2nd Outside Reading Blog Post

"Out of the dimness of the room in which they sat, a white staircase climbed toward the blue-and-white wallpaper of the second floor. Paul D could just see the beginning of the paper; discreet flecks of yellow sprinkled among a blizzard of snowdrops all backed by blue. The luminous white of the railing and steps kept him glancing toward it. Every sense he had told him the air above the stairwell was charmed and very thin. But the girl who walked down out of the air was round and brown with the face of an alert doll."
-Beloved, by Toni Morrison. (pg. 13)

At first glance, this passage seems to just be a simple description of 124 Bluestone road. Many interpretations can be drawn from it, though.

Diction plays a key part in this passage. This is first seen with the word "dimness." The dimness of the room is an allegory. It not only represents the fading ghost of Sethe's deceased child that lingers in the house, but it also represents the dimming relationship between Sethe and Denver. The ghost is the cause of the mother and daughter's friendship falling apart. The next sign of diction is seen with the description of the walls. All of the colors chosen to illustrate how the walls look are light and delicate- blue, white, and yellow. The prior statement also applies to the adjectives used- sprinkled, luminous, snowdrops, etc. All of these words represent how whites were viewed as the only delicate, innocent people of the time. Paul D's glancing shows how African-Americans desired to be like them (because of their "charming" aura, and how they got to live their life freely,) but knew that they never would be. When Denver walks down, she is described as an "alert doll." This shows how conscious African-Americans were of their presence. It can also be interpreted that Denver was so alert of her presence in an environment where she did feel she belonged. (Shown by the passage "They were a twosome...wear her out.") All of these interpretations are a microcosm to the slavery and racism issue that all African-American's had to deal with.