The Use of Rememory in Beloved Essay

Rememory is one of the most exhibited concept in the entire novel. Morrison uses this concept when one or more of the characters are talking or thinking about specific traumatic, dramatic and important events. Throughout the passage, Morrison eludes to greater things when Sethe talks about the ideas of rememory. Morrison seems to want the reader to question what Sethe is saying. By twisting the reader up on the language, Morrison eludes to the parts of the story we have yet to read. The language also suggests that there is an unknown secret part of Sethe, one that we cannot understand, nor do I believe we want to understand as of yet. We as readers start to question Sethes past and her future, and by questioning her we want to learn more about her.

What is rememory? Sethe describes it to us on page 43 but do we fully understand just from her explanation? I think it begins with Amy Denver, when shes rubbing Sethes swollen, damaged feet in the lean-to. She says to Sethe that, Its gonna hurt, nowAnything dead coming back to life hurts(42). This is the first time were brought to this idea and concept of the rebirth of something one might believe to be long gone and forgotten. I also think its very interesting the Morrison corallites the idea of time, whether it be relative or not, with the idea of rememory. The way Morrison describes it, there is no real time, a memory or event lives on in a place forever. That other people, not directly linked to this specific event or memory can bump right into it and experience it for themselves, no matter the amount of time that is between the two instances. Thus linking it to Denvers ending idea that nothing ever dies(44). But then you start to ask the question what does she mean by nothing? Is that everything and everyone? Is Morrison trying to say that things dont just live threw ones own memories of an event, but that the location, -even if a significant amount of time passed; can somehow retain that event or the emotions one was feeling at the time the event occurred. Then, does this mean that people, dead or alive can be linked to this specific location as well? I think this is an interesting concept because this sets the stage for instances later on in the novel that respond directly to the question of what really defines a residual being and who or whom is hunting 124.

There is definitely this feeling of closeness between the ghost of 124, Sethe and Denver. In class we discussed the idea that the being could possibly be just traumatic energy surrounding the house. Throughout the novel were told that 124 was used at a type of wait station for freed or escaped slaves. The kind of emotions that would of flown threw that house would have had varying degrees of intensity. How can we say that the house is haunted by any actual person or persons. Sethe stated that even if I die, the picture of what I did, or knew, or saw is still out there. Right in the place where it happened(43) Without knowing what happened soon after Sethe arrived at 124 you start to get a feeling that there is more to Sethe and more to her relationship with Denver then just mother and daughter. Morrison, in this passage paves the way for the dramatic and horrific twist this story takes. And when Sethe warns Denver not to go where to the places shes gone we wonder what happened, what she did. I took the portion of the passage in a different way as well, when Sethe is warning Denver to never go there(44) I saw it as Sethe telling Denver to never go to that mental place, never have those feelings she had when she killed her daughter. We know from reading that Sethe believed what she was doing at that particular moment was total valid but we also saw that after she killed her daughter and nearly killed her other children that she was remorseful and regretted her actions.