Chapters 1-3

In the first three chapters of Toni Morrison's Beloved, we are introduced to a character named Sethe who has never had an easy life. Major themes introduced into the novel are death, uncertainty, poverty, and the absence of men. In the novel, people are dying daily, Seth mentions in the book how her daughter is the only person she has left. There is uncertainty with Denver, Seth's daughter, who wanders about the past which her mom continues to shield her from. Poverty is also mentioned in the book, yet not heavily. Lastly, there is an absence of men in the book. Most of the male characters are mentioned, but are not there in the book- they have either ran away or died. So far, there has been one male character whose played a role in the novel, Paul D. Unfortunately, Sethe has long lost her innocence and is very experienced now. I believe that one point when a person looses their innocence is when they realize the world is not perfect. As a result, after seeing death as much as Sethe did, as well as seeing life born (her daughter) and having all this anger inside from her past, she is a experienced woman. However, I do applaud her for trying to keep her daughter's innocence.