Red Light
Which character most often sees the “Red Light?”
Paul D
Which person carries the red ribbon in their pocket?
Stamp Paid
Which character is said to have a “red heart?”
Paul D
What is the color on Beloved’s headstone?
Pink
What is being described as “missing” in this quote: “Something is missing from 124. Something larger than the people who lived there. Something more than Beloved or the red light.” (319)
Sense of stability, feeling whole, scars from the past forever affecting the family.
Analysis: This quote reveals that the “something” missing from 124 is more complex than Beloved or the red light. Both these symbols illustrate unresolved trauma from the past that has scarred Sethe, Paul D, and many others. Towards the end of the novel, the weight of the past burdens begins to lighten and fade, but there appear to be lingering effects of slavery that cannot be erased. The "something" missing suggests the absence of a true sense of freedom and wholeness, which the characters will always look for.
Finish the sentence: “Stamp withdrew the ribbon and sat down on the steps. ‘No. Here's something else.’ He _____________” 271
“stroked the red cloth between forefingers and thumb.”
Analysis: The quote above highlights the comfort the ribbon brings to Stamp Paid, in the idea that he has the strength to overcome any problem, using the trauma of his past as fuel. In the novel, Stamp Paid represents a character who did not internalize his painful memories but holds them as a reminder of why he pushes himself toward a better future.
Finish the sentence:
“He would keep the rest where it belonged: _____________where a red heart used to be.” 86
“In the tobacco tin buried in his chest”
Analysis: Paul D is sharing his painful past memories with Sethe. But fears sharing too much of the past will trap them in their old inescapable and enslaved life.
What color velvet does Amy Denver want? (be specific!)
Carmine red
What is the context behind the quote: “As soon as he had stepped through the red light he knew that, compared to 124, the rest of the world was bald.”
Paul D remembering his past traumas.
Analysis: Paul D compares the women in 124 to his past trauma, both after being released from Alfred and at Sweet Home. The rest of the world does not understand and hold onto the struggles that he and the women have faced at one point in their life.
What does the symbol of the red ribbon encourage Stamp Paid to do?
The red ribbon is Stamp Paid’s reminder to always help those in need. This can be seen when he encourages Paul D to take the help from the community, rather than suffer alone.
What events dehumanized Paul D, causing him to internalize his traumatic past?
“It was some time before he could put Alfred, Georgia, Sixo, schoolteacher, Halle, his brothers, Sethe, Mister, the taste of iron, the sight of butter, the smell of hickory, notebook paper, one by one, into the tobacco tin lodged in his chest” (139)
Which color represented “wild–like life in the raw” (49).
Orange
What is the significance of the Red Light?
An emotional wound that has not healed.
Analysis: The unsettling and unspoken trauma of the people living within 124.
What is the significance of the Red Ribbon?
Trauma and suffering of slaves
Analysis: Stamp hopes for a better future
What is the significance of the Red Heart?
Represents feeling and emotion in regard to Paul D after he was seduced by Beloved.
Why does Baby Suggs fixate on yellow and blue during the end of her life?
She wanted to focus on harmless things.
Find the page number of this quote (Hint: Pages 1-50): “Now the iron was back but the face, softened by her hair, made him trust her enough to step inside her door smack a pool of pulsing red light.”
Page 11
Analysis:
The red light in the quote above highlights the trauma and slavery that both characters, Sethe and Paul D, have experienced in their lifetime. The unsettling memories and unhealed wounds of Sethe life that influence the everyday actions of both herself and Denver, creating the “red light.”
Paul D hopes that the familiar face of the past will bring him a sense of comfort that had been missing from his life, but being with Sethe does the opposite. Despite Paul D's continued efforts throughout the novel, being with Sethe dismisses the feelings of comfort Paul D longed for.
Find the page number of this quote (Hint: Pages 200-250): “He tugged and what came loose in his hand was a red ribbon knotted around a curl of wet wooly hair, clinging still to its bits of scalp.”
Page 212
Analysis: The red ribbon in the quote above highlights the violence and damage left by the system of slavery. It can be inferred that the ribbon had once belonged to an African American girl. Stamp finds the ribbon, still attached to parts of the flesh it had been torn from. The ribbon prompts him to reflect on the anger of those who had been subject to such acts of aggression, leading him to realize what the clamor enveloping 124 is: “the mumbling of the black and angry dead.” (234) Stamp now recognizes the persistence of a painful past.
Find the page number of this quote (Hint: Pages 100-150)
“What knew was that when he reached the inside part he was saying, “Red heart. Red heart, over and over again. Softly and then so loud it woke Denver, then Paul D himself. “Red heart. Red heart. Red heart.”
Page 138
Analysis: The red heart in the quote above highlights the sudden burst of emotion Paul D is feeling. Throughout the novel, he often describes himself as a heartless “creature,” who does not have control over himself. In this particular scene, Paul D is regaining the control and emotion he had once lost. The repetition of red heart during Paul D's interaction with Beloved also highlights the unnatural control Beloved has over others, further developing the supernatural existence of Beloved as a whole.
Thesis
In the novel, Beloved, Toni Morrison uses the motif of the color red in order to demonstrate the enduring impact of slavery to ultimately illustrate the dangers of internalizing painful memories.