My project is on the symbolic meaning behind Beloved and how this meaning caused Sethe to be able to take control of her life and regain her identity. In the book Beloved by Toni Morrison, Beloved is a representation of slavery. Many of Beloveds recollections about details of her life are full of brutality and show a lot of inhumane treatment. My model of the slave ship is an ideal depiction of how slavery makes up who Beloved is literally and figuratively and how her portrayal of slavery affects the characters of Bluestone Road.
Firsty, when creating the model I based the general shape of the ship on images found online of slave ships that crossed the Middle Passage around the late seventeen hundreds and early eighteen hundreds. Many images of the ships that appeared had a dark wooden boat structure with a main sail towards the stern a fore sail in the middle of the boat and three smaller jib sails at the bow.
After figuring out the outer structure, I found information on the internet about the different levels and interiors of the boat and used this to model the inside. What I found was that slave ships generally had two levels. The first level was divided into three sections. One of the sections was the captain’s cabin which was located at the stern, the main deck in the middle of the ship, and the forecastle at the bow. The next level of the ship which was below the first level only had one section. This section was called the hold and reached from the stern to the bow of the ship.
Following the structure of the interior of the ship, I needed to add the realistic details about the conditions that the slaves were kept in. When Beloved was asked by Sethe and Denver where she came from, she described the place as being cramped, dark and foul smelling, these descriptions allowed me to accurately cram the main deck section of the boat with models of slaves all packed in together. Quotes from the novel are placed on the deck of the boat to show the inhumane conditions and how slavery had traumatized Beloved and remains to be the only descriptions she knows about where she came from. Beloved only knowing gruesome details like corpses laying next to the living, branding, and rape formed the basis of who she was. The human form of Beloved took full shape with the idea of humans enslaving other humans for their own benefits. Beloveds embodiment of slavery forces her mother, Sethe to recognize the pain from her past which was her act of filicide because of the imprints slavery had on her soul. Once she recognized her pain she was able to work through it and then come to terms with it by the help of her daughter Denver. This pained, slow reconciliation of history, that most notably Sethe worked through with Denver allowed for the two of them to come to terms with the events they lived through (enslavement) , and to no longer fear it. In the novel this happens when Denver calls on her community to help her mother break free from the bond slavery (Beloved) has on her. When the Cincinnati community helps Sethe’s stained soul she is fully able to move on from her past. Beloved who is slavery then returns back to the water which is interpreted as the rebirth of a new generation that is not controlled by the impact slavery had on them. By Sethe and Denver both acknowledging there pasts and not letting it define them any longer makes them the models of rebirth of a new generation in the novel that doesn’t forget what they have been through but doesn’t let it define them either.
When I was first asked to do a project and describe my understanding of the book Beloved, I felt I was at a loss because I had absolutely no clue what do to do. I am not a creative person, so coming up with my own idea on creating some sort of artistic project to represent my understanding of the book was difficult. Luckily, I was doing some research on slave ships and I connected what Beloveds descriptions of how she grew up related to this of a slave ship. This lead me to the idea of creating Beloveds body as a slave ship to demonstrate how slavery has heavily impacted her and formed her into who she is. I believe I created a very unique project that I really enjoyed building. I also feel that I made create connection on how Beloved symbolizes slavery.
When I saw your project I could tell the amount of effort went into it. But after reading this I got to know the research and planning you have done. You explained your project very well. Nicely done.
I remember your project, which was super cool. I’m glad you don’t only focus on the pain that Beloved brings, but the way she was able to impact Sethe and Denver for the better in giving them the means to work through their past. I love the circular nature of this and the descriptions of Beloved going back to the water.