Have you ever felt haunted? Walked into a home and felt something you could not explain? Beloved, by Toni Morrison, is that way--like a home that I'm drawn into, that I want to understand, whose walls speak story, whose wisdom I aspire to, appreciate, and applaud. Everytime I read this work I wonder at the artist's mind. How can Morrison write story that makes us bleed? She haunts us. She unveils wounds. Regret. Reminiscences. She finds the words we hide from and leads us to community. I invite you to come in. Come join me in this haunted house in Ohio on Bluestone Street, you too may find pieces of yourself.
Your turn: what haunts you?
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True love haunts me. Is it real? We are all looking to find it and return it, But at this tender age during adolescent we find ourselves constantly haunted with disappointment or heartbreak in the never-ending quest for true love. It is a game of trial and error and we just need to win by the time we hit adulthood.
ReplyDelete-V Man
My haunting exists within the wanting subconscious of my wanting mind. It is the haunting, pathetic acknowledgement of what this world has offered and dealt. Life is a prison with city buildings as the bars and my imagination mocks me, jangling the imaginary keys. Fantasy is more charming. Fantasy has adventures, strangers, God, and a destiny worth pursuing with its fulfillments. But instead I was lucked into reality. A reality with a redundant yesterday mimicking the proceeding today, People just a boring an just as identical as yesterday, and the controversy from last night's episode of American Idol. So to my beloved and cherished writers and thinkers, I thank you. But unfortunately, your genius has craved my spoiled desires of more.
ReplyDeletePostin' a comment. Haunting: reminds me of the bad tv show on the diswcovery channel. That show kind of creates a novelty out of the realm of the unknown; distress caused by those who have died, their souls being in lingo. They are trapped in a pergatorial sturggle, trying to wreak havoc on the people that made their lives in this world miserable.
ReplyDeleteLee Decker
Sometimes I am haunted by mememories, things regreatabble instences that I fear, will never be reversible.
I am haunted by the tragedies that have occured in this world that are irreversible. I am haunted by my past.
ReplyDeleteHaunted is a word in our time that does not have the same power as when it was first created. Through cheesy horror movies and kid crime-solving shows, the word haunted has been watered down to a term that most first recognize as a supernatural reference. However, in the less colloquial sense, what haunts me is two simple words: What if. Even in a time of great accomplishment, this phrase can reduce anyone, including me, to second guess their performance. I can get an A- on an exam, and be content with it. However, when what if appears, I start beating myself up about the fact that I could have studied longer and worked harder. After every time this phrase appears, a scar is left which can never be ignored. I always revisit my what if moments, wondering how I could have been so wrong. Things like this have been known to drive people to insanity.
ReplyDeleteI am haunted by my inability to fulfill myself. It tires me and I never feel complete. I am moving forward but to an end that is still miles and miles ahead of where I am now. I strive and put my all into everything I love and for the life of me, still cannot figure out what I must do.
ReplyDeleteWhat's haunting to me is being a "street rat". This fear began the first time I saw the animated film Aladdin and still follows me to this day. What would happen if there is no home to return to when the day is over and had to live out in the street where the temperature is harsher than a New Jew classroom? the answer is misery which is antithetical to the happiness that all humans drift towards, especially me.
ReplyDeletemy doubt haunts me. it restricts me from being who i can be. i'm always asking myself if i'm worth it. it's like a person standing in front of me and makes going on extremely difficult. i wish the person was real so i could kick the crap out of him. tell him to go away and let me go on with my life. tell him to lift this boulder off my back so i can be happy, be in love, be successful.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say I've been haunted by spirits or any supernatural "thing" for lack of a better word, but I've definitely been haunted by mistakes I have made, expectations I failed to meet, and by personal choices I have made. I am one of those people who claims to not have any regrets. I believe that everything is done for a reason, good or bad, and that there is always something to be learned. Although I do not regret, I do not agree with everything I have done. Some choices I have made in my life have and will continue to effect me. Those choices, those mistakes, those unmet expectations, are what haunts me. I dream about the "what-ifs" in life, only to come to the conclusion that although the "what-if" may be ideal, it is not real. I continuously hold back from joining groups, finding a job, and even hanging out with people because I constantly think about what might happen if they find things out. Being a person who expects perfection from herself, it is hard to cope with mistakes. So how do I do it? I eliminate options. I figure out what mistake i made, and determine what i will NOT be able to do because of it. I punish myself to the extreme. Rather than accepting myself for who I am, perfections and imperfections, I close myself off from any possibility of reliving the mistake or from the mistake resurfacing. Teenagers make mistakes. It is only in our nature too. Trust me, I know that when we make mistakes we feel like it is the end of the world and we'll never be able to come out of it, but in reality if we just accept ourselves and continue living life with the same goals as we had previously had, we will be stronger. I cant stress how much I try to avoid thinking about mistakes I have made as a teenager, but I can only hope that one day I'll be able to say "So what?! I made a bad decision, I screwed up. I was a teenager. At least I learned from it, and helped others learn from my experience as well." I still believe that I do not regret anything. But everyday I am haunted by decisions I have made. I hope that one day I will be able to accept that without these mistakes, I would not be the person that I am today.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up haunts me. Sometimes it limits what I am capable of. For example, college-I want to be able to move out but I feel that my life is flashing right before me. One day I woke up and i was 10, the next memory I have is waking up and I am a teenager tangled up in all these problems and dilemmas once I have entered this world which is friendly to some and hard for most. I am scared to not be in my comfort zone. Although, as humans, I can adapt easily to any sort of situation, yet, I always feel like a piece of myself is missing. Even now, in high school, as graduation is approaching, I am baffled, and trying to figure out where time has gone. I miss being young and so carefree. I am haunted by not knowing where I will be in a few years from now and if I will be okay like I was as a child. But one must venture off into the world in order to come to a point of realization which will make them comfortable and content in their surroundings and in their place in life. Once I am able to do that, I will be able to not be haunted by the one thing I am afraid of the most. Because when you're a kid you have your whole life to look forward to, and as you get older you get closer to your last day. It's frightening, but it makes you try and make the most out of your life.
