Lesson video

Language can be an incredibly powerful thing.

In "Sweetness" by Toni Morrison, it is used to highlight the effects of segregation, discrimination and colorism.

Mostly though, it is used to explore ideas about love, particularly the love and bond between a mother and father and their daughter.

As we'll come to find out from the section of the story we read today, love is complicated, and perfect relationships do not always exist.

Today's lesson may leave you with some questions about racism and racial inequality.

You may find you want to learn more about the matters we're going to discuss today once the lesson is over.

If you have any questions about what we cover, write them down as they appear and ask your parents, carers or teachers.

If they don't know the answer themselves, they may be able to help you find the answer from a different source.

Hello, everyone.

My name is Mr Pryke.

And welcome to this second lesson in our unit on "Sweetness." All you'll need to complete today's lesson is a pen and paper or something to write on and with.

And if you can, try and move yourself away from any distractions.

When you're ready, we'll begin.

In today's lesson, we'll begin by reminding ourselves of key terms from last lesson before continuing with reading the story.

After that, we going to use what we've read to help us answer the following question, how is language used to present feelings towards Lula Ann in "Sweetness"? Lula Ann is a character we haven't come across yet so don't worry if that question has confused you.

We'll go through how to answer this question together, and we'll finish by having a go at producing an answer independently, meaning on our own.

There's lots to complete today, so without further ado, let's get started.

Let's start off by reminding ourselves of some of the key terms we learnt last lesson.

I'm going to read to you the definitions of three words.

I want you to select the correct term for the definitions.

Pause if you need to, and press play when you're ready to find out the answer.

Question one, which word means the act of setting someone or something apart from others? Is it option one, discrimination? Option two, segregation? Option three, colorism? Or option four, constitution? Pause the video here, make your choice, and press play when you're ready.

Well done.

The answer is segregation.

Question two, which word means unjust or harmful treatment of other people based on a perceived difference? Is it option one, constitution? Option two, isolation? Option three, discrimination? Or option four, racism? Pause the video, and make your choice.

Well done.

The answer is option three, discrimination.

Question three, which word means prejudice or discrimination against individuals who are dark-skinned typically, but not exclusively among people of the same ethnic or racial group? Is it option one, constitution? Option two, colorism? Option three, isolation? Or option four, racism? Pause the video here, and make your choice.

Fantastic.

The answer is colorism.

Very well done.

Let's continue reading the story.

We've already heard about the discrimination experienced by "Sweetness." Before the extract we're going to read today begins.

Sweetness gives birth to her child Lula Ann.

In today's extract, we hear Sweetness talk about how she is embarrassed by her baby.

Describing her as so black.

She does not feel the love that one may expect a mother to feel for her newborn child and instead, contemplates giving Lula Ann away to an orphanage.

If we consider what we learned last lesson, we know that Toni Morrison is exploring the idea of colorism here.

Colorism is prejudice or discrimination against individuals who are dark-skinned, typically, but not exclusively among people of the same ethnic or racial group.

Last time, we heard how Sweetness observes how many black people in her society group themselves according to skin colour, saying the lighter, the better.

She means, that a light-skinned black person is less likely to experience racial discrimination.

Sweetness is a light-skinned black woman who has given birth to a dark-skinned black baby.

And as such, she says she feels embarrassed.

Let's consider how Morrison explores colorism in today's extract.

"I hate to say it, but from the very beginning in the maternity ward, the baby, Lula Ann, embarrassed me, her birth skin was pale like all babies, even African ones, but it changed fast.

I thought I was going crazy when she turned blue-black right before my eyes.

I wish she hadn't been born with that terrible colour.

I even thought of giving her away to an orphanage someplace, but I was scared to be one of those mothers who leave their babies on church steps.

Recently, I heard about a couple in Germany, white as snow, who had a dark-skinned baby nobody could explain, twins I believe, one white, one coloured, but I don't know if it's true.

My husband Louis is a Porter.

And when he got back off the rails, he looked at me like I really was crazy and looked at the baby like she was from the planet Jupiter.

