Denver’s Coming of Age in Toni Morrison’s Beloved Essay Example

asks Beloved not to tell Sethe that she is Sethe’s dead daughter. Beloved gets upset at Denver for trying to tell her what to do and doesn’t want to continue dancing. Denver is so content with Beloved’s attention that she wants to keep Beloved’s secret from Sethe. If Sethe were to discover that Beloved was her daughter, Denver would lose the attention she strives for from both Sethe and Beloved.

Denver’s desire Beloved, bring her to lie, keeping her and her mother from the truth, and drives her deeper into a hole and further away from helping herself realize her potential. In order to get Beloved’s affection back “she swallowed twice to prepare for the telling, to construct out of the strings had heard all her life a net to hold Beloved” (90). Denver chooses to forget her fight with Beloved because it would put a strain on their relationship. If their relationship was strained, Denver would lose her friend and only form of acceptance and admiration.

Denver’s maturity and growth is blocked by her reliance on others for acceptance. Denver’s exclusion from Sethe and Beloved helps her realize the negative effects Beloved has on her and Sethe so that she can turn her life around for the better. Beloved’s distraction of Sethe brings Denver isolation and hunger. “The thirty-eight dollars of life savings went to feed themselves with fancy food and decorate themselves with ribbons and dress goods” (283). Sethe spends all of her savings, which are meant for an emergency, on Beloved to make up for her murder of Beloved.

After Sethe stops going to work, she put her full

focus on Beloved and tries to please her with the most expensive food and goods that she can buy. Sethe’s actions allow Denver to realize that Sethe is spending all of her money to please Beloved who is manipulating Sethe. Denver starts to isolate herself from Beloved because she is seeing the effect on her mother and does not want to be near someone who is going to manipulate her. Denver’s removal of herself from Beloved, helps improve her life and brings her closer to being an independent person.

As the food supplies start to run out, Denver is left hungry and alone: “hunger could do that: quiet you down and wear you out. Neither Sethe nor Beloved knew or cared about it” (281). As Sethe stays with Beloved, they all grow hungry but Beloved will not let go of Sethe long enough for her to realize that she isn’t eating feeding Denver or herself. Denver’s isolation allows her to see that Beloved’s distraction of Sethe from everything including food is slowly killing Sethe and herself.

As Beloved slowly starves Denver and Sethe, Denver slowly begins to see Beloved’s destruction is their lives and has try to piece their lives back together herself. Beloved and Sethe’s companionship allows Denver to recognize the wake of destruction that Beloved leaves behind her. Once Denver leaves the comfort of her home to look for help, she is able to grow and put her life on the track it was meant to be on. Denver’s first step to becoming her own person, after her recognition that she needed help, was her venture to Lady Jones’ house.