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Teddy McGahan Daughters of Dust Response

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Teddy McGahan Daughters of Dust Response

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1. Both this film and "Beloved" use a plot structure that is circular. Time does not necessarily flow in a linear fashion in both stories, and there are many flashbacks to the past that occur seamlessly. Also, both stories contain characters that are non-living children. In the film, it is the unborn child of Eli and Eula narrating from the future. However, in "Beloved" the child was killed by Sethe and the character is the child's ghost. Both stories deal with the aftermath of slavery. The film is a bit further removed from the institution of slavery, as it occurs in 1902 whereas "Beloved" takes place in the second half of the 19th century. I think the major way the film and novel differ is in their focuses. "Beloved" seems to focus mostly on the trauma and scars inflicted by slavery, and the ways you can/cannot reconcile that trauma. "Daughters of the Dust," on the other hand, seems to focus on the options that Black Americans have to either assimilate or maintain their cultural heritage and roots. A scene that supports my point about the film was the feast: Nana combines both the christian teachings/beliefs of the bible and traditional spiritual beliefs when they are praying. This represents the religious and cultural syncretism that occurred as a result of slavery.

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The film Daughters of the Dust reminded me of Beloved in its exploration of memory, ancestry, and the tensions of holding onto the past while seeking a new future. Both works emphasize the importance of collective memory and how ancestral connections shape identity, particularly through the voices of women and the spiritual ties to land and history. One scene that particularly resonated with Beloved is when Eli breaks the tree outside, which can be seen as his desire to sever ties with his roots. Both men want to break free, Eli from the past that binds him to the land, and Paul D from the emotional weight of his memories, but they struggle because their history is not something they can simply walk away from. I saw this mirroring Paul D’s struggle in Beloved as he attempts to suppress his painful past and reject the emotional weight of his history. Paul D believes in moving forward, yet he carries the trauma of Sweet Home, much like Eli wrestles with his anger toward the matriarchal structure of his family and the deep spiritual connection they have to the land. However, the great-grandmother’s words, “Your ancestors are inside of you,” contrast with Paul D’s perspective early in Beloved. While Eli is reminded that his past is inescapable and should be embraced, Paul D initially tries to shut away his memories in a metaphorical “tobacco tin” heart, avoiding the emotional depth of his past. Only through his relationship with Sethe and the painful reemergence of history, embodied in Beloved herself, he begins to confront and integrate his past. In this way, Daughters of the Dust and Beloved both suggest that the past is not something one can entirely leave behind—whether through land, memory, or even supernatural presence, history persists and shapes the present. It is through female matriarchal guidance that these men find some form of closure, learning to face rather than flee from the past.

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While both Daughters of the Dust and Beloved share multiple significant themes, like cultural memory and notions of home. It’s Eula’s soul-stirring speech during the beach scene, that feels very much like Beloved. For me, this scene closely hones in on both the movie, and the book's significant theme - Black female identity. “We never were pure women. Deep inside we believed they ruined our mothers and the mothers that came before them. And we live our lives always expecting worse cause we feel we don’t deserve no better.  Deep inside we believe that even God can’t heal the wounds of our past or protect us from the world that put shackles on our feet […] we wear our scars like armor for protection. Thick, hard, ugly scars that no one can pass through to ever hurt us again.  Let’s live our lives without living in the folds of old wounds. “

Eula’s moving monologue in this scene feels as if it was transposed from the pages of Beloved. In that moment, it felt as if Eula summoned Baby Suggs’ spirit in the clearing and preached a five minute, matter-of-fact, sermon. Her defensive speech of Yellow Mary seems to eerily parallel Baby's Suggs' stance about Sethe. The similarities of both women, who have been shunned by those that should be their closest allies are undeniably, almost indistinguishable.

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1. Daughters of the Dust and Beloved are very similar to each other with huge distinct differences although the huge difference between the two stories is the period in which each story takes place where Beloved was during the late 19th century and Daughters of the Dust takes place within the early 20th century as well as the tone between the two. But where you see the similarities are in the themes surrounding memories, trauma spiritualism, and the black experience.

