Justin Vieira January 23, 2000
             “Inside, two boys [Howard and Buglar] bled in the sawdust and dirt at the feet of a nigger woman [Sethe] holding a blood-soaked child [Beloved] to her chest with one hand and an infant [Denver] by the heels in the other. She did not look at them; she simply swung the baby toward the wall planks, missed and tried to connect a second time…” (page. 149).
             One of the first things a baby sees when they are born is their mother. A baby can be certain their mother loves them more than anything because they are of the same flesh and blood. What is a baby to think when their own “face” decapitates them with a hacksaw? It is only natural for the baby to be confused as to how to react to that woman that is suppose to love them. Toni Morrison includes a stream of consciousness chapter in Beloved to express Beloved’s confusion about everything she sees as a baby.
             Without reading the chapter, the first observation made is the lack of punctuation. Even though Beloved is physically a women, she has many childlike qualities. Beloved has skipped the developmental period between birth and adulthood. “how can I [Beloved] say things that are pictures” (page 210). Beloved only sees things as a baby does. For this reason, she does not know how to form sentences. The only word that is consistently punctuated correctly is “I.” The only thing that Beloved is truly sure about, is herself. Everything else has the power to deceive her.
             “we are all trying to leave our bodies behind the man on my face [Halle] has done it it is hard to make yourself die forever” (page 210). Beloved has been amongst the living and the dead. According to her, the purpose of life is to become dead. Halle, the man on her face, has accomplished this through disappearing. Nobody knows anything about him, so he is
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