11 questions on plot, characters, and themes. Free to take, so you can see exactly what to review before class.
1. What is Beloved's true identity, and how does Morrison reveal it to the reader?
2. What event at Sweet Home plantation sets the entire escape plan in motion?
3. Why does Paul D leave 124 Bluestone Road during the novel?
4. What does Denver do that ultimately saves Sethe from Beloved's destructive grip?
5. How does Morrison describe the way trauma from slavery continues to affect the characters after emancipation?
6. What is Sethe's primary motivation for killing her daughter in the woodshed?
7. What does Baby Suggs preach to the community, and why is this message significant?
8. How does the community's treatment of Sethe change over the course of the novel?
9. What does Paul D mean when he tells Sethe at the end of the novel that she is her own best thing?
10. What does the novel's ending, with the word Beloved repeated three times, suggest about memory and loss?
11. How does Morrison use the concept of the locked tobacco tin to characterize Paul D's emotional state?
0 of 11 answered
How this guide is built
This guide is built from the original text to help you get oriented fast. It is designed for recall, paper planning, and getting unstuck, but it is still a paraphrased guide, not a substitute for the reading itself. Double-check anything important before you turn in formal work.
