The past represents itself as the ghost of Sethe’s dead baby girl when it destroys 124 as a metaphor that remembering ones’ past for too long can be physically destructive. The ghost destroys 124 in a fit of rage: “It took him a while to realize that the floorboards weren’t shaking out of worry…but because the floorboards were….the house itself was pitching” (Morrison 21). This so-called ‘ghost’ is really a physical manifestation of Sethe’s grief for her deceased daughter. By physically destroying the house, the ghost represesnts the destruction of Sethe’s grief for her daughter on the entire family. Because the ghost is destructive, it is signaling that, while remembering ones’ painful past is acceptable, there comes a time where they must
