I got a C+ on my last one, although it was an in class one and I crack under the pressure, and want to rejuvanate myself by doing good on this one, and felt the brains of the Anandtechies will prevail. So here it goes. Some basic feedback would be much appreciated, even if it's just for a small portion. I'm not worried about grammer and such right now.
In some religions, there are beliefs that through the touch of a special person, that the touched one will be able to heal from just about anything. These touches are considered an act of God, and can be defined as a miracle. In Toni Morrison's Beloved, Paul D's closed tobacco tin filled with horrors of slavery is only released through sex and through the gentle touch of Beloved, allowing him to find true love by opening his heart to Sethe.
It is the creation of Paul D's tobacco tin, and the life he leads after it is spawned that prevents him from having pride, and preventing him to feel like a man. During his tenure as a slave, he was forced to give oral sex to the guards of Alfred, Georgia, as "Occasionally a kneeling man chose gunshot in his head as the price, maybe, of taking a bit of foreskin with him to Jesus" (148). Obviously as can be seen here, sex is not as beautiful and precious as it should be with the prison guards. There is no mutuality, and it is forced. It is actually the opposite of mutuality that is evident, as the guards gain a sense of power over the slaves by forcing them to do something they obviously do not want to do. And at the same time, the Paul D and the other slaves lose any sense of pride as they men that they are that they once owned. Situations like these are like "...when everything was packed tight in his chest, he had no sense of failure" (221). The tobacco tin in his chest packs tightly all his suffering, all his pain, and all his agony within himself, that he is unable to unleash. This is why he doesn?t feel a ?sense of failure?, as his connection to human emotions is just about gone, and he can?t figure out what was missing in his life. Only when the contents of the tobacco tin are set free, can he figure out what the missing void is. This is evident when he does find the abyss, yet does not even realize it here; ?He was accustomed to sex with Sethe just about every day?? (115). He clearly cannot love with the tin can packed tight in his chest, blocking the valve in his heart from releasing his inner, most deep emotions. Sex with Sethe evidently should?ve been something special, something more special that the cows, and the prison guards, yet, they were all the same to Paul D. He would have to continue his search to find the key in opening his locked heart.
Throughout the course of Beloved, Paul D wouldn?t allow himself to open up his tin can, not to anyone he knew. He wouldn?t even open it up to the woman he dreams about for nearly two decades, as when he does get his chance with Sethe, "It is over before they could get their clothes off" (20). Sex is supposedly a very intimate and passionate action; and allegedly the longer you wait for something, anything, the better it turns out to be. But unfortunately, for Paul D, this proves not to be the case, while everything leading up to this point shows that it would be. Moreover, Sethe had endured the pain and torment Paul D experienced, which would bring them even closer. Yet this isn?t the case, and shows that no human could possibly open his heart, and when someone attempts to he obliges because, "as long as his eyes were locked on the silver of the lard can he was safe" (116). While Beloved?s motives at the time appear to be that she wanted Paul D to leave and leave herself and Sethe by themselves, ultimately she proves that she is responsible for Paul D?s healing. Paul D is clearly trying to resist Beloved, but it is a strange demonic power possessed by Beloved that mends Paul D back into a man. While Paul D didn?t want it, and surely didn?t ask for it, Beloved reharnesses Paul D?s living spirit back into him.
Eventually it is the miraculous touch of Beloved that unites the body of Paul D, with his soul. Beloved had seen the power of touch, and the effects it possesses, when she watches the turtles with Denver and sees "The embracing necks--hers stretching up toward bending down, the pat pat pat of their touching heads" (105). The statement shows that even cold-blooded reptiles can make beautiful soft love. The ?pat pat pat? is gentle, tender, and calm, and is what bond the two creatures together. When Beloved gets the chance with Paul D, "She hoisted her skirts and turned her head over her shoulder the way the turtles had..." (116). It is the soft, mild touch that Paul D lacks. That is the line that separates sex, and true intimacy. As the scene goes on Beloved completes what she starts, as "She moved closer with a footfall he didn't hear and he didn't hear the whisper that the flakes of rust made either as they fell away from the seams of his tobacco tin" (117). The diction is obviously gentle, with ?a footfall he didn't hear? and the ?flakes of rust? directing the description. Adding to her gentle touch, Beloved has something that Sethe lacked most of all. While Sethe did go through some of what Paul D went through, the reader eventually learn that Beloved is a collective spirit, all the hardships the slaves went through, the ?60 million and more? as Morrison describes. She understands the destitution suffered by Paul D, she absorbs and soaks up the pain, all the pain stored within Paul D?s tobacco tin. At this point, Paul D has nothing more to hide or conceal, the hollow of his heart is filled, and his spirit is alive.
