A reflection on love and guilt in 'Sweetness'
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- In this lesson, we will continue to read Toni Morrison's 'Sweetness' and take time to think about how the themes of love and guilt are presented to a reader through the writer's choice of structure.
Content guidance
- Contains depictions of discriminatory behaviour.
Supervision
Adult supervision suggested.
Licence
This content is made available by Oak National Academy Limited and its partners and licensed under Oak’s terms & conditions (Collection 1), except where otherwise stated.
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6 Questions
Q1.
Which term is defined as 'the action or state of setting someone or something apart from others'?
Colourism
Discrimination
Prejudice
Q2.
Which term is defined as 'unjust or harmful treatment of other people based on a perceived difference'?
Colourism
Prejudice
Segregation
Q3.
Which term is defined as 'prejudice or discrimination against individuals who are dark skinned, typically, but not exclusively, among people of the same ethnic or racial group'?
Constitution
Prejudice
Racism
Q4.
What is a simile?
A comparison between two different things, usually made by stating something is something else.
Giving human feelings and actions to an object or an idea.
Q5.
Which statement best describes Louis' reaction to Lula Ann, the baby?
He feels a sense of devotion.
He feels a sense of love.
He feels a sense of sadness.
Q6.
What is 'It broke our marriage to pieces' an example of?
Personification
Simile
Third person narrative
5 Questions
Q1.
Which of the following is an example of a metaphor?
'[He] looked at the baby like she was from the planet Jupiter.'
'[He] treated Lula Ann like she was a stranger—more than that, an enemy.'
'I told her to call me “Sweetness” instead of “Mother” or “Mama.”'
Q2.
Why does Louis feel a sense of fear when he first sees Lula Ann?
He is easily frightened.
He is scared of small children.
He looks at her like she is from 'the planet Jupiter' and thinks she has come to attack him.
Q3.
What does 'Sweetness' want her daughter to call her?
Mama
Mother
Sweetie
Q4.
What is irony?
A moment where our expectations are proved correct.
A moment where our expectations are shown to be partly correct.
Q5.
Why is Sweetness' name ironic?
We expect someone called Sweetness to be kind and caring and she is.
We expect someone called Sweetness to be kind and caring and Sweetness is to some people but not others.