" It's a tree Lu. A chokecherry tree." (93)
This description not only startled me but moved me in a such a way that I could not get past this image when I first read these words. Sethe's back was so torn, ripped, swollen, and red that it was unrecognizable. It was no longer a human back, but a tree. Just to think how many times this woman was whipped, and how much pain she suffered before she escaped is disturbing. I say disturbing because I can never and will never understand how humans can treat other humans as if they're a piece of meat; as if they were meaningless creatures devoured of their dignity. When Amy described Sethe's markings as a chokecherry tree, I immediately thought of this image to right. I have seen this image time and time again of this African-American man with his back towards the camera displaying his chokecherry tree back.
I was touched by Amy's efforts to comfort Sethe; making something so gruesome and painful into something delightful.
"See, here's the trunk-- it's red and split wide open, full of sap, and this here's the parting for the branches. You got a might lot of branches. Leaves, too, look like, and dern if these ain't blossoms. They little cherry blossoms, just as white. Your back got a whole tree on it. In bloom." (93)
This is a such a tender moment between the two because here's a white girl, massaging, and making light of this colored-woman's tribulations. Amy was thoughtful enough to come up with such a description. She didn't talk on and on about how terrible it was. She decided to make it better by associating the markings with something beautiful instead of something horrid.
This description not only startled me but moved me in a such a way that I could not get past this image when I first read these words. Sethe's back was so torn, ripped, swollen, and red that it was unrecognizable. It was no longer a human back, but a tree. Just to think how many times this woman was whipped, and how much pain she suffered before she escaped is disturbing. I say disturbing because I can never and will never understand how humans can treat other humans as if they're a piece of meat; as if they were meaningless creatures devoured of their dignity. When Amy described Sethe's markings as a chokecherry tree, I immediately thought of this image to right. I have seen this image time and time again of this African-American man with his back towards the camera displaying his chokecherry tree back.
I was touched by Amy's efforts to comfort Sethe; making something so gruesome and painful into something delightful.
"See, here's the trunk-- it's red and split wide open, full of sap, and this here's the parting for the branches. You got a might lot of branches. Leaves, too, look like, and dern if these ain't blossoms. They little cherry blossoms, just as white. Your back got a whole tree on it. In bloom." (93)
This is a such a tender moment between the two because here's a white girl, massaging, and making light of this colored-woman's tribulations. Amy was thoughtful enough to come up with such a description. She didn't talk on and on about how terrible it was. She decided to make it better by associating the markings with something beautiful instead of something horrid.
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