logo

Beloved

Toni Morrison

Beloved

Toni Morrison

  • 74-page comprehensive Study Guide
  • Chapter-by-chapter summaries and multiple sections of expert analysis
  • The ultimate resource for assignments, engaging lessons, and lively book discussions

Beloved Chapters 17-19 Summary & Analysis

Chapter 17 Summary

Back in the present, while Stamp Paid and Paul D are working at the slaughterhouse, Stamp Paid shows Paul D a newspaper clipping about Sethe’s arrest after she was found with her murdered child. Stamp Paid explains that on the night of the celebratory feast, the schoolteacher came with his men to take Sethe and her children back to Sweet Home. While the neighbors generally have a system of notifying one another when slave catchers are on the road, nobody alerted Grandma Baby Suggs at the time. Although many claim that the oversight was due to the community feeling tired and sluggish after the feast, Stamp Paid believes that everybody resented Grandma Baby Suggs’ life and “just wanted to know if Baby really was special” (185). Since Grandma Baby Suggs and Sethe did not know that the schoolteacher and his men were coming until too late, Sethe made the impulsive decision to bring her children with her to the shed and take matters into her own hands. While Stamp Paid relays this story, Paul D does not seem to register its details. He repeatedly gestures to the image of Sethe in the newspaper clipping and says, “That ain’t her mouth” (181).

blurred text

Unlock this
Study Guide!

Join SuperSummary to gain instant access to all 74 pages of this Study Guide and thousands of other learning resources.
Get Started
blurred text