Beloved

In Beloved by Toni Morrison, there are several characters who overcome obstacles in the face of adversity while others fail to do so. Halle is one character who, when faced with difficult hardships, ends up losing himself. One example is when he sees Sethe's milk get stolen and he loses his mind and "lathers butter on his face." Instead of taking hold of the situation and defending his wife, he cowardly hides and is ultimately unable to face his responsibilities. Denver is one character who overcomes the restrictions that are placed upon her and, in a way, embraces them. Even though nobody at school will talk to her, she finds friendship at first in the ghost and later in Beloved. She cares for Beloved because she knows that she is her sister and it is her job to do so. Denver, who encounters many problems in her life because of Sethe's actions, is able to rise above them because she wills herself to do so. A second character who does this throughout the novel is Sethe. Though she must endure innumerable challenges in her life, at the end of the novel she seems to have come out one top. Even though her children, her milk, and her freedom were all taken away from her, she regains them all. She may seem like she goes crazy when she tried to kill her kids but really she is just doing what a mother must do in any situation; protect her children. Sethe does not bother with what the townspeople think because she knows, in her own heart, that she has always does what was right in order to save her family and herself. Sethe overcomes the obstacles that are put in front of her because she and her daughter have a strength and a will power that her husband never possessed.