluated their abilities in whatever state they were in;

they used these evaluations to serve their community. Even if it meant burying the dead and caring for the sick while being just as sick. They helped to the

best of their abilities using what ability they could.(T.A.) “Halle was good, but he was debt-working all over the place. And when he did get

down to a little sleep, I didn't want to be bothering him with all that. Sixo was the biggest help. I don't 'expect you rememory this, but Howard got in the milk parlor and

Red Cora I believe it was mashed his hand. Turned his thumb backwards. When I got to him, she was getting ready to bite it. I don't know to this day how I got him out.

Sixo heard him screaming and come running.” (189)

Though Sixo does not have children of his own or experience caring for

children, helps out where he can make the largest difference. In this case, at this time, the issue where he could help the most happened to be helping

Sethe with her children.(T.A.) “Schoolteacher took away the guns from the Sweet Home men and, deprived of game

to round out their diet of bread, beans, hominy, vegetables and a little extra at slaughter time, they began to pilfer in earnest, and it became not only their right but

their obligation.” (225) In communities comprised of both slaves and masters, Places are set

by those to roles. The master dictates what is to be done and how rather than each member naturally falling into the role that he or she can perform best.

When this type of role setting is employed after a more Laissez Faire one it breeds dissent, as was the case with Sixo and the “stolen” meat.(T.A.)


Do members by their mere presence belong to a community, or must they

somehow prove themselves worthy?

“Now her mother was upstairs with the man who had gotten rid of the only other company she had. Denver dipped a bit of bread into the jelly. Slowly, methodically,

miserably she ate it” (23). Denver has never been part of Sweet Home so she feels like a stranger to Paul D and Sethe’s reunion. “Yet the morning she woke up next to Paul D, the word her daughter had used a few

years ago did cross her mind and she thought about what Denver had seen kneeling next to her, and thought also of the temptation to rust and remember that gripped as

she stood before the cooking stove in his arms...Would it be all right to go ahead and feel? Go ahead and count on something? She couldn’t think clearly…” (47). Sethe,

lacking a strong community to live with for many years, is careful and perhaps reluctant to rely on someone. But still she considers doing so to find her emotions

again. The fact that Paul D. influences her to consider so indicates that he is earning her trust.

“Late in the afternoon he got back to 124 and put two full buckets down on the porch. When Baby Suggs saw his shredded clothes, bleeding hands, welted face and neck

she sat down laughing out loud” (160). Stamp has already proven himself worthy to his community as he is completely altruistic with his generous offerings. For this

reason he is allowed in any African-American’s house in Cincinnati. “He tells her what he knows: Sixo is dead. The thirty mile woman ran, and he doesn’t

know what happened to [the rest]” (269). Paul D. attempts to keep track of the whereabouts of the Sweet Home men, but to no avail. He is trying to keep the Sweet

Home community together by presence. “But once Sethe had seen the scar, the tip of which Denver had been looking at...the

two of them cut Denver out of the games” (282). Somehow not having Beloved’s scar has made Denver unworthy of Sethe’s love. Yet is this really reasonable? Denver had


lived with Sethe longer than Sethe had. This lack of reason indicates that the community of 124 is starting to fall apart.

Community members must have experienced the community’s events firsthand to be considered a part of the community. There is no such thing as an absent community

member. In order to become a community member, he or she must trust the other members and rely on each other. Some members may even go out of their own way

to accomplish altruistic deeds simply for the benefit of the group (JC).

“He wanted her out, but Sethe had let her in and he couldn’t put her out of a house

that wasn’t his. It was one thing to beat up a ghost, quite another to throw a helpless colored girl out in territory infected by the Klan” (Morrison 79). Though Beloved does

show up in the community of Denver, Sethe, and Paul D, she hasn’t fully integrated into it. Paul D still has his reservations and hasn’t fully accepted her into the

community. (EC) “Where not one but two pots simmered on the stove; where the lamp burned all night

long. Strangers rested there while children tried on their shoes. Messages were left there, for whoever needed them was sure to stop in one day soon” (Morrison 102).

