Beloved : Literary devices

Literary devices

Symbols:

1. 124 Bluestone Road: 124 Bluestone Road is the house where Sethe and Denver live. 124 is not just an ordinary house; it feels like a living house. It is haunted by the ghost of Sethe’s dead daughter, and the house shakes, glows red, and makes noises. It represents pain and the past that cannot be forgotten. When Sethe, Denver, and Paul D try to have a happy moment, the house still holds the anger and sadness of the past. In the end, after Beloved disappears, 124 becomes quiet, showing that Sethe and Denver are finally free.  

2. Beloved: Beloved is more than just a person. She is a symbol of slavery’s pain and suffering. Beloved forces Sethe to relive her worst memories and refuses to leave the house. Just like painful memories of slavery, Beloved takes over Sethe’s life, making her weak and powerless. She is a reminder that the past never truly disappears. When the community women come to sing and pray, Beloved vanishes in the confusion. The novel ends by saying she was “disremembered and unaccounted for,” which shows that painful memories may fade, but their scars remain.

3. The Chokecherry Tree: It symbolizes The Scars of Slavery. Sethe has scars on her back from being whipped. Amy Denver describes the scars as a chokecherry tree, with branches and leaves. This symbol represents the physical pain of slavery and the way Sethe carries her past on her body. 

4. The Color Red: It is the symbol of Love, Pain, and Memory. Red appears many times in the novel. It is the color of blood, fire, and passion. The baby ghost makes the house glow red, which shows its anger and strong emotions. Paul D sees a red light in 124, which reminds him that the house is filled with pain and suffering. Red also symbolizes love, as Sethe remembers the red velvet she once wanted. This color is a mix of both beautiful and painful emotions.

5. The Clearing: It is a place of healing and freedom. The Clearing is where Baby Suggs used to lecture to the Black community. This place was safe and peaceful, where people could cry, dance, and feel free. Baby Suggs used it to teach Black people to love themselves, which was important after years of being treated as less than human. After Sethe’s crime, Baby Suggs stopped going to the Clearing and became depressed. When Sethe returns there, hoping for comfort, she feels choked, showing that she is still trapped by her past.

6. Water: Water is connected to important events in Sethe’s life. Sethe gives birth to Denver in the river. It symbolizes a new beginning. Later, Beloved comes out of the water, which suggests she has returned from the past. Water also represents memory, as Beloved describes being in a deep, dark place filled with lost souls. It is a symbol of both birth and the mystery of death.

7. The Tin Tobacco Box: It is a symbol of A Locked Heart. Paul D describes his heart as a “tin tobacco box” where he hides his pain. Because of his suffering, Paul D locks away his emotions so that he does not have to feel them. He refuses to think about the past. However, when Beloved forces him to sleep with her, the box “opens,” and all of his buried emotions come rushing back. This symbol shows that trauma cannot stay hidden forever. It will always return. 

8. Milk and Breastfeeding: Milk is the symbol of A Mother’s Love. Sethe’s milk is very important to her because she wants to feed her baby. When a schoolteacher’s nephews took the milk from her breasts, it wasn’t just physical abuse; it was the stealing of her love as a mother. This memory is so painful that Sethe remembers it more than the whipping itself. It shows how slavery took away a mother’s ability to protect and love her children. 

9. The Number 3: It means the Power of Three Women and their bond. There are three women at 124—Sethe, Denver, and Beloved. In Part Two, each of them speaks in her own voice. They show their different emotions and experiences. The three shadows holding hands at the carnival represent their short-lived happiness. In the end, when Beloved disappears, the two remaining women, Sethe and Denver, begin to move forward. 

10. The Wild Thing: Sixo, one of the enslaved men at Sweet Home, is called a “wild man” because he refuses to obey. Sixo is brave and rebellious. Even when he is captured and burned alive, he laughs because he knows his lover, the Thirty-Mile Woman, escaped. He shouts “Seven-O!” because she is carrying his child. This moment shows that some people would rather die than be controlled, and that freedom is not just physical, it is also mental.