Outline 1

Paragraph 1: "Bad" White Attitudes

 "Bad" whites emasculate and dehumanize the blacks & Blacks seem to feel ashamed; avoid speaking about
it to cope individually
o Schoolteacher “broke into children what Garner had raised into men. And it was that that made
them run off”
 school teacher emasculated the Sweet Home men
 Paul D keeps all these memories bottled up in his tin heart
o The bit schoolteacher forces Paul D to wear: Page 84-85
 "'I was something else and that something was less than a chicken sitting in the sun on a
tub."
 Dehumanizing
 Paul D sang about it, but has never told anyone how he felt, except finally Sethe Pg. 85
o Schoolteacher scene characterizing Sethe's features: page 228
 "'I told you to put her human characteristics on the left; her animal ones on the right.'"
 Dehumanizing
 "I never told Halle or nobody": Sethe avoids telling people about it
o Schoolteacher & nephews stealing Sethe's milk:
 Convince Sethe that death is better than slavery: she tries to kill children
 Slavery's dehumanizing effects too bad to deal with -> death better
 "And no one... would list her daughter's characteristics on the animal side of the
paper" (296).
 As a community, Blacks release feelings, through singing/Clearing meetings
o Page 103: "Here... we flesh... Love it... Yonder they do not love your flesh. They despise it..."

Paragraph 2: "Good" White Attitudes

 Despite being considered "good" whites, they still view blacks as inferior
o Mr. Garner- always said that he raised his slaves to be men
 But it made Paul D wonder if “Garner called and announced them men only on Sweet
Home”
 allowed them to give their opinions and sometimes decide for themselves (pg 260)
 it's paradoxical, because while they are allowed to be "men" they aren't free men, and still
have to serve the Garners as slaves
 made Halle and Paul D contemplate whether there was any difference in
Garner’s and school teacher’s treatments of the slaves
o Sethe asks Mrs. Garner for a wedding, Mrs. Garner just laughs it off (pg 31)
 Usually treats Sethe well, but still degrades her by rejecting a ceremony
o Not allowing the wedding to be official: not allowing them to be “human”
o Sethe tries to make herself a wedding dress
o Mrs. Garner asking Sethe to bring her water: page 229
 Treats her like a servant
o Mr. Bodwin's black figurine: page 300
 Even "good whitefolks" have these stereotypical racist parts of them
 "Oh, yeah. They good. Can't say they ain't good. I wouldn't trade them for another pair,
tell you that"
 Blacks realize that fact and cope by acknowledging that it is the better of two evils, but that they are still
not completely satisfied
Conclusion: How "best" Blacks might overcome effects/which methods seem to work better

 Trying to hide past memories and the history just brings more pain
o As seen in Sethe and Paul D’s tin heart
 Collectively, through support from one another, they are able to overcome past pains
o The Clearing, and purging Beloved from 124= letting go of the memories of slavery that Beloved
had represented
Outline 2
Paragraph 1: Feminine experience of slavery & aftermath + point of view
 Female point of view: tend to use thick love -> slavery especially painful since tears apart families
o Aftermath: understanding towards other women who have experienced similar bad stuff, like rape
(ex. Ella)
 Sethe defending Beloved from Paul D's questioning, saying that she could be like Ella
o Experiences of female & male slaves differed
 Since Sethe and Baby Suggs were both mothers, they had an especially hard time letting go of their kids
 Sethe’s “milk being taken” -The effect on Sethe was to kill her kids instead of seeing them become slaves,
they were her “most precious”

Paragraph 2: Role of women in overcoming effects of slavery on Black community & members
 Women bring together the community; thick love; allow community to move on from past
o Baby Suggs bringing everyone to the Clearing/party: thick love, since she earned her freedom she
decided to use her time to help the slaves learn to love themselves (self-love) and to preach the
Word; though later she becomes thin love
o Sethe says "Love is or it ain't. Thin love ain't love at all." (194)
o Women spread news of Beloved: 300 and come together to exorcise Beloved: 307
-Paul D and other men travel instead as individuals: 78