2. Within Daughters of the Dust Nana Peazant who is in a way a mix of Beloved’s Sethe and Baby Suggs encourages her descendants to not forget their cultural roots and their history. She ends up staying in the Gullah islands while the majority of the family leaves for the Great Migration. This also connects back to Sethe and the rest of the women's roles in Beloved who are tied down to the legit shackles of the past however for Sethe her past is darker in comparison. The main aspect of spirituality is heavily present in both stories while spirituality in Beloved is manifested to an entity that represents the trauma of the past, in Daughters of the Dust spirituality is seen with the Unborn Child who is the bridge of the past and the future “ There must be a connection... We are two people in one body; nanas of the old and the force of the new.” (Dash, 1991)

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The family matriarch's self-determination stood out to me when comparing Beloved and Daughters of the Dust. Both Nana Peazant and Baby Suggs embody a profound sense of fatigue and acceptance, embracing both the weight of their pasts and the continuation of their families’ legacies. Despite the changes around them, they choose to remain in the places that bring them the most freedom and peace. Nana Peazant stays on the island as her younger relatives prepare to move north, while Baby Suggs remains in 124 even after the house loses its vitality with the departure of her grandsons. Both women are met with resistance and conflict by their family members who expect the families to remain connected. But I see writing in their decision to stay as a final, deliberate act of agency, an unassuming assertion of choice in lives that were once defined by its absence. Although they exist in different historical contexts, both women have endured long periods without autonomy, making their unwavering commitment to home an expression of self-determination, just as the younger generations assert their agency by leaving.

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Though DoD and Beloved are both stories about the black family in America, their specific historical, geographical, and cultural contexts provide different engagements with the notion of memory.

In DOD, the notion of ancestral memory is fundamental to the cultural heritage of free Gullah Geechee people, particularly in the post-antebellum South. This is a form of memory that matriarch Nana Peazant describes to Eli as: “There’s a thought, a recollection, something, somebody remembers. We carry these memories inside of we….We don’t know where the recollections come from. Sometimes we dream them. But we carry these memories inside of we.” These 'recollections' are meant to help one get "in touch with [their] own spirit' by connecting them to this channel of collective knowledge and experience. By remembering, the members of this family grow and overcome the situations presented to them as they embark on new journeys of opportunity.

By contrast, in Beloved, the process of remembering/specifically encountering a rememory is somatic and situational. In the novel, memories are so tangible that even when physical markers disappear, one can "bump" into a rememory and become entrapped by the reenactment of those particular experiences. Sethe, like other formerly enslaved people and fugitives, during the time of slavery, must navigate the trauma that comes with 'remembering' what was done to them and their ancestors, and what will be done to their offspring and loved ones. Even joyous recollections are coloured by the constant threat of violence and oppression that enslaved people were confronted with on a continous bais. Memory, in both texts, cannot be hidden, forgotten or left behind but rather continuously makes itself apparent in the lives of the people.

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In Daughters of the Dust, the Gullah Geechee people hold on to their traditions, language, and spirituality as a way of preserving their connection to Africa, despite the violent rupture caused by slavery and the Middle Passage. The film highlights how Black identity is shaped not just by personal experience, but by collective history and ancestral memory. This idea is beautifully captured in the words of Eula’s unborn daughter: “My story starts before I was born.” Her existence is rooted in generations of survival, pain, and resilience. The film shows how, through oral traditions and spiritual practices, the Gullah Geechee people resist erasure and keep their history alive. It also acknowledges a shared struggle with Native Americans, as seen in the scene from 12:50-13:15, where they are tending the land together. Beloved similarly includes this dynamic, particularly through Sixo’s encounter with the "Redmen's Presence." This narrative representation is vital because it highlights how both groups have fought to preserve their cultures despite systemic efforts to erase them. Their histories are interconnected—a theme central to both Beloved and Daughters of the Dust, as both stories seek to honor the importance of the remembrance of trauma, and the strength, culture, and community that this remembrance, in turn, helps to preserve.

