Mothers Love Essays - Women And Death, Beloved, Slavery, Sethe

Mothers Love The idea of a ghost story or horror story has long since been introduced into the world of American literature starting in the late 18th century. These works played with the idea of life after death and its effects on the present. The term gothic or gothic horror has been used to describe this form of literature. The literary meaning of the gothic style of is hard to define, but to give it a simple meaning the gothic is when the supernatural encounters the natural. In the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison this form of the gothic is used. The story involves Sethe, an ex-slave, whom the ghost of her dead daughter haunts. The ghost of this novel is a two year old who is young in age, yet strong in power. The character Sethe, is based on the real life story of the slave Margaret Garner. On Jan. 28, 1856, Garner killed her two-year-old daughter rather than have her sent back to slavery due to the fugitive slave law. Garner was later found guilty and sent back to the plantation she fled in Mississippi. The story of Beloved delves into the most painful part of the African American heritage, slavery. The memory of this horrifying time is presented in what Morrison calls "rememory"-- actively making the past real in the present. The novel is set during the Reconstruction(1870-1890) which follows the Civil War and emancipation. Much of the characters' pain occurs as they themselves try to "reconstruct" their families, communities and their own sense of identity. While this novel has been compared many times to that of a slave narrative, Morrison chooses to use the gothic to tell her story. Yes this novel does use slave narrative form, but it explores a greater range with the gothic. Morrison chooses to use the gothic because it allows her to explore the true effects of her characters and their effects on each other. Beloved comes back to haunt not only Sethe but everyone around her. She feels that her life has been taken away from her and for that reason she wants to "suck" the life out of Sethe, Paul D, and Denver. The novel is broken into three major parts. As part one opens Morrison introduces the house with, "124 was spiteful. Full of baby's venom. The woman knew it and so did the children" (Morrison 3). Immediately the reader is thrown into this house with a ghost that is spiteful. The only surviving members of the family are Denver, the child Sethe was carrying in her escape to freedom, and Sethe. With the gothic, Morrison is able to show just how horrifying slavery and its effects are. Morrison goes into great detail to describe the horrors of Sweet Home and the people who lived there. As the reader hears of these effects the emotion is relased. Sethe describes one account saying " after I left you, those boys came in there and took my milk. That's what they come for. Held me down and took it." ( Morrison, 16) Paul D instantly gets rid of the horrifying presence that has consumed this house for so long, and up to this point had only been physical as red light. With this sense of relief Paul D, Sethe, and Denver go to the local fair. Later they return home to find a mystical woman who is referred to as "Beloved". Denver identifies the woman as the returned ghost in now human flesh and receives her as a sister. This is where the novel begins to take on its own existence. Beloved becomes the focus of everyone's attention. Beloved has both mental and physical difficulties. Parts of her body threaten to fall off; some teeth do fall out. She has a scar on her throat. Her infrequent speech is childish. Although apparently she is a stranger, Beloved knows intimate things about Sethe, one of which includes the lullaby that Sethe sang to her babies. Denver takes a great liking to Beloved. Having been isolated for so many years, Denver finally feels that she has a friend. Soon, however, she is frightened to discover that the spirit is covertly attacking Sethe. For example, while pretending to massage Sethe neck, Beloved tries to choke her. Paul D on the other hand, dislikes Beloved but finds her sexually irresistible. Under some kind of spell or conjure, he has sex with her. The presence of this ghost now in human form thus disrupts every relationship. With this "rebirth" of Beloved, Sethe

James Buchanan Was the Only President Who Never Married

James Buchanan Was the Only President Who Never Married There has never been an openly gay president of the United States, but some historians have argued that James Buchanan, the only president who never shared the White House with a first lady,  may have had feelings for a member of the same sex. The nations 15th president is the nations only bachelor president. Buchanan had been engaged to a woman named Ann Coleman long before he became president, but Coleman died before the two could wed. It would not have been unusual, nor would it have proved Buchanan not to have been gay, if they had married; history is filled with homosexual men who married straight women. Longtime Companions While he remained unmarried his entire life, Buchanan had a very close relationship with William Rufus De Vane King, a diplomat who served as U.S. senator and the nations 13th vice president- coincidentally, the only vice president never to have married. Buchanan and King lived together for more than two decades. It was a relatively common practice in the 1800s. Historians note, however, that the couple’s contemporaries in Washington reportedly described King as effeminate, calling him Miss Nancy and Buchanans better half. They also cite letters written by Buchanan about the man he described as his soul mate. After King left the United States to become the minister to France, Buchanan wrote to a friend: I am now solitary and alone, having no companion in the house with me. I have gone a wooing to several gentlemen, but have not succeeded with any one of them. I feel that it is not good for man to be alone; and should not be astonished to find myself married to some old maid who can nurse me when I am sick, provide good dinners for me when I am well, and not expect from me any very ardent or romantic affection. King showed his own affection for Buchanan at his departure by writing to him: I am selfish enough to hope you will not be able to procure an associate who will cause you to feel no regret at our separation. A Historian Makes His Claim James Loewen, a prominent American sociologist and historian,  has been outspoken in his claims that  Buchanan was the first gay president, writing in a 2012 essay: There can be no doubt that James Buchanan was gay, before, during, and after his four years in the White House. Moreover, the nation knew it, too- he was not far into the closet. Today, I know no historian who has studied the matter and thinks Buchanan was heterosexual. Loewen has argued that Buchanans homosexuality is not often discussed in modern times because Americans do not want to believe that society was more tolerant of gay relationships in the 19th century than they are now. Another Bachelor Candidate The closest the nation has come to having a bachelor president since  Buchanan was when Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina sought the partys presidential nomination in 2016. When asked who would be his first lady, Graham  said the position would be rotating. He also joked that his sister could play the role, if necessary. While Grover Cleveland entered the White House a bachelor in 1885, the 49-year-old was married a year later to 21-year-old Frances Folsom. The One and Only? Although it has long been rumored  that  Richard Nixon had a homosexual affair with his close friend Bebe Rebozo, Buchanan is still the most likely candidate for first, and only, gay American president. Thanks to his vocal support of gay marriage, President Barack Obama  did earn the title briefly, albeit symbolically, in a May 2012 Newsweek  magazine article, written by Andrew Sullivan. Tina Brown, editor-in-chief for Newsweek at the time, explained the term and the cover  photo  of Obama with a rainbow halo superimposed over his head by telling news site Politico, If  President Clinton  was the ‘first black president’ then Obama earns every stripe in that ‘gaylo’ with last week’s gay marriage proclamation.† In his article, Sullivan himself pointed out that the claim was not meant to be taken literally (Obama is married, with two daughters). Its obviously a play on Clinton being the first black president. I am aware that James Buchanan (and maybe Abraham Lincoln) have been in the Oval Office before.   Lincoln has come under speculation as well as having had gay or bisexual affections, but he did marry and father four children. He also was known to have courted women before his marriage to Mary Todd Lincoln. Sources Byers, Dylan. â€Å"Tina Brown Explains Obama Gaylo.†Ã‚  POLITICO, 14 May 2012. Sullivan, Andrew. â€Å"Andrew Sullivan on Barack Obamas Gay Marriage Evolution.†Ã‚  Newsweek, 15 May 2012.