This community in 124 existed not by mere presence, but by sharing. Through the creation of a shared safe space where all the members were able to find food,

comfort, and help if they needed it, each member proved themselves worthy through their selflessness. However, even though they would leave 124, people in the

community still kept watch over it, never fully leaving. (EC) “’Guess they had a rough time in that house. Tell me, this here woman in your house. The cousin. She got any lines in her hands?’

‘No,’ said Denver.

‘Well,’ said Janey. ‘I guess there’s a God after all’” (299).

It is evident here that some members of the community Baby Suggs was a part of resented her and Sethe for never toiling on the plantation. They may not have fully

accepted them into the community because they didn’t have the shared experience of


the pain that came along with their kind of slavery. That is why Janey remarks on the fact Beloved doesn’t have any lines on her hands, marking her as one not working in

the fields also. Janey feels the pride that stemmed from Sethe never knowing that pain is finally coming back to haunt her, in the form of the pride another person not having

experienced that pain exacting demands.(EC)

“’Aw no. Hey. Lay off Denver, Paul D. That’s my heart. I’m proud of that girl She was the first one wrestle her mother down. Before anybody knew what they devil was

going on’” (313). While Denver was a part of the community in the town before taking responsibility of her mother, she has a much more established place after the fact. By

proving her capability, Denver has shown herself not to be simply a member of the community to be tolerated, but to be respected. And this comes with a multitude of

additional privileges.(EC)

“The restraint they exercised possible only because they were Sweet Home men—the

ones Mr. Garner bragged about” (Morrison 12). Often times, members of a community feel the need to prove their worth whether or not it is necessary. | “Sethe was thirteen

when she came to Sweet Home and already iron-eyed. […] Yet they let the iron-eyed girl be, so she could choose […]” (Morrison 12). Sethe simply arrived and the Sweet

Home men were already eager to integrate Sethe into their community as one of the men’s bride. | “The scent of disapproval lay heavy in the air” (Morrison 162). Baby

Suggs’ community does not approve of Baby Suggs’ abundance of goods and her relatively fortunate circumstance. She is not worthy to them. | “There the private hailed

a Union gunboat, which took all three aboard. Keane and Rossiter disembarked at Memphis to look for their commanders. The captain of the gunboat let Paul D stay

aboard all the way to Wheeling, West Virginia” (Morrison 317). Once individuals are free to interact with each other as a community, mere presence (without overriding

differences among individuals) can definitely be enough to establish individuals as members of a community, so long as they share some sort of common direction. (J.L.)


‘“Just let her be,” said Paul D. “I’m a stranger to her.”’(14). Here, Paul D comments on his disconnection from the woman that beared his children due to the many years he

had seen her last which shows how she became lost to the community. “He was accustomed to sex with Sethe just about every day, and to avoid the confusion

Beloved’s shining caused him he still made it his business to take her back upstairs in the morning, or lie down with her after supper,”(115). This quote shows that, although

Paul D. had been absent from Sethe for so long, he was still able to reconnect with her. The family connection and the recreation of the old family community still stayed

other all those years. (M.M.)

“’Well. I wanted, I didn’t want to, I just wanted to be off by myself a spell. He offered. Every time I see him he offers again’” (272). Paul D, by his mere presence, seems to

have a part in this community. They offer to care for him like one of their own when they see him in need, without reservation. It seems as if some communities integrate

new members merely by proximity. (EC)

“The return of Denver’s hearing, cut off by an answer she could not bear to hear, cut

on by the sound of her dead sister trying to climb the stairs, signaled another shift in the fortunes of the people of 124” (Morrison 103-104). Even though Sethe sent

Beloved ahead of her, and even though she died, Beloved still remains a part of the community of 124.

