September 13, 2016 - 00:46
(i had to leave partway through English-- so here is my small posting re: what i might have said, had i been in class)
* what is crystal clear to you about this novel?
i think to me, the clearest thing is the complexity of human relationships. there's so MUCH going on in this novel, and it's so good, and i wish i'd given myself more time to read/process part one (i did give myself a head start on part two, which allowed for a bit more time :) ) -- but the one consistent theme seems to be that of love intertwined with other motivations, or manifesting itself in different ways. Sethe's love is "too thick", Baby Suggs' love is almost holy in its all-encompassingness (that's not a word, is it?), Denver's love for her mother is mixed with fear, Paul D knows it's important to love everything but only a little. and so much of the way each of the characters view love has to do with their experiences (and hurt) in life.
* what is opaque/confusing? (Why?)
um. the rest of the book?
to be quite honest, i think a lot of this book is going over my head -- and will continue to do so -- because i don't understand all the characters, or all the storyline references, or all the dialogues. the writing is beautiful, and the story is powerful, but so much is still opaque to me... i'm unclear, especially, on the entire character of Beloved (particularly as i read further into Two this weekend).
& that's it.
see you all tomorrow,
hannah