On the Symbolism in Beloved [7]
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关键词:Toni MorrisonScars and the symbolic meaningsSubversion of scars and storytellingSethe and her mother’s scars
inity against their mother. The Bodwins specifically help three generations: “The Bodwins were most likely to help since they had done it twice, once for Baby Suggs and once for Denver’s mother. Why not help the third generation as well?”(Morrison, 1987:252) Mackey observes that blood、 milk and water form a trinity. Throughout the book, the number three occurs in significant ways, indicating relationships that are stronger than nearly anything else.
2.3 The number “6”
Sixo is African. From “Sixty Million and more”(Morrison, 1987:1), the first words after the title, which refers to the number of slaves brought from Africa, thus the number six is associated with Africa. It evokes wildness and an inability or refusal to conform. What better character to embody Africa than a man “with a number for a name” (Morrison, 1987:208) is Sixo. He is first introduced as “Sixo, the wild man” (Morrison, 1987:11). Sixo is the acme of disobedience to the white folks. He talks back, refuses to speak English, leaves the farm of his own will, and suggests escape to the others: “Running was nowhere on our minds.... it was Sixo who brought it up” (Morrison, 1987:197). Other signs of his alien nature are his poor sense of time and his love of nature. “Time never worked the way Sixo thought, so of course he never got it right” (Morrison, 1987:21). Sixo's confidence is impressive to others: “That was the wonder of Sixo, and even Halle; it was always clear to Paul D that those two were men whether Garner said so or not” (Morrison, 1987:220). As a result, in this novel, six symbolizes rebellion, an unwillingness to conform, and nobility that allow one to endure suffering, even to laugh, quite literally, in the face of death.
2.4 The number “28”
Although “28” is not the first number appearing in Beloved, its significance can not be ignored, and its significance is not less than any other number which appears in this book. Twenty-eight is the length of the menstrual cycle, the lunar month, and the duration of Sethe’s happiness: “Sethe had had twenty-eight days --- the travel of one whole moon --- of unslaved life. From the pure clear stream of spit that the little girl dribbled into her face to her oily blood was twenty-eight days” (Morrison, 1987:95) Sethe has lived twenty years of sorrow, for twenty-eight days of pleasure, and spends another eighteen years of suffering before Paul D and Beloved brighten her life again. “Those twenty-eight happy days were followed by eighteen years of disapproval and a solitary life...was that the pattern? She wondered. Every eighteen or twenty years her unbelievable life would be interrupted by a short-lived glory?”(Morrison, 1987:173) This symbol is significant, and number twenty-eight appears only within this context.
From what we have discussed above, numbers play an enormous role in Beloved. They communicate concepts in a sort of psychic shorthand, adding a deeper subtext to many events. The way in which the numbers are used is universal, using symbols common to all of humanity. It is universal comprehension like that, which gives Beloved the power it has, its genius, and its beauty.
3. The red color and the symbolic meaning
In Beloved, Morrison considers color red as a significant symbol. It symbolizes life, hope and a brighter future.
In this novel, colors from the red part of the spectrum (including orange and pink) recur throughout Beloved, although the meaning of these red objects varies. In the beginning, t
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