“She remembered when the yard had a fence with a gate that somebody was always latching and unlatching in the time when 124 was busy as a way station. She did not see the whiteboys who pulled it down, yanked up the posts and smashed the gate

leaving 124 desolate and exposed at the very hour when everybody stopped dropping by” (Morrison 163). Normally I would say that members of communities are

inseparable at the core, but in this case, 124 has been absolutely cut off from the normal community.

“‘I made that song up,’ said Sethe. ‘I made it up and sang it to my children. Nobody knows that song but me and my children.’ Beloved turned to look at Sethe. ‘I know it,’


she said” (Morrison 176). This is strong proof that no matter what happens, no matter how big or how small, you can never truly leave a community you were such a

relevant part in. “By and by all trace is gone, and what is forgotten is not only the footprints by the

water too and what it is down there” (Morrison 275). Beloved was purged from the memories and recollections of Sethe, Denver, and Paul D, so she was kicked out of

the community. They don’t recall anything, vague or detail, about her existence. (JD) Beloved only disappears from the community after leaving a long lasting effect with

Denver, Sethe and Paul D. Therefore, even though she does leave the community when she vanishes, she has left a permanent mark on the community. (T.A.)

“’Now at Sweet Home, my niggers is men every one of em. Bought em thataway, raised em that-away. Men every one.’” (12)

The Sweet Home Men were all raised together through their early 20s. This is how their community forms. However, Sethe joins it without much

turbulence when she arrives at the plantation; she also never needed to prove herself. Therefore, I think communities require a great deal of time or

extraordinary circumstances to form, but, once they do, one can join without having gone through those experiences or needing to prove him of

herself.(T.A.) “Decimated but stubborn, they [the Cherokee] were among those who chose a fugitive

life rather than Oklahoma.” (131)

This backwoods Cherokee community did have to prove themselves, but

only by choosing not to move to the reservation and to stay dedicated to their tribe, which, I think, has more to do with their mere presence and commitment

to those around them.(T.A.)


“[Mr. Garner,] who took them both [Halle and Baby Suggs] to Kentucky to a farm he called Sweet Home. Because of the hip she jerked like a three-legged dog when she

walked. But at Sweet Home there wasn't a rice field or tobacco patch in sight, and nobody, but nobody, knocked her down. Not once. Lillian Garner called her Jenny for

some reason but she never pushed, hit or called her mean names. Even when she slipped in cow dung and broke every egg in her apron, nobody said you-black-bitch-

what's-the-matter-with-you and nobody knocked her down.” (164)

Baby Suggs is bought by Mr. Garner and brought to Sweet Home. She

then builds a bond with Mrs. Garner and, a year later, Halle. She does not do anything to prove herself to the community; she just lives and works with

everyone in the community, so the community ends up absorbing her.(T.A.) “By luck he [Stamp] had been there at her [Denver] very birth almost--before she knew

she was alive--and it made him partial to her. It was seeing her, alive, don't you know, and looking healthy four weeks later that pleased him so much” (200)

Stamp became part of Sethe’s community though after they met. He helped her cross a river, but the reason he entered her community was his

presence in her life. After all, it was this presence that “made him partial to her” because he saw her “healthy four weeks later” and for the rest of her life up to

the present. (T.A.)

Once a part, can one ever truly leave a community?

“The old man sighed and, after a pause, said, “You want it back, then go ahead and

take it off that baby. Put the baby naked in the grass and put your coat back on. And if you can do it, then go on ‘way somewhere and don't’ [sic] come back” (107). Going


against a leader such as Stamp, especially with regards to helping fugitives, may most likely end unfavorably for whomever is brave enough to do so.

“[Halle] saw them boys do that to me and let them keep on breathing air? He saw? He saw? He saw? ...Sethe was pacing up and down, up and down…” (81). In Sethe’s

eyes, Halle failed her by not supporting her in her time of need. “Sweet, she thought. He must think I can’t bear to hear him say it. That after all I have

told him and after telling me how many feet I have, ‘goodbye’ would break me to pieces” (195). Paul D. still lingers in Cincinnati after he leaves, wondering whether or

not he should finally leave the community that supported him for this short spell. Yet even by exiting through the door he has already severed his relationship with Sethe.

