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“Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.”

Dear Narrator:

Throughout the story, you had an extraordinary way of narrating, existing outside the characters’ world. Your perspective paints a vivid picture, revealing the thoughts and actions of each character while remaining unnamed yourself. It’s fascinating how you describe Beloved in a similarly mysterious way, as someone whose origins and existence are unclear. This parallel between you and Beloved’s seemingly supernatural existences leads me to wonder if there is a connection between the two despite the truthful ways in which you describe her harmful behavior.

Even after Beloved’s departure, her presence lingers, as Sethe will always yearn for her daughter. The pain/ guilt she is feeling cannot simply vanish and your insistence that she is forgotten reflects your own desire to move past her. The trauma beloved embodies, seems to be affecting everyone, including you, in this story and its important to remember that trying to forget doesn’t make her go away. One must process the events surrounding Beloved, and confront/ accept them, allowing her memory to transform into understanding and peace.

Your narrative demonstrates the importance of remembering rather than forgetting. To heal and grow, one must acknowledge what happened rather than bury it. This truth, the pain and resilience of those enslaved, should not be erased but remembered in order honor and respect their struggles. Similarly, your depiction of memory, trauma, and identity resonates deeply, illustrating that facing the truth, no matter how brutal, is essential for moving forward.

Your writing does a great job showing the emotions and history in the story. You help us to understand the lives of enslaved women and the awful choices they had to make for their safety and freedom. It’s a hard story to read, but it’s definitely an important one because it shows a part of history in a way and detailedness we don’t often see. Thank you for telling it so well and helping readers see this history in a powerful way.

Love, Evelyn

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“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.”

Dear Baby Suggs,

You are so inspirational and impactful to those around you. Being a preacher to your community helped so many. You escaped slavery with the help of your child Halle who I am so glad you got to connect with due to the loss of your other children. You are a healer, both physically and mentally to your community and everyone loved you for it.

Its not your fault that your community turned on you and your daughter in the end. It was due to their own resentments based on pasts of trauma and insecurity. Neither you nor Sethe deserved this betrayal and Im sorry you had to watch your daughter be isolated from her community after you passed on.

You have an amazing heart thats truly pure that allows you to nurture despite the suffering you have faced. You faced your trauma and exhaustion head on with kindness everyday making sure everyone in your community felt heard and cared for.

I hope you know that despite how things turned out in the end your community should be eternally grateful for your selflessness. Additionally, Im so glad that the communities view on Sethe and Denver shifted as they banded together to fend off beloved and found Denver a job. Your family is no longer isolated and can now live their lives with help and community.

Your journey is a testament to the power of resilience and compassion in the face of unimaginable pain. Despite the challenges you endured, you consistently chose to uplift and support those around you, creating a space of hope and healing. Even when others faltered in their ability to reciprocate your love, your legacy of kindness endured, shaping the lives of those who came after you. Your strength and grace will forever remain an example of the transformative power of love and forgiveness.

Love,

Evelyn

“She was trying to make up for the handsaw; Beloved wasn’t interested. She said it was all Sethe’s fault.”

Dear Beloved,

I understand you faced insane trauma as a baby however I want you to find it within your self to give your mom a break. You are running Sethe into the ground starving her and your sister in your selfish need to take everything they have. You eat all their food, spend all their money, and control what they do based on what you want. You are like an all consuming demon thats haunting Sethe not allowing her to move on from the past.

You need to realize that your mom did not have the resources or the ability to care for you before and now she does. It doesnt have to be take, take, take, try and enjoy this time that you were given back. You are a constant reminder of the worst thing Sethe has ever done/ experienced and she is trying to make amends. Sethe is a strong whole hearted individual who is giving up her life and sanity to make sure you are happy.

Moving on from Sethe you have no respect for your sister Denver either. Denver is doing the best she can to accept you and care for you because she realizes that you are family however you have showed none of the same sympathies. She has gone hungry, watched her mother fall apart, all because of you. You are destroying this family and you have been since you died.

