Blog Post 20: The Evolution of D

Throughout the text, Paul D struggles with his sense of identity and manhood. His decisions are often guided by his avoidance of the past and his yearning to feel like a man.

Paul D's past scarred him because his experiences as a slave taught him he was no better than an animal. Mr.Garner always said he treated his slaves like real men, but when the school teacher came, Paul D felt like he was being treated no better than a rooster. The brutality Paul D experienced taught him that to survive, he would have to lock away all of his memories and feelings in a "tobacco tin buried in his chest where his red heart used to be" (Morrison 86).

Once Paul D escaped slavery, he was known to be a wanderer, never settling down anywhere for too long. Because of his tobacco tin, he did not want to feel attached to anything or anyone for too long, so he found it easier to cope wandering around on his own. However, when Paul D came to 124 and found Sethe, he finally found a place he could not leave. Sethe reminded him of his past and gave him the strength to face it, and her home and family provided him the opportunity to assert dominance and claim his manhood. Even though he had no business taking the role as head of the household, he immediately started trying to take over because he had a necessity to prove to himself that he was a man.

A key turning point for Paul D was when he had sex with Beloved. Beloved is representative of all the pain harnessed in the past, and him having sex with her was a demonstration of him confronting all of his repressed memories. After the sexual act, Paul D's "tobacco tin" is again replaced with his "red heart" because he is now vulnerable and ready to have all the emotions his past and current life entails (Morrison 138).

Chapter 19 represents another key turning point for Paul D because in this chapter, Stamp Paid tells him about the murder of Sethe's first daughter and Paul D decides to leave 124. His discovery of Sethe's crime alters his perception of Sethe and her household, and he is too afraid to remain there with her. Before given this insight, he had imagined a future with Sethe in which he could build a family and claim his manhood, but now that dream is tarnished and he feels the need to remove himself. This leaves him questioning his future, his past, and his identity as a man and human being. This is clearly seen by the disheveled state he is found in: "on the steps of Holy Redeemer, holding his wrists between his knees and looking red-eyed" (Morrison 222).