Contemporary Short Stories (2/2): Sweetness by Toni Morrison

In this lesson, we will explore the themes of segregation and discrimination in Toni Morrison's short story, 'Sweetness'. We'll also think about Morrison's use of perspective - especially how and why it is used.

In this lesson, we will look at Toni Morrison's use of language in 'Sweetness'. We will think about how Morrison presents feelings towards Lula Ann, Sweetness' child. We will also practise how to write a piece of analysis of a small extract from the text.

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.

In this lesson, we will analyse what Sweetness is like as a mother figure for Lula Ann. We will also revise some of the key terms we have learnt throughout the unit so far.

In this lesson, we will examine the mother/daughter relationship between Sweetness and Lula Ann and think about what has happened to it now Lula Ann has grown up. We will also think about the sense of duty both characters feel towards one another.

In this lesson, we will read the final part of the story, and think about what could happen next to these characters. We will consider why Toni Morrison may have written the story before we share our opinions on whether we liked or disliked what happened.