Tiny Handprints in the Cake

"as soon as two tiny hand prints appeared in the cake (that was it for Howard)"

The quote regarding the handprints in the cake are in the first page of Toni Morrison's Beloved. The first glimpse we get into this book is the "spiteful" nature of the environment in which Sethe and Denver live. Beloved has already driven away her brothers, trying to get Sethe to be only hers.  I makes perfect sense that the boys would leave such a hostile environment. The first chapter makes it seem as though the ghost is the only motivation that the boys have to leave. However, as the book progress, it seems very possible that Beloved didn't have much to do with the departure of her brothers. Howard and Buglar have apparently lived with the ghost for a couple of years, until they were thirteen, so it is seems unlikely that they were not able to cope with these minor events. The ghost of Beloved and her antics might have been the straw that broke the camels back but was most likely not the only factor. The two boys were old enough to comprehend their mothers actions when she killed their sister and they also suffered from the attack, emphasized by the fact that the school teacher thought they were close to death and too far gone that "there was nothing to claim.” (pg. 149). According to an article analyzing the motivation behind the departure of Howard and Buglar, they "left because they were afraid of their mother trying to kill them again, not the ghost of Beloved."  This is a viable theory. As soon as they boys considered themselves to be capable teenagers and no longer needed their mother's help they left for fear of her intense brand of love. All of Sethe's children were affected by her actions, even Denver, who was significantly younger than the boys, harbors fear from the events of that day. It make sense that Howard and Buglar are very afraid of their mother and Sethe simply used the tiny handprints in the cake and the shattered mirror to justify her children leaving her.  

The cake that Sterling and I made is much more modern interpretation of the cake that supposedly drove Howard away. Due to the time period and the circumstances in which they lived, their cake was probably not quite as sophisticated. The flavor of the cake is not really and important detail but we still tried to keep the cake firmly in the south, with the famously southern red velvet. The most important part of the cake is the handprints. They were probably much more subtle than the obvious red that we choose to use but the emphasis of the hands was important. The handprints might have been an excuse to leave home but there is no doubt that the existed and were probably quite unnerving. Beloved did still want her mother to herself and caused disturbances to make that happen. No matter the real reason of fear, the handprints and the shattered mirror are a catalyst that causes the boys to leave. 

Secondary source: http://maggieronnieadambeloved.blogspot.com/2010/06/howard-and-buglar.html

Baby Suggs = Stagger Lee

Toni Morrison's Beloved portrays a snapshot of our collective history as a nation. This history is something that we would all like to move past and forget, an idea which is a theme of Beloved; don't let the past consume you. Unfortunately the past is hard to forget, but it we can move past it and learn from it. Slavery occurred because people were dehumanized, treated as objects that could be worked and abused in any way that the owner saw fit. The downfall of slavery is that all though these people are treated as object they are still human and human nature says that a people as a whole can only go so long being mistreated before someone fights back. These people are the Stagger Lees. 

Stagger Lee is a prominent archetype through history, "Every era has had a Stagger Lee". There is folktale in which a black man shot another man for knocking his hat off. This myth on it's own is not much to look at but Will Powers turned this legend into something more with his musical Stagger Lee. Will Powers suggested that though Stagger Lee is big and bad and can be a destroyer "sometimes Stagger Lee is the protector". This Stagger Lee "energy in our community is necessary" and was especially necessary during the time of slavery. Stagger Lee stands up to societal ideas without fear. Not enough Stagger Lee accomplishes nothing, too much Stagger Lee is dangerous and reckless, and the perfect balance of Stagger Lee makes a difference.  

Baby Suggs is a Stagger Lee. She stood against the ideas of slavery and taught people how to love and be human when there lives were filled with nothing but pain and hate. Baby Suggs started out with the perfect amount of Stagger Lee energy. She was promoting change and infusing humanity into the community. This energy was necessary for all these people who were trying to find out who they were and what they were beyond the chains of slavery. Unfortunately the community felt that the feast was too much Stagger Lee energy. The were angry and also a little scared that Baby Suggs had so easily raised herself up to be a Christ figure, as though she was better than everyone else and no one could touch her. According to Will Powers , too much of this energy causes us to "turn on each other and destroy ourselves." The events of the morning after the feast emphasizes this idea. 

Stagger Lee energy is what has moved us past slavery. Hate and discrimination became a societal norm and were perfectly accepted. If no one speaks up against the norms then no one will acknowledge them as being anything but normal. Though hate and discrimination are no longer norms they still live on. We are not past the need for Stagger Lee energy, something the musical really demonstrates. If we learn from our past while fostering a balanced Stagger Lee energy, we can wipe out slavery and discrimination of all types.  Unfortunately, this isn't as easy as it sounds. If it was we would be living in a utopia. 

Secondary Source: http://www.theaterjones.com/ntx/features/20150123114224/2015-01-25/Deconstructing-Stagger-Lee