Beloved and Dorian comparisons

Question 1

Memory

Answer 1

Morrison explores how memory
interweaves personal trauma with
broader historical suffering. Sethe’s
act of infanticide, though horrifying,
is an act of resistance against the
dehumanization of slavery.
Memory, in this context, is not just a
personal burden but a collective
legacy.

Wilde’s exploration of memory
serves as a critique of
Victorian superficiality and
moral hypocrisy, while
Morrison’s highlights the
resilience of those grappling
with historical atrocities and
personal trauma. Both
illuminate the profound impact
of memory on the human
condition.

Question 2

sex

Answer 2

Paul D, and the raw tone of his sexual memories where “rape seemed
the solitary gift of life”, emphasising the twisted nature of sexual desire due to the traumaof the slave trade. In particular, the use of the dysphemism “rape” emphasises the blurred lines between fantasy and reality due to romanticisation, and the innate sense of the brain to conceal the deep rooted traumas faced to the human body and mind.
- shows trauma as images of sexual desire turn to violence rather than intimacy and normality.
This is further emphasised through the use of phallic imagery when describing the male reaction to Halle and Sethe’s sexual intercourse “it had been hard, hard, hard, sitting there erect as dogs”, with the use of the animalistic undertones, through the simile “erect as dogs” further heightening the twisted viewpoint of sex held by the men, and even a loss of identity through the subhuman undertones Morrison utilises this as part of her metafiction style and genre, in order to break boundaries through the discussion of taboo topics, and emphasise the long-
lasting effects of slavery and boundaries to sex on the human mind and psyche.

Whereas in Dorian Gray sexual imagery less apparent due to social limitations but homosexual undertones still present. For example, Lord Henry touches upon the
sexual awakening of Dorian, through a tone of curiosity and manipulation, stating that “He thought of his friend’s young fiery-coloured life and wondered how it was all going to
end”, demonstrating links between memories of sexual desire and demise, and the lack of
humanity Henry has for sexual thoughts or feelings.

Question 3

Transcendence of past and present

Answer 3

integration of memory and its presence when retelling story of Denver’s birth ‘Stepped into the old story and that lay before her’.
- use of dynamic, non finite verb ‘stepped’ holding a semantic of ease and simplicity= transcendence of tine and intertwining of past/present.
- Further emulated in idea that is ‘lay before her’ Sethe showing ease of slipping into past.
Romanticised image of Sweet Home ‘rolling, rolling, rolling out before her eyes’
- repetition creates vivid imagery
-utilised by Morrison as part of her temporal distortion style

and

The visualisation of past sin through the portrait, as demonstrated through “the strange expression that he had noticed in the face of the portrait” emphasises the degradation of purity, and the transcendence of sin through both time (the past and the present) as well as medium (emotions and objects), illuminating the power of past sin, and the difficulty
involved within erasion.