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Section 4: Overview

Thematic Development

Beloved is filled with complex topics, including slavery, motherhood, love, and loss. What message is Toni Morrison sending about these topics? As we conclude our reading of Beloved, we will have an opportunity to strengthen our understanding of at least one theme developed within Beloved. This task will allow us to more deeply explore, evaluate, and analyze the artistic craft employed by Morrison as she develops themes within Beloved. This understanding will benefit us when writing our own Culminating Task narrative in the next section.

  • Lesson 1:

    We will be introduced to the Section Diagnostic and begin preparing for a Socratic Seminar on theme. We will also continue to work with characterization, particularly as it relates to various themes of the novel, and we will continue to analyze Toni Morrison’s literary style by comparing it to poetry.

  • Lesson 2:

    We will explore the idea of cogitation and relate it to repression and the thematic development of the novel. Additionally, we will wrestle with the idea of Beloved as a social critique by reading the article, “The American Ghost Story Persists. Why?” We will have an opportunity to practice preparing for and participating in a Socratic Seminar by discussing the question “How does Beloved work as a social critique?”

  • Lesson 3:

    We will analyze Toni Morrison’s poem on page 310 and determine its meaning and significance. We will also analyze and critique pages 310–322 of Beloved as an ending for the characters. We will consider this analysis as we think about our Culminating Task narrative. We will continue to prepare for our Section Diagnostic by reviewing our materials regarding theme.

  • Lesson 4:

    We will finish the novel with a close read of the final two pages, and we will explore the question, “Who was Beloved and what happened to her?” As we read, we will analyze Morrison’s decision to end her novel in this way and how it affects our understanding of the novel. We will also spend time finalizing our preparations for the Section Diagnostic.

  • Lesson 5:

    We will participate in a Socratic Seminar in which we discuss the question, “What message does Toni Morrison want readers of Beloved to learn, understand, and remember?”

  • Lesson 6:

    We will review the teacher’s feedback on our Section Diagnostic and will use the feedback to make revisions to our work.

  • Lesson 7:

    We will share the analyses we have made about our independent reading texts and make connections to the unit. We will plan a final product to share our experiences from reading independently and the knowledge we have gained.