Here, in the comments section, add quotations which add to Morrison's "red" motif.
You may also discuss why you think she includes this motif. What theme does it hint at?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
In this blog we will explore Toni Morrison's masterpiece by posting discussion questions, responding to classmates' comments, and researching interesting topics further.
Guidelines:
1. All language must be academic and school appropriate.
2. Avoid digression as much as possible; be sure your line of discussion relates the novel and expands the class's knowledge/exploration in an obviously meaningful way.
3. CITE SOURCES
2. Avoid digression as much as possible; be sure your line of discussion relates the novel and expands the class's knowledge/exploration in an obviously meaningful way.
3. CITE SOURCES
How much do you like this novel?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThere's a motif going on about Paul D's "red heart." Two quotations I found are:
ReplyDelete"He would not pry it loose now in front of this sweet, sturdy woman, for if she got a whiff of the contents it would shame him. And it would hurt her to know that there was no red heart bright as Mister's comb beating in him (86)."
"Beloved," he said it, but she did not go. She moved closer with a footfall he didn't hear and he didn't hear the whisper that the flakes of rust made either as they fell away from the seams of his tobacco tin. So when the lif gave he didn't know it. What he knew was that when he reached the inside part he was saying, "Red heart. Red heart," over and over again. Softly and then so loud it woke Denver, the Paul D himself. "Red heart. Red heart. Red heart (137-138)."
These quotations are included to discuss Paul D's troubled past, and how his relationship with Sethe may not be what's best for the two.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMadelyn Eltringham and Sarah Braviak
ReplyDelete“Reaching for it, he thought it was a cardinal feather stuck to his boat. He tugged and what came loose in his hand was a red ribbon knotted around a curl of wet woolly hair, clinging still to its bit of scalp. He untied the ribbon and put it in his pocket, dropped the curl in the weeds. On the way home, he stopped short of breath and dizzy. He waited until the spell passed before continuing on his way. A moment later, his breath left him again” (Morrison, 112-13).
“He kept the ribbon; the skin smell nagged him, and his weakened marrow made him dwell on Baby Suggs’ wish to consider what in the world was harmless. He hoped she stuck to blue, yellow, maybe green, but never fixed on red” (Morrison, 213).
“Whitepeople believed that whatever the manners, under every dark skin was a jungle. Swift navigable waters, swinging screaming baboons, sleeping snakes red gums ready for their sweet white blood” (Morrison, 234).
The color red is associated with, and is a symbol of, the blood the African-American people shed during the time of slavery. When the characters think about, see, or are associated with the color red they are taken back into those memories and hit with strong emotional pain. The color may also serve the purpose of foreshadowing a happening involving those feelings. Morrison includes this motif to connect the pain the characters feel with the reader. When this specific color is mentioned a serious, grave tone is immediately associated with the event. Stamp Paid hopes Baby Suggs never thought of red before she died, the red ribbon is taken from the scalp of a girl which is horrifying; anytime red is brought up, Morrison wants the reader to know there is pain involved.
Kyra Reger, Kylie Brienza, and Keila Perez-Vega:
ReplyDelete“Red Motif” Throughout the novel, the color red is mentioned a great deal. From what we have read, two references stand out to us: Amy Denver’s search for red velvet and Paul D “red heart”.
Amy -- “…You could get money if you turned a runaway over, and she wasn’t sure this girl Amy didn’t need money more than anything, especially since all she talked about was getting some velvet…Carmine.” (90-94)
Paul D-- “…as they fell away from the seams of his tobacco tin. So when the lid gave he didn’t know it…’Red heart. Red heart’.” (138)
Each quote represents two completely different aspects of the “Red Motif”. In Amy Denver’s case, the color red demonstrates hope for a better future and dreams being fulfilled. Paul D, on the other hand, the color red represents repressed feelings and emotions.
“‘It’s a tree, Lu. A chokecherry tree. See, here’s the trunk- it’s red and split wide open, full of sap, and this here’s the parting for the branches. You got a mighty lot of branches’” (93).
ReplyDeleteI think Morrison uses the color red to hint at abuse and bloodshed. She tells the bleeders’ stories: those who bled because they chose to, and those who bled because they were victims.
"He would keep the rest where it belonged: in that tobacco tin buried in his chest where a red heart used to be. Its lid rusted shut. He would not pry it loose now in front of this sweet sturdy woman, for if she got a whiff of the contents it would shame him. And it would hurt her to know that there was no red heart bright as Mister's comb beating in him."
ReplyDelete"Now the iron was back but the face, softened by hair, mad him trust her enough to step inside the door smack into a pool of pulsing red light." (11)
"Paul D looked at the spot where the grief had soaked him. The red was gone but a kind of weeping clung to the air where it had been." (11)
Morrison uses the color red as a motif because it is the color of blood. The book is about overcoming the challenges of slavery. Red blood is a symbol of hard work, labor, pain, and violence. However, Amy wants nothing more than red velvet. This is a symbol of wealth. In this sense, red is symbolizing overcoming troubling past and making the best of the future.
ReplyDelete"And him. Eighteen seventy four and white folks were still on the loose. Whole towns wiped clean of Negroes; eighty-seven lynchings 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 (212)".
ReplyDeleteMorrison's motif of the color red is symbolic of the bloodshed of the African American slaves. Beaten and abused they both mentally, emotionally, and physically bled. Red is a harsh color and can be used to represent many things. It's strong color with different meanings. However it's importance in the story is prominent.
Paul D and the color red have been used together a lot. Even from the beginning:
ReplyDelete"Paul D looked at the spot where the grief had soaked him. The red was gone but a kind of weeping clung to the air where it had been." (11)
Paul has a lot of sadness and heartache inside him. For multiple reasons, be it his experience with Sweet Home or his constant love for Sethe that is never returned (unless taken in a non-serious manner). Red in 'Beloved' often represents multiple things, like blood, or anger, or anguish. Red has mostly been incorporated with emotions, and those emotions are usually of high energy and the ones that arouse conflict, violence, or even death.
Red in 'Beloved', in my opinion, represents the emotions that we feel on the most occasion. And the emotions that are able to shift our lives, as it did for the slaves.
"Red heart, red heart" - 138
ReplyDelete"They fought then, like rivals over the heart of the loved, they fought. Each struggling for the nursing child. Baby Suggs lost when she skipped in a red puddle and fell" - 179
"Sixo was the biggest help. I don't' 'spect you remember this, but Howard got in the milk parlor and Red Cora I beleive it was mashed in his hand" - 189
"Swift unnavigable waters, swinging, screaming baboons, sleeping snakes, red gums ready for their sweet white blood" - 234