"Saying more might push them both to a place they couldn't get back from. He would keep the rest where it belonged: in that tobacco tin buried in his chest where a red heart used to be. Its lid rusted shut." (86).
When analyzing Paul D, he has overcome a lot throughout his years, and that is what pushes himself to forget the past. When Paul D says "Saying more might push them both to a place they couldn't get back from", this conveys that Sethe and Paul D both have a horrible past from being in slavery and seeing the things they saw. They both look at the past and are extremely haunted by it. Paul D has the ability to put away the past by "He would keep the rest where it belonged: in that tobacco tin". Through the Psychoanalytical Lens, the biggest thing Paul D wants is change. He decides that facing and putting away your past will help you change into someone who is loving and caring. He thinks that putting the past behind him and never remembering it will help him learn how to love Sethe and start a life with her, Sethe is having a little trouble realizing that she needs to face her past and then put it away, whether it is in a tobacco tin or a container. The past for Paul D also did not teach him how to be a man, this could also be a part of him that he wants buried away. He wants to learn about himself, a clean slate kind of. He is now just looking toward the future, he can change the future but not the past. He is looking to be more of a man figure in Sethe and Denver's life. His past to him is like a chain that he can never get rid of, always just hanging on to him, never letting go. Paul D has been running against the chain, trying to escape it, but he can't and never will. But by accepting the chain for what it is, he has learned that he should not run against it, but run with it.
No comments:
Post a Comment