“But it was more than appetite that humiliated him and made him wonder if schoolteacher was right. It was being moved, placed where she wanted him and there

was nothing he was able to do about it” (148). “And then she moved him. Just when doubt, regret and every single unasked question was packed away, long after he

believed himself…” (261). Beloved felt that Paul D. did not belong in the house and therefore displaced him.

“His coming is the reverse route of his going. First the cold house...before he tackles the beds...Paul D knows Beloved is truly gone” (310). Beloved’s departure is rather

mysterious. No one remembers her after she leaves. It is almost as if she had never existed, suggesting that her eerie behavior was not welcomed by most. It also indicates that Beloved’s presence, which drove Sethe mad, did not warrant her

membership in the 124 community. When a community member changes his or her lifestyle, or holds beliefs so far

removed from that of the rest of the group, he or she may leave the community. When a community member neglects to support another member, especially during a crucial

event, he or she MUST leave the community. Sometimes a deep hatred or awkwardness between two members makes leaving the community necessary,

especially if further communication is difficult. (JC)


“Nothing could be as good as the sex with her Paul D had been imagining off and on for twenty-five years” (Morrison 30). Even twenty-five years later, Paul D still has the

same desire for a fellow member of his community. He still sees the relation that could’ve been though it never existed, and not that there is a reunion of the two, Paul

D makes the most out of it. | “Sweet Home was tiny compared to the places she had been. Mr. Garner, Mrs. Garner, herself, Halle, and four boys […] made up the entire

population” (Morrison 164). After having spent time at Sweet Home, Baby Suggs will always compare it to other places she has been or goes to. She will always remember

the people she was with and the community that existed between them. This is why she is so accepting of Sethe as Sethe is of the community Suggs holds close to her

own heart. | “But my love was tough and she back now. I knew she would be” (Morrison 236). It is displayed here that Sethe is within the community of family along

with Beloved and acknowledges the fact that Beloved never left the community despite the circumstances of her death. A true community seeks to remain connected

through many various circumstances. (J.L.)

“Strong women and wise saw him and told him things that they could not tell each

other: the way past the change of life, desire in them had suddenly become enormous, greedy, more savage than when they were fifteen…”(17). Here, it is

described a person who takes the part of a community as someone whom the rest the women find attractive indicated by words like desire, savage, and fifteen which would

normally be when puberty starts. “She knew Paul D. was adding something to her life- something she wanted to count on but was scared to,”(95). This shows how Paul D. is gaining a role within Sethe’s community and family. By providing emotional and

physical support, he legitimizes his role. (M.M.)

“The other, Beloved, she knew less, nothing, about- except that there was nothing she

wouldn’t do for Sethe and that Denver and she'd like each other’s company” (Morrison 99). The emotional attachment between Beloved and Sethe is very strong,

as strong as the one forged from a lifetime of being Denver’s mother.


“Six or seven Negroes were walking up the road toward the house: two boys from the slave catcher’s left and some women from his right. He motioned them still with his

rifle and they stood where they were. The nephew came back from peeking inside the house, and after touching his lips for silence, pointed his thumb to say that what they

were looking for was round back” (Morrison 148-149). This is an example of knowing one’s physical place within a community (unfortunately) in the time period. This also

causes an intellectual placement for all the young blacks watching the events unfold at 124.

