Beloved

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1987

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Study Guide

Teaching Guide

Before You Read Beta

Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-12

Chapters 13-16

Chapters 17-19

Chapters 20-24

Chapters 25-28

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Quiz

Essay Topics

Discuss the significance of 124 as a site of haunting for the residents of the house. What does 124 symbolize? How is its meaning transformed throughout the course of the novel?

Describe the relationship among Sethe, Denver, and Beloved. How does this relationship develop starting with Beloved’s arrival and ending with her disappearance at the end of the novel?

Discuss Beloved. What has incited her arrival? What does she represent in the larger scope of Sethe, Denver, and Paul D’s lives?