Toni Morrison is a writer who has been compared for many years to William Faulkner. His prose is carefully composed and his attention to the inner thoughts and motivations of his characters is similar to that of Faulkner. Morrison's writing style is not only experimental in its construction, but also for its unique blend of the natural and the supernatural. In his novel Beloved, Morrison blends a nonfictional slave story with fictional and mystical elements. In Beloved by Toni Morrison, Sethe is an escaped slave haunted by her past. Riddled with guilt that her child was murdered by her own hand; Sethe imagines that a young stranger is the reincarnation of her child's ghost. The images Morrison creates with his writing are often horrific, but equally beautiful. Just as the stories of Faulkner and James Joyce had done; Morrison's stories focus on his characters' internal monologues. In Beloved, there are four chapters devoted to the inner thoughts of Sethe, her daughter Denver, and the ghost girl Beloved. It is in these chapters that the reader becomes aware of the motivations and fears of Morrison's characters. However, just as with Faulkner, Morrison sometimes leaves more questions created than answers revealed. The first chapter is Sethe's monologue. Each monologue begins with a description of Beloved and the relationship she has with the narrator. Sethe explains that Beloved is her daughter and she swears that she will protect her child now that she has returned to him. She deplores the atrocities she experienced at the hands of the professor's nephews. Sethe thinks about the colors of spring and Baby Suggs, her stepmother's fascination with colors before she died. Colors play a central role in Morr...... middle of paper ...... second chapter Morrison uses punctuation; however, the chapter is composed of a series of repetitive sentences. It is written in verse and reads as if it were a poem or a song. This section also seems to not be entirely Beloveds. This illustrates what could be the culmination of Sethe, Denver, and Beloved's internal monologues. The chapter shows the desperation, humanity, and desire felt by each of the characters. It also gives the reader some foreshadowing of Beloved's parasitic nature. The reader is informed that Beloved's obsession with Sethe could become unhealthy for everyone in the family. This can be explained in the following lines:…You forgot to smileI loved youYou hurt meYou came back to meYou left meI waited for youYou are mineYou are mineYou are mine…(Morrison 217)