ReplyDeleteLital Abudi
Having no control over my life and my loved ones haunts me. For the world to be controlled by extremists who squelch individual freedoms denying varying thoughts and beliefs is fodder for my nightmares. I tremble at the thought of the death of democracy. Despite its flaws, it is a system that allows me to actively participate in society. What haunts me are fears of dis-empowerment. This makes me feel physically, mentally, and emotionally crippled. My best dreams are to soar high above the world and view life in perspective feeling liberated and in charge. Reading the novel 1984, precipitated disquieting visions of living imprisoned and isolated from knowledge, free thought, love and beauty. Such a life is equivalent to solitary confinement.
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ReplyDeleteI am simultaneously haunted and set free by the fact that life is meaningless. On one hand, I can make this whole experience mean whatever I want it to mean, but one the other hand, I realize that behind all the distractions, all the laughs, all the fun, and all the memories, there's just nothing. It's just a big facade. Indeed, Shakespeare was right when he said "All the world's a stage".
ReplyDelete-Adam A
I am haunted by fortune tellers of all sorts. I have lived to see, and therefore strongly believe, that methods such as reading the future/ the present in cards, coffee and such are all a real reason to be scared. Although I am still haunted by fortune telling, I have lately made the decision to stay away from it. I have come to the conclusion that if there are things I am not aware of, I probably shouldn't know about them.
ReplyDeleteBecause I am so terrified of fortune telling, I choose to step back and stay away from it for as long as I can.
As children, we are scared of the dark. As we mature, most abandon our fear of the dark and transform it into a fear of the unknown. Not knowing whether I will live to see another day, love another soul, or find happiness from within myself haunts me constantly. I actively must force myself to look beyond the fear of the unknown and live in the present- this requires surrendering the 'what ifs' and relinquishing any fear of something I cannot prevent. I am not a child, but I am still scared of the dark.
ReplyDeleteThe only house I have ever been haunted by was my old house. I refuse to re-enter the house because of the negative energy I get from it. I feel unsafe in that house. I also get reoccurring nightmares about that house. So, yes, I do feel haunted by the house and I can definitely agree that the walls tell a story, not just to me but also to the guests that have visited the house.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't necessarily say I've been haunted in a bad way. But when my papa passed on I noticed a spirit following me. Because we lived next door to my grandparent when ever we went into the house after they passed, the lights would begin to flicker. There was also another time when I was at amanda's house with orr and we took out the owegi board. That was some crazy Stuff! When we called people from the dead that was the all time craziest thing ever!!
ReplyDeleteI am haunted by certain memories from my past--from my childhood. They are scars. As time passes, the dark memories never dissipate or become weaker. I still remember them very clearly. Some of the scars involved loved ones; people I am surrounded by daily. I try my hardest to see these individuals as I once did. I try to replace the hurt and the hate and with hopes of a new start--a new relationship with these individuals. But I will never forget. I am always haunted. They will never regain my full trust and never again win my respect.
ReplyDeleteBut the haunting is not purely detrimental. It gives me a sense of awareness--it is grounding. It has made me stronger; and for this I am grateful. I would not be who I am today, without these scars and the haunting which reminds me of them.
I am always haunted when I walk into my house when no one is home, and its dark..but most of the time I am only haunted in places where I appear alone. It's not such a big deal though. No one haunts me, you haunt yourself and only yourself. The darkness, the lonliness and sounds of the backrounds are scary.