He wasn't a cussing man, so when he said, 'God damn, what the hell is this?' I knew we were in trouble.

That was what did it.

What caused the fights between me and him.

It broke our marriage to pieces.

We had three good years together, but when she was born, he blamed me and treated Lula Ann like she was a stranger.

More than that, an enemy, he never touched her." Having read the next part of the story, let's consider this question.

How is language used to present feelings towards Lula Ann in "Sweetness"? As some of you may have already realised, Sweetness is husband, Louis, the father of Lula Ann is not happy about how Lula Ann is a dark-skinned black baby.

Let's take a closer look at the extract.

Pay attention because I'm going to be talking about how Morrison uses language to present Louis's feelings towards Lula Ann.

You're then going to have a go at a similar task, but with a different extract.

First though, we need to think about what kind of feelings are being directed towards Lula Ann.

Here's the extract I'm going to talk through.

"My husband, Louis is a Porter.

And when he got back off the rails, he looked at me like I really was crazy and looked at the baby like she was from the planet Jupiter." What is Louis feeling here? We know that Louis is struggling to accept Lula Ann as his own.

He's confused at the situation and clearly unhappy about the way his daughter looks.

We know this because Morrison uses a simile.

He looked at the baby like she was from the planet Jupiter.

A simile is where one uses like or as to compare two different things and show a common quality between them.

Here then, Morrison is comparing the baby, Lula Ann, to something which he cannot understand.

Something which is unknowable.

This simile tells me as a reader, lots of things about louis' feelings towards Lula Ann.

Firstly, it tells me that Louis cannot relate to the child.

And that Lula Ann is alien to him.

These are two excellent responses to this simile.

But, we could even say that he sees Lula Ann as dangerous, because he looks at her like she's from the planet Jupiter.

He is not familiar with her.

And perhaps he sees her as a threat.

Overall though, he does not and cannot understand her.

Language then is used to present feelings of confusion and surprise towards Lula Ann in "Sweetness," at least at this stage of the story.

Let's move on to another area of the text.

"Louis blamed me and treated Lula Ann like she was a stranger.

More than that, an enemy, he never touched her." Quickly pause and identify the simile used in this extract.

Press play when you found it.

Well done.

Here's the simile, "Louis blamed me and treated Lula Ann like she was a stranger." Here, I have a selection of questions that I would like you to answer based on the simile identified.

Question one, what comes to your mind when you think of the word stranger.

Question two, do you think Louis loves his child here? Explain your ideas.

The final two questions relate to the next part of the extract.

Question three, what comes to your mind when you think of the word enemy? The last question, question four, why do you think Louis never touches his daughter? Is an extra challenge question.

This means, that if it is too hard, feel free to leave it.

Answer these questions as full sentences.

If you're confident with what you need to do, pause the video here.

If you think you're going to find this activity tough, keep the video playing for some more support.

If you're struggling, use these sentence starters to help you for questions one and two.

For question one, consider the word stranger and what it makes you think of.

Consider why we're told to avoid strangers.

With that in mind, why would Louis view his own daughter as a stranger? What does this tell us about his feelings towards her? Pause the video here to complete questions one and two, and then press play when you're ready to start three and four.

Once again, you may use the sentence starters here to help you get started.

For question three, think of an enemy.

It may help you to think of a character from a book, film or game, and then consider their enemies.

What do they all have in common? What are they like? And as such, what do they make you think of? Question four is an extra challenge question.

Here, try and think about what Louis fears may happen if he touches his daughter, if he hugs her and kisses her.

Think of a traditional father-daughter relationship in your answer.

Remember, if this question is too challenging, feel free to leave it.

Pause the video here and complete the questions if you haven't done so already.

Press play when you're ready to continue.

Brilliant.

Let's see what answers we could have had.

If your answer at home is different to what you see on the screen, please don't worry.

We all interpret language and stories in different ways, which means it's unlikely that we would have the exact same answer.

However, look for any similarities between the answer on the screen and your answer at home.

And if you find any, give yourself a tick.

Question one read, what comes to your mind when you think of the word stranger? An acceptable answer might read, the word stranger makes me think of someone who cannot be trusted.

