LITERATURE: Beloved – Ways of Reading

Tending towards following story and ever-mindful of writing style and use of language, I’ve learned as well to find metaphorical meanings and symbolism withing fiction.  Last night at our writers group meeting I’d asked a member what he was planning on using for his Ethnic Literature course in Fall, and one was Marquez’s 100 Years of Solitude and one was one of Toni Morrison’s other novels. 

While I’m mindful of the historical and cultural significance within novels, I never really looked at them or read them in this context.  After all, it is fiction based on mostly factual knowledge, and even textbooks and non-fiction are not always considered to be accurate or true. 

In Beloved, there is of course a history of the black slave in America, but then again, it is manipulated by Morrison–as is the right of any fiction writer–for dramatic effect.  What happens to Sethe and her family and friends is all based on some handed-down narrative of true events, but for all this misery and horrorible events to happen within this one small group is a stretch.  That’s okay, it makes for great story, and the consolidation of many, many experiences into a few brings more power to the shame of slavery our country should feel. 

When looking up the link at amazon.com for Beloved, I happened to read a few of the reviews.  One, by Ilana, claims the book is overrated in writing style, dislikes the prose, but especially feels that the author is attempting to be too deep and steeps her meanings in metaphors and symbolism that require too much of the reader.  Again, while I love finding the deeper layers, I do not feel that Morrison’s story is so hidden from the reader as to be such an annoyance.  Frankly, it can be read and accepted at face value, and to me, Morrison seems to explain too much once she’s ready to tell us the secret she’s hinted at for a good portion of the book.

But there are many ways of reading, and this is where Barthes bases his values on the reader’s input to story.  For even in the simplest form, that of a single word such as "yellow" is interpreted differently by each of us.

Did you see lemon, sunflower, or gold?