Beloved by Toni Morrison | Part 1: Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis

Kristen Over, Associate Professor at Northeastern Illinois University, provides an in-depth summary and analysis of Toni Morrison's famous novel Beloved.

Toni Morrison's Beloved, first published in 1987, tells the story of Sethe, an escaped slave. Tragically, Sethe murdered her own infant daughter rather than allow the child to grow up in slavery. This terrible past returns to haunt Sethe's home and family in the form of Beloved, a ghost that is central to all the events in the story.

In the novel, we encounter characters such as Baby Suggs, Paul D, Denver, and of course Beloved, whom we learn about in relation to Sethe, the protagonist. Themes such as identity, guilt, and past vs present are all explored in an unforgettable plot. It is a vital, haunting work in modern African-American literature that raised important, unanswered questions about America's history and culture.

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[RobbyPrenkert]

The written summary for Ch. 1 and the Infographic on the Course Hero site incorrectly state that Denver is 10 years old. Oops. Be nice if they’d fix that. (Since she was born 18 years ago, during the time when Sethe was escaping Sweet Home, she’d have to be 18. Denver would have been about 10 when Howard and Buglar ran away and when Baby Suggs died.)

[umumumumumumumumumumumumum]

1:41 I’m sorry but that scream was so funny

[ofgodzeus]

I wish these didn't contain spoilers sometimes because I like them and sometimes I like to do it during my reading not until I finish