Paul D is trying to build something new with Sethe and help out your family and yet you reject him outright, refusing to see how he could bring stability your home. If you cannot change, Beloved, then you will lose not just Sethe but the family that surrounds her, leaving behind nothing but pain.

From,

Evelyn

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Dear Other,

You truly have a way with words. The insights you provide into the emotional states and histories of the characters move the story in a meaningful way. As the narrative shifts through different points in time, it can become confusing, but the impact of your words remains. The way you navigate the complexities of memory, trauma, and identity helps the reader connect with the characters’ struggles, even when it gets a little complicated.

“Definitions belonged to the definers, not the defined.” (pg. 225)

They tell us who we are,

The ones with power,

Sitting and watching for hours,

Deciding what we are,

What we can and cannot say,

What we must do,

Always getting their way,

They speak at us,

But never to us,

Defining who we are meant to be,

They craft the rules we live by,

Hands pulling the strings,

We follow their paths,

Breaking us down,

Then tearing us apart,

Never free to be ourselves,

When you are the defined,

You belong to the definers.

“Everybody knew what she was called, but nobody anywhere knew her name. Disremembered and unaccounted for, she cannot be lost because no one is looking for her,” (p.322)

Dear Narrator,

Throughout the story you explain all of the characters thoughts and actions as though you are on the outside of the situation looking in. You paint the picture that you know everything, even though no one knows who you are or where you are. In this section of the story, you say that no one knows who Beloved is and where she went. I just find it odd how you are so mysterious and unknown, similarly to how you describe Beloved in this section. I have a strange feeling that somehow you are related to Beloved and that could be why you give off the same mysterious feeling, but I am not sure.

I also feel like Beloved is still being sought after even though she is gone. Part of Sethe will always yearn for Beloved, and the house will always have a part of her. I feel like Beloved will always be remembered for the pain that she caused; I do not think that she can just go away. Maybe you say that she is forgotten because you want to forget her and the trauma, but you cannot. I know it must have been hard to watch all of the events in the book unfold, without being able to intervene. You had to watch the characters make poor decisions and you were unable to guide them. I am not sure if you are related to Beloved or if you are just a bystander, but healing from Beloved’s trauma takes time. You cannot force yourself to forget Beloved to heal, you need to be able to take in what Beloved did and what events happened in order to process them. I think you know that you will not be able to forget Beloved, that is why you mentioned how it was like a part of her lived on even though she disappeared. Embrace the fact that you cannot forget her and move on. Instead of spending time trying to push out those memories, focus on them, and find peace. Do not cover your eyes and hide from the truth that Beloved was real. 

In many real-life situations, I find that it is better to remember than to forget. If you remember that someone has wronged you, you will not allow them to step in and wrong you again. Forgetting does not solve problems, awareness does. So, for any situation in your life, whether or not it is coping with the events that you witnessed in the story, remember that they happened. Do not try to forget them because you have to know what your problem is in order to heal from it and continue living.

Love,

Sydney McDonald

Uncover your eyes and forget about forgetting your pain.

“It was not a story to pass on…This is not a story to pass on” (page 324).

Dear Narrator,

Your writing of this story shows a lot of meaning behind what the woman in Slavery had to go through just to be free. I like how we were able to see the story from your point of view and understand all the characters. You were writing as though you were almost another character but looking at the events from a different perspective.

Your eyes were almost blocked since you could see things that the characters didn’t. Learning about the reason you wrote Beloved, made the story a lot more meaningful. Sethe wasn’t the only mother who had to kill one of her own just so they didn’t live the life that they were living. This is such an awful thing to have to write about, but it was the reality.

Reading history books and going through high school, those books never mentioned anything of this sort. Being able to read and understand a different side of slavery was eye-opening. Like you said, Beloved is a story that shouldn’t be passed on since it is so brutal and a harsh reality.

Thank you,

Emilie

Everyone’s eyes are practically covered by the harsh reality of slavery.