Character Analysis of Beloved - Denver

Character Analysis of Beloved: Denver In Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved, Denver is one of the main characters whose story arc brings hope and optimism to an otherwise heavy novel. Denver is the eighteen year old daughter of Sethe, who’s life the story is centered around. Sethe gave birth to Denver while on the run from her former slave owners, and Amy Denver, the woman who helped her give birth, is who Denver is named after. From the moment she was born, Denver has been amidst the chaos of the lives of the characters, a concept that carries throughout the novel. She is portrayed as a sad, lonely girl, mainly because everyone in her life has left her- everyone besides Sethe. When Beloved comes into her and Sethe’s lives, as a human rather than the ghost she was originally manifesting as, it marks the beginning of Denver’s journey of maturation. Denver is a symbol of hope in Beloved, developing from the weakest character to the strongest; making the novel not only a story about hardship and the plight of slavery but also one of coming of age. Before Beloved even entered Denver’s life, there were many significantly traumatic events that impacted her childhood. When Schoolteacher, Sethe’s former slave owner, came looking for her at their home, 124, Sethe reacted by killing her baby, Beloved, because in her mind death was better than being a slave. Denver, a child at the time, witnesses her mother kill her sister, drastically changing their relationship. Denver did not understand why Sethe would do such a horrific thing, and fears her mother might kill her too. She candidly shares her thoughts in the novel, saying, “I love my mother but I know she killed one of her own daughters, and as tender as she is with me, I’m scared of her because of it” (242). This significantly shapes Denver as a person because due to what she witnessed, she can only love her mother out of fear. Her “psychological disintegration” in her early life stemmed from this event (Koolish). Having such a tumultuous relationship with her mother at such a young age did not give Denver a solid foundation, which in result impacted how she dealt with all of the loss she experienced throughout the book. In addition to the way she views Sethe, witnessing the murder of her sister by her own mother has also impacted the way Denver sees and interprets the world. She is too young to understand the real reason and intent behind Sethe’s actions; she believes that white people drove her mad, but she doesn't know how to justify her actions. Consequently, Denver, believing that there is some evil in the world that possessed Sethe, is afraid to leave 124. Her actions are driven by her survival instinct. Denver is afraid of the evil that she believes took over her mother, saying, “I don’t know what it is, I don’t know who it is, but maybe there is something else terrible enough to make her do it again…Whatever it is, it comes from outside this house...So I never leave this house and I watch over the yard, so it can’t happen again and my mother won’t have to kill me too” (242). Denver also doesn’t have a desire to leave the home because Sethe’s murder spread throughout Cincinnati, and therefore no one wanted to be friends with her. This further isolates her and puts an emphasis on just how deep her loneliness lies. Denver’s father, Halle, went mad while he was enslaved, and vanished from Sethe and Denver’s lives as well. Halle was depicted in the novel as someone who was genuinely a good, strong person, someone who had optimism and hope for the future. However, when he witnessed Sethe being sexually harassed by Schoolteacher’s nephews, he broke and went insane, never to be seen again. Halle leaving impacted Denver, adding to the list of losses in her life. Denver always believed that her father would come back for her, which exposes her desperation for a stable parental figure in her life. Her brothers, Howard and Bugler, ran away from 124 after an incident where the ghost (presumably the baby, Beloved) shattered a mirror, essentially making Denver an only child. Additionally, Denver’s grandmother, Baby Suggs, who also witnessed Beloved’s murder and lived in 124 with her, died shortly after. The book doesn’t go into depth on her relationship with Baby Suggs and her brothers, but does note the impact that these events had on Denver: “Denver was lonely. All that leaving: first her brothers, then her grandmother-serious losses since there were no children willing to circle her in a game or hang by their knees from her porch railing. None of that had mattered as long as her mother did not look away as she was doing now, making Denver long, downright long, for a sign of spire from the baby ghost” (14-15). Denver only had Sethe in 124. Her loneliness and despair that Morrison portrays her to have in the novel is due to everyone in her life leaving and the lack of support that she had to help her process her sadness. Denver’s happiness relied on the state of her relationship with Sethe. Since it was only the two of them living in 124, their attention was focused on each