ReplyDeleteI am constantly being haunted of what the future beholds. Whether its a day or a year from now I keep on obsessing about the future, when I don't even pay attention on what is going on in the present. I focus to deeply on what the next day will be like and it affects my present in a harmful way. Even now I cannot sleep because I am obsessing over the future. What I will work on is how to structure my present so that I do not have to be haunted by my future. With every problem comes a solution.
ReplyDeleteHaunting is a strong word. Sure, there are prospects that I find unsettling, but to be haunted implies some profound fear; a prospect so omnipresent in your mind that it completely envelops your thoughts, choking your hopes of the future into a grainy, bleak bottleneck with no positive aspects apparent to you. Sometimes, people are haunted by the apparent bleakness of their future, or the consequences of their past. In either case, there is an element of uncertainty that really drives that fear. So right now, in the immediate present, it is uncertainty about how the next few months will play out.
ReplyDeleteI like this forum there's an anonymity it offers that is also intimate.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your thoughts. Your trust, your candor honors my place in your lives and I am grateful.
The fears you feel are valid. You have a right to each one of them. I hear so many of you offer up your truth then back away from the significance of what you've just communicated by closing with "but it's all good" or some other empty phrase that leaves your feelings unvalidated. Even by you. How in the world are you to really know this yet? Yes faith. Yes presence. Yes language. AND it's ok simply not to know. It's not necessarily a bath we're all anxious to get in, but there nonetheless.
We began Beloved today. Let this be enough of a prompt...
Not many things haunt me. However, I feel that we are all haunted by our corrupt generation. One that is materialisticly driven by new, absurd sources. Our generation holds a lack of humane sympathy and morality as we fall short of our expectations to do our duty in this world. Our reality haunts our parents, future generations will be worse.
ReplyDeleteThe pages in which Paul D finally gets what he wants, a night with Sethe, were haunting. He waited years for this woman. He satisfied himself with cows in her stead. And finally, when the moments comes when it is their time to be together, it is over in an instant and he leaves it unfulfilled, the mood and any possibility of pursuit broken by the ghost. It is a saddening reminder of how we must remain realistic, while at the same time maintaining enough hope to sustain us.
ReplyDeleteI concur with Andrew's observation of Paul D's struggle to be together with Sethe for a single night. What all the men at Sweet Home have went through in a futile attempt to preserve reality is horrifying. Furthermore, reading it today, the concept of a ghost pales in comparrison to the ghost portrayed by Morrison. Having ones dead child constantly linger over you is a reality I personally wish never to have experience, but the recognition of this adds to the tragedy of Sethe's tragic life in America. However, throughout all I have read to date, I pray that a silver lining will appear inorder to give us the readers a break from this ungodly tragic tale.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the book I have a slight difficulty distinguishing flashbacks from present day conversations and memories. Besides that, great start to what seems like an extremley enjoyable novel to read.
To respond to the prompt. I believe we suppress what truly haunts us because its only of importance to oneself. We are all individuals in the end, and have a subjective interpretation of the world. I believe that our fears are insignificant to to others and ultimately ourselves because we know life is more important than petty fears.
ReplyDeleteMy past has haunted me in the past couple years of high school, but now that I have been admitted into college, my past has transformed into a lesson that will help me with my future endeavors rather than restrict and tie me down. Today I am haunted by my future and the unknown. I am haunted by the fact that I might not be in complete control of what happens to me in the coming years. I am haunted by my parents success. I am haunted by my future journey.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the prompt, i feel that we suppress the things that haunt because we are afraid to share our true selves. I feel that I will be judge by what haunts me if i share. i have to be confident in myself and not care what other people think
ReplyDeleteI am haunted by a problem from my past, present and most likely my future. That evil part of me self, my weight. It makes me feel horrible about myself even though i try to hide it. I always try to loose it, but nothing ever happens. Usually, i will loose some and then something bad will happen to me and i will feel sad or depressed. This has made me into an emotional eater. I eat to solve my emotional problems. I am in total fear of this because i have tried so much to stop but every time some how i slip back into the habit. This is one of the few parts of my life that haunt me.
ReplyDeleteI stare at the book in front of me. I look at the back cover, a synopsis explaining how incredible the book is. One of a revered nature. I look at the front cover. It looks boring. i judged the book by its cover. I didnt want to read it. F#ck this, I said. I toss the book into the closet. That was last year. I had forgotten about. Literally keeping it hidden away.
