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Perspective Framing

Beloved does some interesting things with the perspective and framing of events depending on which character is experiencing/experienced them. Sethe's rememory is probably one of the most interesting narrative choices in this novel, very reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five's Tralfamadorian time travel. This kind of framing for narratives can make some stories very confusing, but in Beloved it helps to feed us information.

The constant jumping around focuses the story not on advancing a plot, but building the characters and the setting they inhabit. This is a good tactic for building characters, as the narrative jumps around to each person's perspective in turn. Certain events are played on repeat but from different angles. I would be interested to see how this would work in a film adaptation. Would the directors use camera angles? Would there have to be separate arcs for each character? I've seen this done in a few other works where the narrative focuses on building the world from multiple different views, but Beloved is nice and concise as a single story. Does anyone know of more works that also follow this whole world building format (Asking for a friend), and how do you feel about the constant perspective shifts and how this helps establish the world. Also, do you feel the need for Beloved to have a more forward plot, or do you think the constant rememory is better?

Comments

  1. SarahNovember 17, 2018 at 8:41 PM

    I remember Mr. Mitchell asking us in class who we believed to be the main character, and several people said Sethe. However, we never reached a true agreement, and personally I don't believe there is one "absolute" main character. Morrison uses an amazing technique of slowly circling around the main plot line and pivotal moment in the novel. Although this method is a bit disorientating, it is extremely effective and also allows the reader to see Sethe in a different light then they might have originally.

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  2. UnknownNovember 20, 2018 at 9:41 AM

    I agree that the rememory is a great way to develop the characters in the novel. In fact, I feel like Morrison is effective in doing so. I don't think that the novel should have a more forward plot because the plot is there, but it is based more off the past. Using rememory to gather information is a great way lengthen what would probably be a short plot and to fully develop the characters, which is something that I appreciate most.

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