Up until the time period of Beloved, Paul D epitomizes what slavery does to a man. He was unable to love or feel true affection for another human being. Only when Beloved steps into his life does he go into the light, back into reality, and at last become a man, and pursue love.
In some religions, there are beliefs that through the touch of a special person, that the touched one will be able to heal from just about anything. These touches are considered an act of God, and can be defined as a miracle. In Toni Morrison's Beloved, Paul D's closed tobacco tin filled with horrors of slavery is only released through sex and through the gentle touch of Beloved, allowing him to find true love by opening his heart to Sethe.
It is the creation of Paul D's tobacco tin, and the life he leads after it is spawned that prevents him from having pride, and preventing him to feel like a man. During his tenure as a slave, he was forced to give oral sex to the guards of Alfred, Georgia, as "Occasionally a kneeling man chose gunshot in his head as the price, maybe, of taking a bit of foreskin with him to Jesus" (148). Obviously as can be seen here, sex is not as beautiful and precious as it should be with the prison guards. There is no mutuality, and it is forced. It is actually the opposite of mutuality that is evident, as the guards gain a sense of power over the slaves by forcing them to do something they obviously do not want to do. And at the same time, the Paul D and the other slaves lose any sense of pride as they men that they are that they once owned. Situations like these are like "...when everything was packed tight in his chest, he had no sense of failure" (221). The tobacco tin in his chest packs tightly all his suffering, all his pain, and all his agony within himself, that he is unable to unleash. This is why he doesn?t feel a ?sense of failure?, as his connection to human emotions is just about gone, and he can?t figure out what was missing in his life. Only when the contents of the tobacco tin are set free, can he figure out what the missing void is. This is evident when he does find the abyss, yet does not even realize it here; ?He was accustomed to sex with Sethe just about every day?? (115). He clearly cannot love with the tin can packed tight in his chest, blocking the valve in his heart from releasing his inner, most deep emotions. Sex with Sethe evidently should?ve been something special, something more special that the cows, and the prison guards, yet, they were all the same to Paul D. He would have to continue his search to find the key in opening his locked heart.
Throughout the course of Beloved, Paul D wouldn?t allow himself to open up his tin can, not to anyone he knew. He wouldn?t even open it up to the woman he dreams about for nearly two decades, as when he does get his chance with Sethe, "It is over before they could get their clothes off" (20). Sex is supposedly a very intimate and passionate action; and allegedly the longer you wait for something, anything, the better it turns out to be. But unfortunately, for Paul D, this proves not to be the case, while everything leading up to this point shows that it would be. Moreover, Sethe had endured the pain and torment Paul D experienced, which would bring them even closer. Yet this isn?t the case, and shows that no human could possibly open his heart, and when someone attempts to he obliges because, "as long as his eyes were locked on the silver of the lard can he was safe" (116). While Beloved?s motives at the time appear to be that she wanted Paul D to leave and leave herself and Sethe by themselves, ultimately she proves that she is responsible for Paul D?s healing. Paul D is clearly trying to resist Beloved, but it is a strange demonic power possessed by Beloved that mends Paul D back into a man. While Paul D didn?t want it, and surely didn?t ask for it, Beloved reharnesses Paul D?s living spirit back into him.
Eventually it is the miraculous touch of Beloved that unites the body of Paul D, with his soul. Beloved had seen the power of touch, and the effects it possesses, when she watches the turtles with Denver and sees "The embracing necks--hers stretching up toward bending down, the pat pat pat of their touching heads" (105). The statement shows that even cold-blooded reptiles can make beautiful soft love. The ?pat pat pat? is gentle, tender, and calm, and is what bond the two creatures together. When Beloved gets the chance with Paul D, "She hoisted her skirts and turned her head over her shoulder the way the turtles had..." (116). It is the soft, mild touch that Paul D lacks. That is the line that separates sex, and true intimacy. As the scene goes on Beloved completes what she starts, as "She moved closer with a footfall he didn't hear and he didn't hear the whisper that the flakes of rust made either as they fell away from the seams of his tobacco tin" (117). The diction is obviously gentle, with ?a footfall he didn't hear? and the ?flakes of rust? directing the description. Adding to her gentle touch, Beloved has something that Sethe lacked most of all. While Sethe did go through some of what Paul D went through, the reader eventually learn that Beloved is a collective spirit, all the hardships the slaves went through, the ?60 million and more? as Morrison describes. She understands the destitution suffered by Paul D, she absorbs and soaks up the pain, all the pain stored within Paul D?s tobacco tin. At this point, Paul D has nothing more to hide or conceal, the hollow of his heart is filled, and his spirit is alive.
Up until the time period of Beloved, Paul D epitomizes what slavery does to a man. He was unable to love or feel true affection for another human being. Only when Beloved steps into his life does he go into the light, back into reality, and at last become a man, and pursue love.
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