This is an acceptable answer because it gives one clear response as to what the word stranger makes one think of.

A good answer may read, the word stranger makes me think of someone who cannot be trusted.

A stranger is unfamiliar or unknown and someone who is not recognisable.

Louis cannot recognise his own daughter.

This is a good answer because it gives more than one idea as to what the word stranger makes one think of.

The answer links back to the story and the characters of Louis and Lula Ann.

Question two read, do you think Louis loves his child here? Explain your ideas.

An acceptable answer might read, I do not think Louis really loves his child at this moment in the story because he does not seem to like her.

This is an acceptable answer because it offers one clear reason as to why Louis does not love his child.

A good answer might read, I do not think Louis really loves his child at this moment in the story, because in describing her as a stranger, readers realise he does not see her as his own daughter.

She is unrecognisable to him and they clearly do not share a bond.

This is a good answer because it refers back to the word stranger and picks up on the fact that there is a distance between father and daughter.

The person who has written this answer has read in between the lines and found that there is not a shared bond between father and child even though this is never clearly told to readers.

Question three read, what comes to your mind when you think of the word enemy? An acceptable answer to this question may read, the word enemy makes me think of someone who I would not like.

This is an acceptable answer because it gives one clear response to the question.

A good answer may read, the word enemy makes me think of an opponent, someone who is hostile or unfriendly.

An enemy is usually someone who is a threat and has to be defeated.

If Louis is describing his daughter as an enemy, it means he sees her as threatening.

This is a good answer because it offers multiple ideas as to what one may think of when considering the word enemy.

The answer links back to the story which shows the person who has written it really understands what is happening as well as the relationship between father and daughter.

Question four, the extra challenge question, read, why do you think Louis never touches his daughter? An example answer to this may read, Louis thinks that his daughter is a stranger and an enemy, meaning he does not want to touch her because he does not want to bond with her.

He sees her as a threat because she is a dark-skinned black baby.

If he touches her, he may be worried that he will develop feelings of love that we would expect a father to have for his daughter.

If he touches her, it is a sign of acceptance.

Louis clearly does not want to accept his daughter.

What I like about this answer is that it discusses ideas that may not be obvious to us on a first reading.

These ideas include touching Lula Ann as a signal of acceptance.

And the fear that doing so, will create a bond between father and daughter.

There are so many answers one could have put down in answer to this question.

Well done if you had a go, and if you've got anything similar to what you see on your screen.

Excellent work.

Okay, let's take a minute to just remind ourselves of what's happened in the story so far.

Sweetness has given birth to a baby who she calls Lula Ann.

Sweetness is embarrassed because Lula Ann is a dark-skinned black baby.

She has already expressed the view that to be a light-skinned black person is better, explaining that to be a light-skinned black person means avoidance of discrimination is easier.

Sweetness talks about how black people group themselves.

So that light-skinned black people will preferably not to be seen with dark-skinned black people.

Here however, Sweetness has given birth to a dark-skinned black baby causing Louis, her husband, to reject their daughter.

He will not touch her or bond with her in a way a father would usually bond with a daughter.

This then is colorism in action.

Louis is discriminating against his own daughter.

Colorism then is partly why the marriage between Sweetness and Louis ends.

Let's look at this quotation.

"It broke our marriage to pieces." Pause the video here, copy the quotation out, and then answer the two questions you can see on your screen.

Question one, what has happened to the marriage between Louis and Sweetness? Question two, is there any hope of fixing their marriage? Why? Why not? Answer as annotations and notes around the quotation.

Press play when you're ready, and we'll go through the answers.

The first question, was what has happened to the marriage between Louis and Sweetness? The use of the word broke, suggests that the marriage between them has fallen apart.

It is over.

The second question was, is there any hope of fixing their marriage? Why? Why not? This is more of an opinion based question so there isn't really a right answer.

I would argue that there isn't any hope of saving their marriage.

This is because the word pieces implies the marriage has completely shattered.

It's too difficult to put back together again, and so it cannot be fixed.