ReplyDeleteThis year, I find that I need to use the book. I bring it to my class. I look at the back cover. I look at the front. Same book. I write my name on the side of the book in a permanent marker. I look at the inside cover. "Tovah B" A name that haunts me. I cross the name off and try to forget. I try to suppress. We begin reading the book. As we do I notice the annotations. Seeing the thought process of someone I once loved. I remember having conversations about the book; I remember thinking that I would never enjoy it. I was wrong. As soon as I started reading I was sent back in time. I revisited those painful memories. Something struck me. The annotations mocked me. They taunted me. They haunted me. I continued reading in an uneasy sort of way. I open the window behind me, I couldnt breathe. I give the book to my teacher, I cant read this I said. Somehow I knew that those conversations she had with herself in those notes were conversations I had shared in the past. I had already read the book.
I am haunted. Time to send the dark ominous soul to rest. Goodbye and Good Riddance.
By the way Benny I feel you, I used to struggle with weight a while ago. Keep you head up. If you keep a good attitude anything is possible.
ReplyDeletei,e. Benny B and the bandits.
they never believed in us...we showed them wrong haha
Life continues to move on. I am haunted to what comes next in life. I can never predetermine the outcome of it.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read Beloved, my heart aches. The pages are painful. There was a particular quote which stood out to me: "No more running--from nothing. I will never run from another thing on earth. I took one journey and paid for the ticket, but let me tell you something, Paul D Garner: it cost too much! Do you hear me? It cost too much." (18)
ReplyDeleteMost people, upon reading this except, would find Sethe to be a strong person for no longer fearing anything in life. They would see her as admirable and brave. I however, find her circumstances to be nothing but sad. Sethe has risked everything. There is nothing that she fears; nothing which shakes her. It is sad to me, that she has been through experiences so traumatic and terrible, so haunting, that she no longer fears anything in life. This is sad. This is haunting, because part of being human is feeling the emotion of fear. And she has lost that. Her experiences of dehumanization as a slave have taken away parts of her human self. That is haunting.
I connect not her experiences to myself, but her feeling of no longing having anything to run from--no longer fearing anything. I am haunted because there are some days where I become this way. Where nothing in the world matters to me--where not even death scares me. This is haunting. I am glad, so glad, that this feelings and thoughts, are few and not often. Yet their memory haunts me non the less.
Don't know what to say. will get back to you all once im ready to face all that haunts me.
ReplyDeletei am haunted by my emptiness. I dont really want anything, i dont really enjoy anything, i am not really saddened by anything, it has all become white noise to me, chaotic, confused, and nonsensical. It haunts me that i cant remember what it is like to love someone. I feel as if my past was uneventful, since i dont remember myself in any part of it, and my future has become irrelavant to me because it seems to me that there is ultimately nowhere to go, and so im just running on the same treadmill as every other human being in history. It haunts me that i feel as though all i really want is endless darkness, purely silent, and all encompassing, so that i can stop existing as flecks of white noise torn apart and recycled constantly.
ReplyDeleteI am haunted by the fear of not knowing what will come in the future. I know I can plan my day the way I want it but it ultimately isn't in my hands. it is in G-d's power to do as what He wants. I can plan my day the way I want it to be, but there is really no way for me to really plan my day. That is what haunts me the most.
ReplyDeleteI feel very detached from Beloved. As a 21st century white suburban middle-class young adult male, I find it somewhat arduous to relate to a 19th century African-American haunted house story which is also about slavery and features a female protagonist. It's just too distant for me to care about the events or characters or plot.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading the book, I frequently find myself asking the question "What's your point, Toni Morrison? What do you want me to think? What do you want me to get out of this? That slavery is bad? That life back then was hard? That people can be cruel? That people in the 19th century gave their kids weird names like Buglar?" Because I already know all these things.
Is my education going backwards? Is de-evolution real? Is everything just one big cycle, as Oswald Spengler postulated?
Almost everything haunts me. I may not show it all the time but its their. The thought of going to college haunts me. Not knowing what is next is a scary though, and although I know the future is coming no matter what it makes me afraid. I am in coming to then end of high school and I have to make the decision that says which college I will be attending. Its a hard decision that requires a lot of thought, I have to think about what I want for the next four years of my life and how I see my self in those next four years, which haunts me all the time.
ReplyDeleteMy body haunts me the damage I do to it is horrifying. No I do not have a "choke cherry tree back" or the horror stories Sethe has. But my past the foods I have eaten. the times when I refused to eat. However those don't haunt me nearly as much as the reasons why I did this to my body. Sethe had no choice with what happened to her body. I get to choose whether I eat that cupcake or eat a piece of fruit and when I eat. It haunts me that I take my body for granted when there were are still are people like Sethe that have no choice.
ReplyDeleteThe future haunts me. I don't know what to expect. I have my goals and dreams but the future is a mystery and no one ever knows what the outcome will be. The only thing I could do is hope for the best and wait and see what happens...
ReplyDelete