Sunday, July 11, 2010
Beloved, Give Me "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
Reading Beloved I can see the meaning behind writing. It is a very strong message about the horrors of slavery. The United States was founded upon the principle that all men are created equal, but what really happened was a different story. The U.S. was not the biggest slave nation in the world but surly has made a mark on the history of the world's slave trade. Today we still feel the effects of this, as many people wrote about in their descriptions of discriminatory acts. The book sent a powerful message. I'm not saying that because it won an award, but because of the way it was written. At times I felt I was swimming in a pool jello with the occasional stab of a syringe. With an, "Oh, that's nice, get me the hell outta here." The theme of the book is the effects psychologically that slaves felt. I have been so far removed from slavery that it is had for me to realize the impact that it really made on the people involved and the nation. What we see now in this nation is simply the dregs of the issues that started in the slave era. What I don't understand is why it won the Pulitzer prize. By my previous statements you might wonder why? Yes, it was a powerful message, but it was painful to get through. OK, so your life sucks and your house might be haunted, get the hell out of there. The demons of slavery will chase you anywhere, that is why none of the characters were willing to talk about their past life in Sweet Home. I know that Morrison was sending a message that slavery is more than a crime that once relieved of, is all forgotten. But the story of her killing her children in the barn and the complete exception of Beloved is nonsensical. How did Sethe not question the reasons for Beloved's existence or at least her stay at the house? Perchance I am coming down on this book too hard but it was not a Pulitzer prize winner. Indian Killer had me hanging on every page, while Beloved was laborsome. Give me Uncle Tom's Cabin any day before this desperate mother's love of a fictitious poltergeist. I was really hoping Pauly D would say no to the pussy and kill that braud, but no such luck. Instead, he wants Sethe's baby and it gets really Maury Povich. I liked it for the message it sent but the execution was dreadful. I'm hoping Kingston doesn't leave me with such dissatisfaction.
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Hit the nail right on the head. I thought the message of Beloved was fantastic. showing that slavery was not simply finished after the Civil War and that its web of problems continued for many years after and are still going on today, but my God was this book hard to wade through. I felt like I was trying to cut my way through the tropical rain forest with a butter knife. The movie helped me to understand the book a lot better but it was simply the most fucked up movie Ive ever seen. When you read certain scenes in the book you think they are more metaphorical but when you see them acted out you are just like excuse me, what the fuck just happened. I totally agree that the theme and ideas and lessons to be learned from the book are great but the means of transport was very strange. And also the character of Beloved in the movie has haunted my nightmares... Shudder.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the book it taught me a lesson about the slave era. How it was not easy living during that time period. It was a very emotional book the message to the book was a powerful one. It was a disturbing book to read because of how detailed the parts are. It was a bit disturbing at times i was thinking is this really happening right now. I know this is still hapening today in other countries of the world. Where they sell the slaves and make them work. When they hurt and beat them for no reason it really makes me sick. This book took me forever to read. It was hard to understand what was going on at certain parts of the story. She kept on going back to how it was living at sweet home. I was making myself read because this book was so hard to get into the story. I rented the movie and watched it. After the movie it made more sense to what was going on. I had to skip through some of the parts becuase it was to disturbing to watch. I am glad we read this book because it taught me that i very luck with life because it could be a lot worse.
ReplyDeleteI had to comment on this as I laughed when I read the last 2-3 lines of your post. I agree with you on some points but I think that Morrison's ability to shock and make people feel the devistation of what slavery is like is why it won a Pulitzer prize. It isn't really a story that I would recommend to anyone to read, but agree with you that it sends a strong message about slavery. I agree 100% about Indian Killer being much easier to read compared to Beloved. I think that it would have had a better impact if it would have been easier to read. She probably did it so that people would have to think about it in more depth, but I think it detracts from the book. It's been years since I've seen the movie, but remember it being hard to understand and a little out there. The most vivid thing I remember about the movie is Beloved though, and how creepy she was.
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