Beloved

Toni Morrison

Discussion Questions
1. Beloved opens with a description of occurrences at a haunted house. What techniques does
the story use to render such events believable? Do you feel this aspect of the story works well
alongside the novel’s historical realism?

2. What does Denver’s relationship to the haunting at 124 Bluestone Road say about her
development as a young woman and about her personality in general? Why does she
appreciate “the safety of ghost company”? (p. 45)

3. What messages does the novel convey in presenting the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Garner at
Sweet Home as relatively benevolent slave owners? (For example, Mrs. Garner gives Sethe a
wedding present; Mr. Garner calls his enslaved workers “men,” defers to their opinions, and
allows them autonomy.)

4. The scars on Sethe’s back are described as forming a “tree” (p. 20, p. 93). What do you think is
the significance of this repeated description, and how does it relate to this story’s themes?

5. What is the significance and the effect of the timing of Beloved’s appearance? (p. 60)

6. How does Beloved’s relationship to Paul D change in p. 134-138? What does this say about
Beloved’s agenda, and what she may represent in this story?

7. Why does Morrison switch to the perspective of the slave catcher and “schoolteacher,” on
page 174, when they arrive to capture Sethe, rather than using Sethe’s point of view? What
effect does this have on our understanding of Sethe and the act of killing, and the situation of
enslaved people of the time?

8. What does Paul D mean by “your love is too thick?” (p. 194) Do you agree with Sethe’s
answer? Why or why not?

9. On page 225, we learn that Sethe pilfers food from her restaurant job rather than stand in line
with other Black townspeople at the general store. What does this behavior convey about
Sethe’s character, her past, and her relationship to her community?

10. In learning Baby Suggs’s backstory, we encounter the question: “What does a sixty-odd-year-
old slavewoman need freedom for?” (p. 166) Do you feel the novel answers this question, and
if so, how?

11. For twenty pages, the novel’s narrative style undergoes a radical change (p. 236 - 256). What
do you think is the intent of this shift, and what effect does this have on the reading
experience? Did you feel these passages were necessary and effective?

12. How and why does the intervention of the community and the arrival of Edward Bodwin
result in Beloved’s disappearance?

13. Why do you think the epilogue uses the refrain: “This is not a story to pass on”? Do you agree?
Why or why not?