This sentence is an example of a metaphor.

A metaphor is a comparison between two different things.

The comparison is usually made by stating something is something else.

So, unlike a simile where one thing is said to be like another, a metaphor is saying something is something else even though it's not.

This is just a simple definition.

There's lots to understand about metaphor, but this is the definition in its most basic form.

It may help to look at an example of metaphor to help us understand.

When Sweetness says, "It broke our marriage to pieces." This is a metaphor.

A marriage is not a physical thing that one can smash or break into pieces like glass.

Their marriage has not literally broken into pieces but, by saying it has, we understand that their marriage has issues that cannot be fixed.

We're now going to work towards answering this question.

How is language used to present feelings towards Lula Ann in "Sweetness"? If you think you can answer question now, pause the video and have a go.

Try and write at least a paragraph.

Don't forget to include quotations from the text and explain why the writer has made certain language choices.

If however you feel as if you need some extra help, keep the video running.

We're going to go through each part of the answer together building upon our ideas with each step.

So, we're answering the question, how is language used to present feelings towards Lula Ann in "Sweetness"? Firstly, we need to establish what those feelings are.

There are so many different feelings directed towards Lula Ann in the extract.

You can see a few of them on your screen, along with an opening sentence to get you going.

Let me read the opening sentence to you now.

In the story "Sweetness," both the Sweetness and Louis possess negative feelings towards their daughter.

Louis, in particular, sees Lula Ann as someone to fear, a threat, someone he cannot love, someone to blame for the end of his marriage, or a burden.

Pause the video here, and copy and complete the sentences.

You only need to pick one of the options in the boxes.

None of them are incorrect.

So pick the one you agree with most.

When you're finished, press play, and we'll move on to the next step.

Now we need to think about how Louis' feelings are presented to us in the text.

We can do this by adding a quotation to our answers.

To include a quotation, we going to write, this is particularly evident when we see Louis reaction to Lula Ann from says Sweetness's perspective.

She says, and this is where you'd put your quotation, think about the box you would included in your answer from the last slide.

Which quotation from the selection on your screen will help you explain your ideas.

For example, if I were to say Louis in particular sees Lula Ann as someone who he cannot love, I might be inclined to pick, "Louis treated Lula Ann like she was a stranger, an enemy," as my quotation.

I've picked this because the quotation explains clearly why he cannot love his daughter.

He doesn't see Lula Ann as his daughter, but as a stranger instead.

Pause the video here, and copy and complete the sentences, making a choice of quotation at the end.

Remember, this is part of the same paragraph as the sentences on the last slide.

So, there's no need to start a new line.

When you're ready, press play, and we'll move on to the next step of our answer.

Well done.

Here's what an answer may look like so far.

I've explained what Louis is feeling in green and how those feelings are presented in the text in pink.

Let me read the answer to you so far.

In the story "Sweetness," both Sweetness and Louis possess negative feelings towards their daughter.

Louis in particular, sees Lula Ann as someone he cannot love.

This is particularly evident when we see Louis reaction to Lula Ann from Sweetness' perspective.

She says, "Louis treated Lula Ann like she was a stranger, an enemy." Remember, our answer is all part of the same paragraph, and so I haven't started a new line for a new part of the answer.

Finally, we need to consider why our quotation tells us that Louis feels this particular way by talking about certain words from our quotation.

I'm going to look for words I can write a lot about in relation to the question.

In this quotation, Louis treated Lula Ann like she was a stranger, an enemy.

I think those words are probably stranger and enemy.

So I'm going to highlight those to remind me of what I've chosen.

And I'm going to use my notes from before to help me.

Here's how I could put something together about the words stranger and enemy.

This simile tells the reader that Louis cannot and will not bond with his daughter in the way we might expect a father to do so.

Sweetness thinks Louis looks at Lula Ann like a stranger and an enemy.

Perhaps Morrison uses the word enemy to highlight how Louis sees his daughter as something of a threat to him.

If she is a stranger, it means he does not recognise her as his daughter.

Now let's break this down so you can see how I put this part of the answer together.

