Close Reading Blog Entry

In the beginning of beloved Sethe and Paul D remember how slave men were treated back at Sweet Home.

“And so they were: Paul D Garner, Paul F Garner, Paul A Garner, Halle Suggs and Sixo, the wild man. All in their twenties, minus women, fucking cows, dreaming of rape, thrashing on pallets, rubbing their thighs and waiting for the new girl—the one who took Baby Suggs' place after Halle bought her with five years of Sundays” (13)  

When examining a passage through a feminist lens the reader is interested in the way both female and male characters are portrayed. This helps the reader understand what the author believes about feminism.

The slave men were not even able to have their own name all of them were named after the plantation owner. The definition of masculinity changes when talking about african american vs white men. The plantation owner is a wealthy white men. Part of the masculinity of white men was owning slaves it would make them feel powerful. In the other hand the slave men's masculinity was revolved around sex. They were called the “wild men” the word wild has the connotation of crazy and out of control. The slave men were being referred to as animals because only animals are wild. The wild men were not being treated like they were human. It is insulting to be called an animal and is used as a degrading term.

The slave men were all sexually frustrated because they did not have women in the plantation so to get rid of the sexual frustration they would “fucking cows”. They were engaging in sexual activity with animals making it seem like they actually were animals.

The slave men were “dreaming of rape” meaning they needed sexual activity, sex was part of their masculinity. Since they couldn't have sex with a women they had to dream it in the hopes one day they would. Word choice Morrison decided to use is vulgar trying to convey the idea that no one really cared about the slave men. Also, adding the men were viewed as vulgar and unimportant.  

The slave men would “thrash on pallets” which is a very violent act to do. The men were trying to release all their anger of having to follow the rules of another man that has superiority over them. Before Sethe came to Sweet Home the men were “rubbing their thighs” that interprets to masturbating. Masturbation could be done to release stress and that could be the reason these men were doing it. In the plantation they were probably experiencing trauma and stress from everything there owner was making them go through.

In the text the new girl was Sethe she was coming to work as slave at Sweet Home I slave the men were excited because finally there would be a women. These men see Sethe as a sexual object than actual person.

By looking at the quote from Beloved through the feminist lens, we can see how the relationship between the male characters in the story and their lust for women. As well as the way they express themselves living in a plantation in the south. Even though this quote showed a great amount of imagery about male life it lacked the portrayal of the thoughts and roles women had as slaves.