“You know as well as I do that people who die bad don’t stay in the ground” (Morrison 188). Nobody knows for sure what the spirits of the dead do, or where they go, but it

seems they stay in a spiritual version of our communities. “‘Paul D?’ ‘What, baby?’ ‘She left me.’ ‘Aw, girl. Don’t cry.’ ‘She was my best thing’”

(Morrison 272). Beloved’s return made such an impact on Sethe’s life that we don’t fully understand how impacted Sethe was until this scene. Sethe is spiritually

shattered when she lays on Baby Suggs’ bed, and Paul D also realizes this as he rubs her feet. (JD)

“‘How come everybody run off from Sweet Home can’t stop talking about it? Look like if it was so sweet you would have stayed.’” (16)

Sethe and Paul D. continually recall Sweet Home throughout the novel. Sometimes they remember the trees and not the boys swinging in them, other

times they remember a beautiful dress, but for better or worse they are stuck with The Sweet Home and The Sweet Home is stuck with them. (T.A.)

“It was some time before he could put Alfred, Georgia, Sixo, schoolteacher, Halle, his brothers, Sethe, Mister, the taste of iron, the sight of butter, the smell of hickory,

notebook paper, one by one, into the tobacco tin lodged in his chest. By the time he got to 124 nothing in this world could pry it open.” (133)


In this chapter, Paul D escapes slavery and attempts to escape his memories of it and The Sweet Home. He does manage to suppress these

memories, but I doubt he will be able to sustain this state, for, as seen in the previous quote, one cannot fully depart from any community. (T.A.)

"’You forgetting I knew her before,’ Paul D was saying. ‘Back in Kentucky. When she was a girl. I didn't just make her acquaintance a few months ago. I been knowing her

a long time. And I can tell you for sure: this ain't her mouth. May look like it, but it ain't.’" (185)

Here, Paul D asserts that he still recognizes Sethe and she is not the woman Stamp knew. Even though he is wrong I think Paul D does recognize

her but is just in a place in his life where he does not want to, especially when he learns she could be a person who murdered one of her children. (T.A.)

“The twenty-eight days of having women friends, a mother in-law, and all her children together; of being part of a neighborhood; of, in fact, having neighbors at all to call her

own--all that was long gone and would never come back” (204)

Sethe recalls the community she left and longs for the things

relationships that l left with it. However, even though Sethe broke many of the community’s rules, I do not she has left completely and I think some new

development in the story will reacquaint with the rest of the community. This new event will likely have to do with Beloved andher event departure.(T.A.)

“When they caught up with each other, all thirty, and arrived at 124, the first thing they saw was not Denver sitting on the steps, but themselves. Younger,

stronger, even as little girls lying in the grass asleep. Catfish was popping grease in the pan and they saw themselves scoop German potato salad onto the plate.” (305)

As the mob of curious and concerned neighbors make their way to the

front of 124, they recall the cheerful childhoods spent in and around that now


cursed building. It has been twenty years since the community there thrived, yet the memories are vivid. For, they are still part of that ancient community.

(T.A.)

“Where not one but two pots simmered on the stove; where the lamp burned all night long. Strangers rested there while children tried on their shoes. Messages were left there, for whoever needed them was sure to stop in one day soon” (Morrison 102).

This community in 124 existed not by mere presence, but by sharing. Through the creation of a shared safe space where all the members were able to find food,

comfort, and help if they needed it, each member proved themselves worthy through their selflessness. However, even though they would leave 124, people in the

community still kept watch over it, never fully leaving. (EC) “She was older, of course, and dressed like a chippy, but the girl was immediately

recognizable to Lady Jones” (290). Even though it has been years since Denver encountered Lady Jones, Lady Jones still remembers her. Lady Jones also takes her

in, showing how even if Denver though removed herself from the outside world for years, she was not able to remove herself from the community. The community, in the

form of Lady Jones, was ready to take her in and help her. (EC)

“All of them knew her grandmother and some had even danced with her in the Clearing […] Maybe they were simply nice people who could hold meanness toward each other for just so long and when trouble rode bareback among them, quickly,

easily they did what they could to trip him up. In any case, the personal pride, the arrogant claim staked out at 124 seemed to them to have run its course. They

whispered, naturally, wondered, shook their heads. Some even laughed outright at Denver’s clothes of a hussy, but it didn’t stop them caring whether she ate and it

didn’t stop the pleasure they took in her soft ‘Thank you’” (294). Again, even though the community within 124 had removed themselves from the wider community of the

town, they were not forgotton nor permanently torn from the community. Everyone still remembers them, their contributions, and are more than ready to help. Without


hesitation, they provide Denver with everything she needs to survive and are concerned about her, even though they haven’t interacted with the community in

years. There is little way to remove oneself from the community, unless everything that is shared between them is forgotten. (EC)

