Entry #2 Close Reading New Historicism Lens: Erin

"this nineteen-year-old slavegirl-- a year older than herself-- walking through the dark woods to get to her children who are far away. She is tired, scared maybe, and maybe even lost. Most of all she is by herself and inside her is another baby she has to think about too. Behind her dogs, perhaps guns probably; and certainly mossy teeth. She is not so afraid at night because she is the color of it, but in the day every sound is a shot or a tracker's quiet step." (pg. 91)

In this passage we see a terrifying journey for most slaves when they are running away. This passage alludes to the few runaway slaves who make the journey to the free north. The phrase "a tracker's quiet step" alludes to the fact that she is a runaway as she is scared of being caught. Many slaves ran to the north to escape the cruelty and beatings on the plantations. But to be caught was terrible as there was the fear of punishment back at the plantation where she would be sold, raped, whipped, or separated from her children as she has a "baby she has to think about too". Sethe is scared for herself and her baby because if she is caught her baby will be a slave. She is thinking about her children's future as she sent "her children[...] far away" so they could escape first. Many mothers were separated form their children on the auction block and Sethe is scared that this will happen to her and her children.

For many slave women rape was common as women of any race was seen as property. The use of the phrase "mossy teeth" that has been alluded to before in the book. Sethe talks about mossy teeth when she is referring to when she was raped. As most people did not take very good care of their teeth that is a detail that Sethe remembered as they took her milk. We also learn that a "Schoolteacher" watched his boys rape her while he took notes. This memory from a story demonstrates how much Sethe is haunted by her past slavery because she is terrified of "mossy teeth". Many slaves sustained psychological damage from slavery because of all the practices employed by slave owners to dehumanize African Americans.

Toni Morrison shows her respect for African American heritage by making Sethe sound brave and courageous. When Denver tells the story to Beloved she is identifying with Sethe as she says that her mother was "a year older than herself". This makes Sethe very brave for Denver as she 18 and has not done anything like that. Having three children at a young age was very common for people back then but it is hard for Americans to imagine now. The fact that Sethe ran away when she was "nineteen-year[s]-old and with a baby on the way makes her extraordinarily brave for a lot of people. Toni Morrison shows her pride in black heritage by showing this brave, strong character.