confines of slavery. Beyond just having the courage to stand up for what she believes in, Sethe also demonstrates her heroism by helping Paul D deal with his own painful past. When he visits Sethe near the end of the novel, Paul D reminisces about “Her tenderness about his neck jewelry — its three wands, like attentive baby rattlers, curving two feet into the air. How she never mentioned or looked at it, so he did not have to feel the shame of being collared like a beast. Only this woman Sethe could have left him his manhood like that. He wants to put his story next to hers” (322). Paul D's intimate experiences with the iron bit have changed him forever, stripping him of his masculinity and contributing to a deep mental storm tormenting him from within. Morrison utilizes metaphor to compare the iron bit to “three wands, like attentive baby rattlers, curving two feet into the air,” underscoring that the venomous influence of the iron bit, much like the bite of a rattlesnake, strikes in three different ways, damaging physical, cognitive, and emotional abilities. Paul D draws support from Sethe “never mention[ing] or look[ing]” at his scars, but more so, this allows him to retain his own manhood, which to Paul D defines the very basis of his character. Although Sethe defies opposition to her heroic acts of freeing others from their past, Denver defies the confinements of her past, allowing her to help Sethe escape Beloved's parasitism that keeps her from a livable life and foreseeable future. Feeling trapped by her isolation at 124 Bluestone Road, Denver is challenged by the concept of leaving Sethe and Beloved behind, needing the courage to set foot beyond the house to seek the aid of the community she was once a part of. As Sethe and Beloved remained trapped in the house, the tipping point of heroism for Denver comes when she realizes “neither Beloved nor Sethe seemed to care what the next day might bring. Denver knew it was on her. She would have to leave the yard; step off the edge of the world, leave the two behind and go ask somebody for help” (286). By using the metaphorical image of Denver “step[ing] off the edge of the world,” to describe Denver leaving “the yard” in an effort to rewrite society's conceptions of her isolation and Sethe's horrible