Chapter 11
20. Explain the significance of the quote: “She moved him.”
21. What’s your interpretation of the strange final scene in this chapter in which Beloved tells
Paul D, “touch me on my inside part and call me by my name.”
20) This quote is referring to when Beloved came to Paul D in the shed. She "moved" him emotionally. It creates a bond between Beloved and Paul D, one he cannot resist. In this instance, it does not matter whether Beloved is real or not. Whether they actually have sex or not. What matters is what Paul D believes and feels. "She moved him" is a statement about his feelings and his person. When Paul D "falls for it" so to speak, he breaks a bond he is forming with Sethe and forms it with Beloved, something he doesn't want to occur. This is significant because with that bond he is being pushed away, out of the house, encouraged to leave by his own heart and Beloved.
21) I think Beloved is willing to do whatever is necessary to get Paul D out of the house. In this case I think that she is willing to revert back to part of her ghost state and force Paul D to believe he has sex with her. I believe that by telling Paul D to call her by her name, she is breaking bonds he originally felt towards Sethe. I also think that by getting him to at the very least believe he is having sex with her, she gets him to unleash feelings he thought he had locked away forever. A very dangerous thing for an ex-slave, as Paul D has once said already.
20. Explain the significance of the quote: “She moved him.”
21. What’s your interpretation of the strange final scene in this chapter in which Beloved tells
Paul D, “touch me on my inside part and call me by my name.”
20) This quote is referring to when Beloved came to Paul D in the shed. She "moved" him emotionally. It creates a bond between Beloved and Paul D, one he cannot resist. In this instance, it does not matter whether Beloved is real or not. Whether they actually have sex or not. What matters is what Paul D believes and feels. "She moved him" is a statement about his feelings and his person. When Paul D "falls for it" so to speak, he breaks a bond he is forming with Sethe and forms it with Beloved, something he doesn't want to occur. This is significant because with that bond he is being pushed away, out of the house, encouraged to leave by his own heart and Beloved.
21) I think Beloved is willing to do whatever is necessary to get Paul D out of the house. In this case I think that she is willing to revert back to part of her ghost state and force Paul D to believe he has sex with her. I believe that by telling Paul D to call her by her name, she is breaking bonds he originally felt towards Sethe. I also think that by getting him to at the very least believe he is having sex with her, she gets him to unleash feelings he thought he had locked away forever. A very dangerous thing for an ex-slave, as Paul D has once said already.
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