Toni Morrison’s Beloved takes a darker, more haunting approach to ancestral memory. The past is not just remembered—it refuses to stay buried. Sethe, grappling with trauma, reflects: “I used to think it was my rememory. You know. Some things you forget. Other things you never do. But it’s not. Places, places are still there…” (Morrison 43). Memory isn’t just personal; it lingers in places, in history, in generations. Beloved herself embodies this—she is not just a ghost but a physical manifestation of slavery’s trauma, a relic and symbol of the Middle Passage. Her eerie recollection of being “dark, hot, and crowded” among the dead (Chapter 8) echoes the horrific conditions of the slave ships, illustrating how unresolved trauma continues to haunt both individuals and the spaces they inhabit. Just as the Gullah Geechee people honor and preserve their past through spiritual practices, Beloved reminds us that history cannot be ignored—it demands acknowledgment.

At the heart of both works is the idea that ancestral memory is both painful and a source of strength. The Gullah Geechee people’s spiritual rituals—like those at Ibo Landing—are more than just acts of remembrance; they are declarations of survival. Daughters of the Dust and Beloved both show that Black identity is deeply tied to the past, which is integral to shaping the future—not just through trauma, but through strength, culture, and an unbreakable connection to those who came before.

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Daughters of the Dust reminds me of Beloved through its exploration of the past, present, and future. One of the main conflicts in the film is the Peazant family's decision to leave their home and migrate north to the continental U.S. Nana, the family matriarch, who bears striking similarities to Baby Suggs, wants her family to stay on the island. She holds onto the memories of their past and finds solace in living on the land that embodies generations of hard work and devotion. She continues to practice traditional African and Caribbean beliefs and rituals, in contrast to the contemporary Christianity embraced by other family members. This serves as a metaphor for the familial conflict between the past and the future: Nana insists on remembering and honoring the past, while much of her family seeks to leave it behind in pursuit of a new (and supposedly better) life.

This certainly reminds me of Beloved, as one of Sethe's main struggles comes from her refusal to confront the horrors and tragedies of her past. Just as Nana warns against severing ties with history, Beloved shows how repressing the past allows it to resurface in haunting and destructive ways. The conflict in Daughters of the Dust, whether to stay on the island or migrate north, mirrors Sethe’s internal battle in Beloved, where her refusal to confront the past ultimately causes it to haunt her. Daughters of the Dust and Beloved both explore the tension between remembering and forgetting, the weight of ancestral history, and the struggle to move forward while honoring the past. Nana Peazant and Baby Suggs are similar characters as they both serve as spiritual “anchors”. They urge their families to acknowledge where they come from rather than abandoning their roots. Nana Peazant, much like Baby Suggs, embraces ritual, memory, and oral tradition, emphasizing the importance of cultural and familial continuity.

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We have much discussed the role of women within the Black American context throughout this course. Focusing on the matriarchal role, in Beloved, Morrisson uses Sethe and Baby Suggs as carriers of familial responsibility. There is an obvious link between these women and Nana Peazant's character in Daughters of The Dust, but I would like to focus on Beloved and Eula's unborn daughter's connection. Their fluctuation between natural and supernatural in their unborn and dead states illustrate the connection between the ancestral world and the physical one. Both girls act as agents of rememory and ancestry allowing for the perpetuation of their history. In the book, Beloved says to Sethe "You are my sister. You are my daughter. You are my face; you are me" (online, 413). In this quote she speaks to this interconnectedness that her as the product of Sethe experiences. Earlier while Sethe picks flowers she exclaims that she is "BE LOV ED" (online, 407). This quote is suggesting that Sethe's identity is deeply tied to Beloved—not just as a daughter but as a force that compels her to confront her past.

Eula mirrors this phenomenon by her communication through Nana Peazant. Continually, her being in the unborn state is incredibly interesting. Babies essentially float in the womb. During development babies freely float in the amniotic sac. I saw this to be reflective of how significant water is and how Eula is the personification of the limbo between two worlds that the Gullah Geechee people experienced.