“He must think I can’t bear to hear him say it. That after all I have told him and after

telling me how many feet I have, ‘goodbye’ would break me to pieces” (195). Paul D. seems to leave the community within 124. However, even though he seems to have

left, I do not think he will remain forever separate from it. (EC)

What then do we know about the importance of community?

Community is the effect of connections individuals share with others who have had a

lasting personal effect on them in the past, the present, and/or the future to some extent. Amy Denver becomes a member of Sethe’s family’s community in an indirect

way in that she plays an integral role in and leaves a lasting impact on Sethe’s life. Because of this, we can see community is not limited to individuals who see each

other constantly, but those whose impression or effect is constant. “‘You hear? Say Miss Amy Denver. Of Boston’” (Morrison 100). | “In Sethe’s bed he knew he could put

up with two crazy girls—as long as She made her wishes known” (Morrison 154). Community has the ability to comfort an individual in very distinct ways. Especially when there is a sense of safety and openness within a certain community, bonds

formed between members of a community pave the way to comfortability and create an emotional safe haven for many. | “So thirty women made up that company and

walked slowly, slowly toward 124” (Morrison 303). Community provides the support an individual needs from the specific people that individual needs it from. Denver has

the support of a community who seeks to improve her life, change it for the better, and purge it of ailments. She never realized the community available to her, but once

she left the house and embarked on her own personal journey to save her mother and


herself, she discovered the group of individuals that was ready to come to her aid. (J.L.)

“And on the way home, although leading them now, the shadows of three people still

held hands” (59). Symbolically, holding hands is an indication of intimacy and friendship. “He wanted her out, but Sethe had let her in and he couldn’t put her out of a house

that wasn’t his. It was one thing to beat up a ghost, quite another to throw a helpless colored girl out in territory infected by the Klan” (79). The moral standards of Sethe’s

house keeps Beloved indoors. “This is worse than when Paul D came to 124 and she cried helplessly into the stove.

This is worse. Then it was for herself. Now she is crying because she has no self...Denver grabs the hem of Beloved’s skirt. ‘I thought you left me. I thought you

went back’ “ (145). Denver cannot bear the thought of losing her only companion Beloved. She needs her, and vice versa.

“Unless carefree, motherlove was a killer. What did he want her pregnant for? To hold on to her? have a sign that he passed this way? He probably had children everywhere

anyway” (155). Children keep families together because they require nourishment and resources from everyone older than them, as Sethe believes.

“ ‘Is that what run you off? Not what I told you ‘about Sethe...” (277). Beloved forced Paul D. out of the house, but Paul D. still desires to be close to Sethe.

“Maybe they were simply nice people who could hold meanness toward each other for just so long and when trouble rode bareback among them, quickly, easily they did

what they could to trip him up” (294). Although the black people of Cincinnati may occasionally not get along, in the end they all support each other. After all, the “meanness” is transient, but kindness lasts forever.

Community is a survival instinct. It provides the love humans need as a reason to keep living. It is also a means by which other humans may prevent their fellow humans from

being killed or dying. And community members want or need each other. For the most


part, they will do anything to stay in a community. In a sense, community forms a part of an individual. (J.C.)

