A Choke Cherry Tree... Close Reading

"I got a tree on my back and a haint in my house, and nothing in between but the daughter I am holding in my arms. No more running-- from nothing. I will never run from another thing on this earth. I took one journey and paid for the ticket, but let me tell you something, Paul D Garner: it cost too much. Sit down and eat with us or leave us be."

"What tree on your back?..." 

"What tree on your back? is something growing on your back? I don't see nothing growing on your back." 

"It's there all the same."

"Who told you that?" 

"Whitegirl. That's what she called it. I've never seen it and never will. But that's what she said it looked like. A chokecherry tree. Trunk, branches, and even leaves. Tiny little chokecherry leaves. But that was eighteen years ago. Could have cherries to for all I know ." (pg 18).                                                

In this quote there are two major things happening. The first part of the quote Sethe reveals a true inner thought of how she's had enough of world has given her but from now on she's embracing every moment of what life has in plan for her, despite her past hardships and future ones to come as well. The second part of this quote was what really got my attention. At first when reading that Sethe said she had a "tree" growing on her back I was just as confused as Paul D when he first heard that out of The mouth. I then took into historical context of when Sethe was a child and still a slave because that's when the "whitegirl" told her she had "chokecherry tree" growing on her back. I then realized that that "chokecherry tree" on Sethe backs was due to the fact that she was whipped when she was still a slave and were the scars from those whippings. I believe that since maybe the little white girl that told Sethe she had that tree on her back was because she never actually witness when the slaves were getting whipped and never noticed any scars like that on other white people. So the little white girl was probably fascinated by Sethe whip marks and instead of seeing the actual dark truth behind it she saw the beauty behind these lash marks. She made Sethe believe that there was this beautiful chokecherry tree growing on her back with actual "branches" and "leaves" coming out of it. Sethe accepts that there's an actual tree growing on her back because she states how she paid the price for this life and is embracing every moment. If Paul D wants to walk out she won't do any to change his decision because no matter what she's not leaving the house despite if haunted or not.

         The other main part when Sethe gives a speech to Paul D on why she isn't running from anyone or anything anymore. She got defensive when Paul D felt the bad presence in Sethe house and wanted to leave. She’s tired of running because we can tell through context that her life previously as a slave has been the worst. She’s been whipped, beat, and probably raped. She accepts that everything has been happening for a reason and since all her kids ran out her and doesn't feel no affection for anyone else willing to run out on her. She’s happy living how she is and is staying with her beloved baby because she knows shes not the only person with a haunted house with the presence of a angry black baby. Even Paul D openly admitted that beloved isn't the only angry black baby for all the oppression they have been through and woudn’t blame them for their anger on having a negative spiritual presence. That’s probably the main reason why Sethe doesn’t want to leave her house despite the bad spiritual presence because she feels for what beloved feels of all the negative impacts that slavery has had on Seth which affected beloved as well which i'm sure of.

Runnin' through that Lens with my Crit

Toni Morrison’s Beloved is so profound and difficult to interpret, most people consider it as a “challenge” to read. My interpretation of Beloved will be read through a psychoanalytic lens because, character development and character analysis are apparent in almost every novel. I always read through a psychoanalytic lens because, almost every highly critiqued novel or text can be read through a psychoanalytic lens. Sigmund Freud introduced the whole idea of psychology and the importance of the science behind what goes on inside of one our most vital organs, the brain. We use this tool for our everyday reading, and while sometimes unknowingly, we dive deep into the minds of characters to analyze and critique their motives and how their agendas fair in the plot of the story. 

With this lens we are also able to analyze behavioral trends, and psychological critiques of the author. The ability to understand the author’s perspective, word choice, and choice of theme is important to understanding the full scope of the story. Frankly, popular interpretations of old text are built upon the psychoanalytic critique. From Homer to Shakespeare, the psychological premise of every author is different in its own unique and desirably fascinating way. Having to choose between this lens and a marxist lens was a hard choice for me, but ultimately I decided to go with a psychoanalytic lens because I value the importance of character motives and personal experience. 

Why I chose this lens

The dispute whether men are better than woman, or "where exactly does the woman belong?" has been around for ages.  Is it at home cooking and cleaning? Or perhaps raising their children while the men is out working, out with colleagues, out having fun? I chose to read Beloved by Toni Morrison through a feminist lens because even though times have change and the woman is a working woman now, Men are still intimidated by woman with power. We still have men that tell women where they supposedly belong. As a young woman I will like to compare my life with this book. I believe that woman should be treated equally, and have rights. The Marxism lens is somewhat like the feminine lens, it is comparing the different class levels/race. How they treat each other, I was considering this lens, because I also believe that all races should be treated equally. I’m looking forward to understanding why women had less power than man, and to really dig down why men put the women down.

Why I Chose This Lense...

I chose the psychoanalytic lens because I like analyzing the character personal and inner thoughts. How maybe some characters personal alter Ego because more of them.  It’s amazing being inside someone head and hearing their personal thoughts and what's happening during a current event and how they process what they see or do. The other lens didn't really get to me because in my opinion they seem to simple, but people's inner thoughts is what the gold pot is to me. My previous experience with this topic is great because reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao was also a novel about his whole family going through some sort of struggle. I got to analyze in depth of each family member inner thoughts through diction of how they overcame their struggle and what their initial thoughts were in that moment of their personal struggle. I believe that this lens gives us a deeper meaning of the book and the actual themes covered behind these characters “masks.” The other lens I was considering was the feminist lens because it’s amazing how women stand up for themselves despite the dictatorial power that men might have over them, but make a stand for themselves in not taking any orders. What I’m hoping to get out of this project is the learning skills that will make college easier coming to English with these skills already learned and advanced knowledge of at least two lens.

Why I chose the Psychoanalytic Lens

Toni Morrison’s Beloved is so profound and difficult to interpret, most people consider it as a “challenge” to read. My interpretation of Beloved will be read through a psychoanalytic lens because, character development and character analysis are apparent in almost every novel. I always read through a psychoanalytic lens because, almost every highly critiqued novel or text can be read through a psychoanalytic lens. Sigmund Freud introduced the whole idea of psychology and the importance of the science behind what goes on inside of one our most vital organs, the brain. We use this tool for our everyday reading, and while sometimes unknowingly, we dive deep into the minds of characters to analyze and critique their motives and how their agendas fair in the plot of the story. With this lens we are also able to analyze behavioral trends, and psychological critiques of the author. The ability to understand the author’s perspective, word choice, and choice of theme is important to understanding the full scope of the story. Frankly, popular interpretations of old text are built upon the psychoanalytic critique. From Homer to Shakespeare, the psychological premise of every author is different in its own unique and desirably fascinating way. Having to choose between this lens and a marxist lens was a hard choice for me, but ultimately I decided to go with a psychoanalytic lens because I value the importance of character motives and personal experience.

Why I chose this lens Entry 1

The psychoanalytic lens is more interesting to me than any other lens because I really feel as though this is an area of study that I want to keep learning about. My previous experience with this is that I have taken a psychology class both at Summit and at a community college; and when I did I wanted to keep learning more about why people do/say the things they do. When reading I will want to keep in mind the ego, id and superego, because I feel that these will help explain the reactions the characters display afterwards. I do believe that sometimes so many things happen that when we say things, down below we say/do it for a reason, that we may not realize right then. I have considered other lenses, but they did not bring about the same amount that the psychoanalytic brought to me. By the end of this project I hope to get out a better understanding of what happened in the story the importance of the interactions between characters.