other, and Denver was happy. However, when Paul D, Halle’s brother, arrived and Sethe welcomed him into their home, her mood changed. Denver viewed Paul D as a threat to her own happiness, because he took Sethe’s attention away from her. Denver’s distaste for him was expressed particularly strongly in the novel, saying, “Denver preferred the venomous baby to him any day. During the first days after Paul D moved in, Denver stayed in her emerald closet as long as she could, lonely as a mountain and almost as big, thinking everybody had somebody but her; thinking even a ghost’s company was denied her” (123). Being early on in the novel, Denver was unable to control her emotions, and let others govern them for her. To her, Paul D “destroyed the realm of safety and certainty, and her solitude with her mother” (Moreland). This is a sign of Denver’s immaturity and inability to find self worth within herself. Morrison portraying Denver as an immature child stuck in her ways, despite at the age of 18, in the beginning of Beloved is a symbol of where all of the characters were mentally at the beginning of the novel. One of the recurring themes in Beloved is the desire to change and grow from all of the sadness and tragedy the characters had experienced. At this stage, Denver “lives physically paralyzed in her own mind”, which parallels how despite how everyone wants to move on, they can not seem to let go (Koolish). Once Beloved is introduced into the narrative, Denver becomes happier, because she finally has a companion- something she has been longing for. At this point in the novel, while she is a happier version of herself, her happiness still relies on others actions. However, she displays signs of growth and maturity, by her protectiveness over Beloved. Denver highly values Beloved- because she essentially is the answer to her prayers, therefore she feels like she must protect her from the eminent threat that is her mother. Once she realizes this, she expresses her feelings, saying,“It’s all on me, now, but she can count on me...I have to protect her” (243). Denver taking responsibility for someone besides herself is a sign that she is evolving. Once Denver and Sethe realize that Beloved is actually their blood, Denver’s feelings of protection and happiness intensify. In the chapter focusing on Denver’s inner narrative, she expresses, “Beloved is my sister. I swallowed her blood right along with my mother’s milk” (242). While she is still scarred by the past, this quote shows that Denver is taking ownership for her story and her truth. This could not be possible without Beloved. As the story progresses, however, Beloved’s presence in Denver’s life becomes anything but ideal. Beloved and Sethe become enamored with each other, so much so that they begin to leave Denver out. She realized that “her presence in that house had no influence on what either woman did” (296). This was Denver’s breaking point. Seeing Sethe, her mother whom she had so desperately wanted attention from, and Beloved, the supposed answer to her prayers, her companion, ignoring her completely, was her final straw. Denver realizes that Beloved was the evil she had been worried about, as she sees Beloved sucking the life out of Sethe. Sethe stopped taking care of herself, and Beloved, acting more as a parasite than a daughter, took advantage of that. When Denver observed this, she decided that she had to be the one to change the situation. Morrison describes Denver in this realization by poetically referring back to the reason why she felt chained to 124: “Denver knew it was on her. She would have to leave the yard; step off the edge of the world, leave the two behind and ask somebody for help” (286). Denver leaves 124 to get help for her family, and finally breaks free from the weight of her past. This moment symbolizes strength and revival. It also holds a sense of irony, because in that moment she was the one moving on from the past, while Sethe was stuck in it. As the novel concludes and Beloved disappears, it is implied that Denver continues to be the main provider for the house. Denver ends up being Sethe’s rock, the foundation she always wanted Sethe to be for her. In the novel Beloved, Toni Morrison used Denver to emphasize the importance of family and companionship, but also to show that self-reliance and independence is equally as important. In the beginning of the novel, Denver’s lonesomeness is caused by the broken relationships in her life and all of those who abandoned her. This lack of familial support directly correlates to her troubled state, which is how Morrison shows the impact that relationships have on an individual. As the story progresses, Denver matures and becomes self-sufficient as she realizes that Beloved and Sethe are more interested in each other rather than taking care of the family. Denver taking charge and becoming the main provider of the home shows not only the beauty of overcoming life’s obstacles but also that confidence and security comes from within. Denver exemplifies hope and sends the message that no matter what we go through in life, we have the capability to overcome.