“Years ago – when 124 was alive – she had women friends, men friends from all

around to share grief with. Then there was no one, for they would not visit her while the baby ghost filled the house, and she returned their disapproval with the potent pride of the mistreated” (Morrison 112). The community was important to Sethe,

before they ostracized her. Before, they were a pillar of support, offering assistance if she needed it to progress through ordeals. Before they left her, Sethe was more or

less stable and happy. However, when they did leave her nearly without a community, she fell into this state and has ever since been frustrated in mind and body. This also

affected Baby Suggs as well, for she resigned the rest of her life after the community left them for Sethe’s actions. (EC)

“She mentioned her church’s committee invented so nobody had to go hungry. That agitated her guest who said, ‘No, no,’ as though asking for help from strangers was

worse than hunger, Lady Jones said goodbye to her and asked her to come back anytime” (292). The community was able to provide support to Denver in her time of

need. Without the support of the community, the community within 124 may have perished. Without community, we as humans have a significantly less chance of

survival. (EC)

“The heat kept a few women who promised to go at home. Others who believed the

story didn’t want any part of the confrontation and wouldn’t have come no matter what the weather. And there were those like Lady Jones who didn’t believe the story

and hated the ignorance of those who did. So thirty women made up that company and walked slowly, slowly toward 124” (303). By interfering, the community of the

town has shown that they care. And by caring, providing the intervention that the Sethe needed, they saved her and her whole family. Their support, even in the face of

past transgressions, was vital in salvaging the bonds of the community. (EC)


“He cares about how he left and why. When he looks at himself through Ganer’s eyes, he sees one thing. Through Sixo’s, another. One makes him feel righteous. One

makes him feel ashamed” (315). The community is important in the way that it shapes its constituents’ lenses. By participating in a community, our perspective on life is

shifted and we are changed. In addition, by participating in a community, we influence others, and through communities society can be affected. (EC)

“’Sethe,’ he says, ‘me and you, we got more yesterday than anybody. We need some

kind of tomorrow’” (322). The bonds one another forge together to form a community are vital. Without them, when we do fall, as Sethe has, then there would be no support

to save us. We would be isolated in our own selfish interests and there would be little to tie us together toward the common goal of happiness. The experiences that come

with a community are also integral in our lives. One common community, marriage, is seen as a vital part of many people’s lives. Without communities, everything would be

permanently changed. (EC) “Otherwise the singing would have begun at once, the moment she appeared in the doorway of the house on Bluestone Road. Some cape of sound would have quickly

been wrapped around her, like arms to hold and steady her on the way. As it was, they waited till the cart turned about, headed west to town. And then no words.

Humming. No words at all” (179). Community is very important in this instance. It has the power to break or destroy a person. If the Baby Suggs’ community supported

both her and Sethe, they might not have gone through such an ordeal. Baby Suggs’ may not have retreated into her home and Sethe may have been able to heal and

come to terms with her actions much sooner. Instead, the community used its power to instill the fractures deeper into their souls. They compelled Baby Suggs to retreat all

the more readily and Sethe to isolate her family, hurting everyone. (EC)

“Given to her, no doubt, to make up for hearing that [Baby Suggs’] two girls, neither of whom had their adult teeth, were sold and gone and she had not been able to wave

goodbye.”(23). It’s events such as these that really bring out some of the most


important values of a community. Here, Baby Suggs is reflecting upon Sethe’s luck in having most of her family with her much longer than would be expected of the typical

African slave in the United States. Communities can provide a support network in helping those who have been morally and/or physically destroyed by a certain

catastrophic event. “Days of company: knowing the names of forty, fifty other Negroes, their views, habits; where they had been and what done; of feeling their fun

and sorrow along with her own, which made it better,”(95). This quote shows that, most importantly, a community, whether it be direct or indirect, can serve as a support

group. These groups can hold individuals many of whom might have been in a worse disposition alone, in a better state. This allows them to go along with their lives easier.

(M.M.)

“On her mind was the supper she wanted to fix for Paul D- something difficult to do,

something she would do just so- to launch her newer, stronger life with a tender man” (Morrison 99). A loving community can be one of the strongest driving factors for a

man/woman to become a better, more caring person, and we see here Sethe wanting to re energize her relationship with Paul D.

