Chapter 1
1. Write a journal entry as Sethe or Denver, describing how you feel about Paul D’s arrival. How do you think it will change life in 124?
2. What do you think Baby Suggs means when she says, “What’d be the point [of moving?]... Not a house in this country ain’t packed to the rafters with some dead Negro’s grief. We lucky this ghost is a baby.”
1) I don’t get it. Mama hasn’t laughed since before Baby suggs died. Whats this man comin up here and messin this all up for. What does he think he's doin. He gonna make her happy and never gonna stay. He aint gonna stay for long, not with the baby around to spite on him. He can fight it all he want but that baby hard to deal with. I aint gonna stay much longer, this aint no place to live. He gonna come in here and give mama hope and then leave and take it all with him. He aint gonna help 124, he gonna hurt us. Life round here aint about to get better and I aint about to stay long to see.
2) I think Baby Suggs means that there are much worse ghosts. That many houses are filled with grief and ghosts who do much worse. They are lucky that it is only a baby who can only do a few things, vs an adult (like a dead husband as she mentions). A dead husband is much more viable to be abusive and cause harm to the women, not just be obnoxious and tip over slop pails and scare people. I also think she is referring to the fact that a negro can only own a negro house, and white people only own white people houses. And in many of there houses, as they’re passed down through generations experience death of family members due to old age, sickness, and violence. They could have worse ghosts.
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