1st Outside Reading Blog Post

"Suspended between the nastiness of life and the meanness of the dead, she couldn't get interested in leaving life or living it, let alone the fright of two creeping-off boys. Her past had been like her present-intolerable-and since she knew death was anything but forgetfulness, she used the little energy left for her pondering color."

-Beloved, by Toni Morrison. (found on page four)

This selection from Beloved not only displays the thoughts that Baby Suggs pondered on while on her deathbed, but it also introduces one of the themes of this book-the complexity of life. The majority of characters introduced in the first "chapter" all have a complex interior because of their past. They don't know the difference between living it or leaving it. After all Sethe has encountered, from her life at Sweet Home to the death of her child, has left her trying to look for some kind of hope, which is symbolized by the color. Although she is trying to forget her past, the ghost of her dead child ("beloved",) is still haunting her. The history of the characters will determine the future for them. 

I had a difficulty understanding the significance of the summer reading novels, and I also have the same problem with Beloved. Regardless, I think the story it will present is intriguing, so I hope I will advance further in interpreting what the author really wants its reader to learn.