“He moved slowly and when he got there he opened it before asking Sethe to put supper aside for him because he might be a little late getting back only then did he

put on his hat… ‘So long,’ she murmured from the far side of the trees” (Morrison 165). Obviously being a part of a strong and deep community helps the person

become a stronger emotional character, and because Sethe and Paul D aren’t exactly in the same state of mind, the “forest” that grows between eventually forces Paul D to leave the house for a bit to clear his head.

“And a oil lamp in a cellar was sad, so Paul D sat on the porch steps and got additional warmth from a bottle of liquor jammed in his coat pocket. Warmth and red

eyes… His tobacco tin, blown open, spilled contents that floated freely and made him their play and prey” (Morrison 218). Stamp Paid crushed Paul D’s spirit with the

revelation of Sethe’s past, and he feels unable to live with her.


“Maybe they were simply nice people who could hold meanness toward each other for just so long and when trouble rode bare-backs among them, quickly, easily they

did what they could to trip him up” (Morrison 249). The community, with all their differences, pull together during crisis and crisis-like situations. Is it important for the

individuals to have a strong community to be a part of. (JD)

“Days of healing, ease and real-talk. Days of company: knowing the names of forty,

fifty other Negroes, their views, habits; where they had been and what done; of feeling their fun and sorrow along with her own, which made it better. One taught her the

alphabet; another a stitch. All taught her how it felt to wake up at dawn and decide what to do with the day. That's how she got through the waiting for Halle.” (111) Community heals. (T.A.) “A man could risk his own life, but not his brother's [by attempting to escape]. So the

eyes said, ‘Steady now,’ and ‘Hang by me.’" (129) Community members look out for one another’s best interests.(T.A.) “They were young and so sick with the absence of women they had taken to calves. Yet they let the iron-eyed girl be, so she could choose in spite of the fact that each

one would have beaten the others to mush to have her.” (12) Community members hold their peers respect in high esteem. (T.A.) “Still, they [the Cherokee] protected each other as best they could. The healthy were sent some miles away; the sick stayed behind with the dead--to survive or join them.”

(131-132)

Community members help each other in whatever way they can. (T.A.)


“‘How come everybody run off from Sweet Home can’t stop talking about it? Look like if it was so sweet you would have stayed.’” (16) Community stays with its members, forever. (T.A.) “Decimated but stubborn, they [the Cherokee] were among those who chose a fugitive life rather than Oklahoma.” (131)

Membership in a community is not granted by prior members, but the actions and individual takes or is forced to take that brings him or her in alignment with the group of people who comprise that community. (T.A.)

“Halle was good, but he was debt-working all over the place. And when he did get down to a little sleep, I didn't want to be bothering him with all that. Sixo was the

biggest help. I don't 'expect you rememory this, but Howard got in the milk parlor and Red Cora I believe it was mashed his hand. Turned his thumb backwards. When I got

to him, she was getting ready to bite it. I don't know to this day how I got him out. Sixo heard him screaming and come running.” (189)

Community members do their best to benefit the community. This dictates their role they play, but that role may be one of many that are active at

the same times or different times. (T.A.)

“to belong to a community of other free Negroes--to love and be loved by them, to

counsel and be counseled, protect and be protected, feed and be fed--and then” (209)

Community members fill the gaps in each other and make us feel whole. This is why we can feel empty when we withdraw from a community and do not

gravitate toward another. (T.A.)


“She didn't want to jostle them or be jostled by them. Feel their judgment or their pity, especially now. She touched her forehead with the back of her wrist and blotted the

perspiration” (209)

Communities punish often punish their members without meaning to

through judgment and pity, but these types punishment are often worse than purposeful ones. (T.A.)


Documents

Chhang, Lebrilla, Menin, Alamin, Duran, Chen 1...Chhang, Lebrilla, Menin, Alamin, Duran, Chen 2 “Denver don’t like for me to talk about it. She hates anything about Sweet Home”