I've begun with a comment on the entire quotation using correct terms such as simile.

This comment enables me to show that I've understood what the quotation is saying and what it means.

Next, I've picked out the single words I highlighted earlier on.

And I've explained why I think the writer, Toni Morrison, has used them.

Look how I've started my sentence with, perhaps Morrison uses.

I've used the word perhaps, because in truth I can't be sure.

When we talk about a writer's work, they're not here with us to ask them.

And so if I use the word perhaps, I'm saying Morrison may have used these words because I'm acknowledging I might be wrong, but I'm offering my opinions as to why I think certain language has been used.

I've ended the paragraph by thinking of a second reason as to why I think the writer has used the words and phrases she has.

Thinking of a second reason as to why a writer does something can often prove difficult, but it shows that you're really considering their ideas and looking at their language in depth.

You may not always be able to do this, but it's certainly something you should have a go at doing.

With that in mind, it's time for you to have a go.

Explain why your chosen quotation tells readers that Louis feels the way he does.

If you need to, look back over the explanation again to help.

Use the sentence starters you can see on your screen or rewrite them completely, it's up to you.

Remember, even though each section is split up here, this is still part of the same paragraph, so there's no need to start a new line for each part.

Pause the video to complete the activity, and press play when you're ready to resume.

Fantastic.

So, we've been answering the question, how is language used to present feelings towards Lula Ann in "Sweetness"? Let's have a look at a complete answer.

In the story "Sweetness," both Sweetness and Louis possess negative feelings towards their daughter.

Louis in particular, sees Lula Ann as someone he cannot love.

Here, I explained what the feelings directed towards Lula Ann were.

See if you can spot where you've explained about the feelings directed towards Lula Ann in your own answer.

Pause the video if you need to.

Give yourself a tick if you find it, and press play when you're ready to resume.

Next, I've written, this is particularly evident when we see Louis reaction to Lula Ann from Sweetness' perspective.

She says, "Louis treated Lula Ann like she was a stranger, an enemy." here, I explained how those feelings are presented by using a quotation from the text.

See if you can find where you explained how those feelings are presented in your own answer.

Look for a quotation, and give yourself a tick.

Pause if you need to, and press play when you're ready to resume.

Finally, I've written, this simile tells the reader that Louis cannot and will not bond with his daughter in the way we might expect a father to do so.

Sweetness thinks Louis looks at Lula Ann like a stranger and an enemy.

Perhaps Morrison uses the word enemy to highlight how Louis sees his daughter as something of a threat to him.

If she is a stranger, it means he does not recognise her as his daughter.

Finally, I've explained why my chosen quotations explain what feelings are being directed towards Lula Ann.

This is the longest part of the answer and also the most challenging.

See if you can find your explanation in your own answer.

Pause the video if you need to, and give yourself a tick if you find it.

Press play when you're ready to resume.

A huge well done for completing that activity.

Writing a detailed answer like that is not an easy task, I'm so impressed with your efforts.

Pause the video here to read your paragraph out loud to yourself in full.

If you need to make any corrections, do so, and then press play when you're ready to resume.

Super.

This next part is an optional task.

I want you to have a go at writing a second paragraph by yourself.

If you need to, go back through the steps on the video to help, but see if you can write a second paragraph which answers the question, how is language used to present feelings towards Lula Ann in "Sweetness"? Choose a different point and a new quotation and see what you can come up with.

Use everything we've completed today to help you.

Pause the video here to write your answer, and press play when you're ready to resume.

That brings us to the end of today's lesson.

You may still have lots of questions about what we've covered today, that's absolutely fine and perfectly natural.

If you need to, ask your parents, carers and teachers some of your questions.

If they don't know the answer, they may be able to help you find sources that can provide you with answers to your questions.

Well done for working so hard today.

I'm incredibly impressed with all of your efforts.

Next time, we'll continue reading the story and also look at the themes of love and guilt in "Sweetness." There's so much more to come in this story, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what you think of it.

All you need to do now, is ensure that you complete the exit quiz when you click off the video.

Take care, and I look forward to seeing you next time.