POV+Shifts

= Record examples of Morrison's POV Shifts throughout the novel. =


 * Book One, Section 2, After their failed attempt to make love/have sex, the pov constantly switches between Sethe and Paul D showing both of their perspectives on what just occurred between them.

The point of view shifts from Sethe thinking in first person narrative about her mind to a more distant third person omniscient. This change in point of view starts by making the reader feel like he/she is Sethe and then chnages to make the reader feel more like a personal observer. This acts as a sort of segue out of the depth of Sethe's past memories into her future.
 * Section 1.7, p. 70 "I don't want to know or have to remember that... But her brain was not interested in the future."

At the begining of 1.7, we see things from Paul D's perspective. Although it does not switch to first person from Paul D's POV, there is still some insight to his thoughts.
 * 1.7, p. 64 "Beloved was shining and Paul D didn't like it."
 * 1.7, p. 64 "In the evening when he came home and the three of them were all there fixing the supper table, her shine was so pronounced he wondered why Denver and Sethe didn't see it."
 * 1.7, p. 64 "Paul D looked carefully at Beloved to see if she was aware of it but she paid him no attention at all--frequently not even answering a direct question put to her. She would look at him and not open her mouth."
 * This also happens when Paul D remembers his time as a slave. "Out of sight of Mister's sight, away, praise His name, from the smiling boss of roosters, Paul D began to tremble..." (1.10 hardcover: pg. 125)

As Denver is telling Beloved the story of how Sethe gave birth to her, the POV switches to the past and the reader recieves an unbiased third person account of what happened.
 * Hardcover, section 1.8, pg. 92: "-a recklessness born of desperation and encouraged by Amy's fugitive eyes and her tenderhearted mouth/ 'You ain't got no business wolking round these hills, miss.'"

Section 1.10 pov shifts to Paul D-we get the story about Georgia.

The POV shifts to Beloved for one of the first times in the book. We finally see what she is thinking, and it helps us better understand her motives for coming back to life.
 * "But now -- even the daylight time that Beloved had counted on, disciplined herself to be content with, was being reduced, divided by Sethe's willingness to pay attention to other things. Him mostly." (1.9 hardcover: pg. 118)

The begining of Book 2 starts from Stamp Paid's perspective. He is becoming an important character in the book and here we start to see into his thoughts.

section 2.3 switches to Denvers pov, talking about Beloved. Section 2.4 has poetic prose with (essentially) all three of the women's voices/pov's

pg. 248 hardcover. "I am Beloved and she is mine." Shows a merge between the point of view of Sethe and Beloved.

For three consecutive chapters, the POV switches between Sethe, Denver, and Beloved to show how they are taking discovering who Beloved really is.
 * "Beloved, she my daughter. She mine." (hardcover pg. 236)
 * "Beloved is my sister." (hardcover pg. 242)
 * "I am Beloved and she is mine." (hardcover pg. 248)

In chapter 2.5, the POV of Denver, Sethe, and Beloved jumble together to show how close the three women have become to each other; they have essentially become one person. POV switches in middle of chapter to Edward Bodwin sec3.1 pg.259
 * Section 2.5, pg. 216 "Beloved / You are my sister / You are my daughter / You are my face; you are me...You went in the water / I drank your blood / I brought your milk"