Tony Morrison: 2. Sweetness

2.
SWEETNESS
Tony Morrison
Tony Morrison is an American writer noted for her examination of black experience [particularly
black female experience]. She received the Noble Prize for literature in 1993.
In this story, Morrison manages to position race and skin colour on a spectrum. Sweetness presents
the confession of a parent (who is the narrator in the story) of a black girl who grows up without
much love and affection.
She tells that when she saw her daughter after giving birth to her, she thought that something was
really wrong with the baby. Her daughter was so black that it scared her. Midnight black, Sudanese
black. The mother is further found to be perplexed when she says that she was light-skinned and had
good hair and so did her husband. Nobody in her family was of the colour of Lula Ann who was very
dark and her hair was different-straight but curly.
Members of her family always been so pale-skinned that many of them have chosen to “pass” for
white, in some cases cutting of all contacts with their family members to do so.
Mother tells the experience of her own mother getting discriminated in church because of her skin
colour and being asked to touch the Bible that was reversed for Negros. Her mother was a
housekeeper for rich white couple.
Mother tells us how Negros are ill-treated in the public, they would be spit on in a drugstore, pushed
at the bus stop, they were supposed to walk in the gutter to let the white have the whole side walk,
they were charged extra nickel at the grocery store for a paper bag which was free for white
shoppers, they were also called by different ugly names.
Mother says that from the very beginning Lula Ann embarrassed her. She is seized with a desire to
smother Lula Ann with a blanket. She refers to her with the derogatory term “Pickaninny” and she
finds something “witchy” about her daughter’s eyes and tells Lula Ann to refer to her as “Sweetness”
rather than “Mama”. She even thinks of giving her away to an orphanage someplace, but gets scared
by the idea.
Lula Ann’s dark skin color destroys her parents’ marriage. Her father- Louis believes that his wife
must have had an affair. Her father treated Lula Ann like a stranger, more like an enemy and he
never touched her. One day, mother responds by saying that the dark skin must have come from his
side of the family which results in his departure.
Mother finds a cheaper place to stay and goes in search of flats leaving Lula with a teen-age cousin
to babysit. Finally she gets a place but for a higher rent.
After few months Louis starts sending money to her and she also starts working at the hospital.
Mother tells she was very strict while rising Lula. If sweetness deserves any blame at all, it might be
for accepting the injustice in the world instead of trying to change it. She is genuinely surprised to
see that Lula Ann inhabits a world that sweetness had not imagined was possible.
Sweetness gets some one diseases so is admitted to hospital under the care of nurses Lula Ann
writes a letter and informs sweetness that she is going to be a mother. There is no return address on
the envelope which sweetness thinks is a punishment for a ‘bad parent’. Lula Ann keeps sending
money to sweetness for which she feels greatfull.
Yet sweetness, in spite of some regrets, won’t blame herself, saying, “I know I did the best for her
under the circumstances”. Lula Ann is about to have a baby of her own, and sweetness knows that
she is about to discover how the world ‘changes when you are a parent’.
Two markers:-
1) Lula Ann was different from her parents in hair and skin colour.
2) Lula Ann’s father was upset because Lula Ann was dark-skinned.
3) The narrator tells that her own mother, Lula Mae could have passed easy but she
chose not to. Her mother was a housekeeper and worked for a rich white couple.
4) (a) Spit on in a drugstore,
(b) Elbowed at the bus stop,
(c) Having to walk in the gutter to let the whites have the whole sidewalk,
(d) Being charged extra nickel at the grocery’s for a paper bag, and,
(e) Being called with ugly names.
5) The narrator’s parents dint allow their children to drink from the ‘coloured only’
water fountain because they did not want to show that belonged to the black race
and then get discriminated.
6) It broke their marriage to pieces.
7) Due to their daughter’s skin colour.
8) Because she was scared to be one of those mothers who left their babies on
churches steps.
9) Teenage cousin of sweetness took care of Lula Ann when she went out.
10) Sweetness.
11) Lula Ann grew up to be a well striking, kind of bold and confident girl and a rich
career girl.
12) She was treated at Winston house.
13) Because she dint want her mother to send her a letter or visit her.
14) Through her letter to her mother, Lula Ann mentioned that she was pregnant and
that she was going to be a mother.

Tony Morrison: 2. Sweetness

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Tony Morrison: 2. Sweetness

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Tony Morrison: 2. Sweetness

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

2.

You might also like