24 pages • 48 minutes read
Toni MorrisonSweetness
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 2015A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Language Variety
Content warning: This section of the guide discusses racism and emotional abuse.
Morrison uses African American Vernacular English (AAVE), a variety of English, to convey the unique voice of her narrator and provide insight into her experiences and perspectives. Sweetness uses AAVE which reflects her upbringing and cultural background. For example, she says that Lula Ann’s hair “don’t go with the skin” and that her “own mother, Lula Mae, could have passed easy” (Paragraph 1). Her use of AAVE is also apparent when she is defensive, such as when she insists that she “ain’t never, ever fooled around” (Paragraph 5). The English variety in “Sweetness” creates a sense of place and authenticity. The way Sweetness speaks is consistent with her experiences and cultural background, and this helps to establish the story’s American setting and atmosphere.
Imagery
Toni Morrison employs imagery in the story to convey the theme of Colorism and White-Passing. The most prominent image in the story is Lula Ann’s “blue-black” skin, which symbolizes the Black identity that Sweetness and her family fear. This image is repeated throughout the story and reinforces the notion of colorism. Morrison transposes this imagery when she relates Sweetness’s feelings of fear towards her child’s looks. She describes Lula Ann with “funny-colored eyes, crow black with a blue tint—something witchy about them” (Paragraph 6). The comparison of her with a “crow” and the allusion to witchcraft conjures conventional images of supernatural eeriness, conveying the sense of fear that is tied to Sweetness’s colorism. These dark images are juxtaposed with Lula Ann’s bright white clothing at the end, conveying a significant difference in the way Sweetness sees Lula Ann and the way Lula Ann presents herself to the world.
Flashback
Toni Morrison employs flashback in “Sweetness” to provide insight into the character of Sweetness and the history of colorism within her family. Throughout the story, Sweetness describes her own experiences and attitudes toward colorism, which have been shaped by the prejudices of her family and the societal norms of the time. However, it is through the use of flashback that one gains a deeper understanding of where these attitudes come from. In a particularly significant scene, Sweetness recounts the story of her own mother, who had light skin but chose not to pass as white, and the discrimination and humiliation that she faced because of it. This story reveals the intergenerational trauma and internalized racism that have been passed down through Sweetness’s family and explains her own fear and rejection of her daughter’s dark skin.
Furthermore, the flashbacks allow Morrison to provide historical context for the story. By taking readers back to the era of Jim Crow segregation, Morrison shows how colorism was a pervasive and institutionalized form of discrimination. Through the experiences of Sweetness’s family, the reader sees how colorism affected every aspect of their lives, from the way they were treated in public spaces to the opportunities that were available to them.
First-Person Perspective
Morrison writes “Sweetness” through the first-person point-of-view of Sweetness, Lula Ann’s mother. This allows the reader to gain intimate access to the thoughts and feelings of Sweetness as she reflects on her relationship with her daughter and her own internalized racism. The reader sees the world as Sweetness sees it; through her thoughts and reflections, they gain insight into the complex social and cultural issues of colorism, racism, and identity.
By limiting the perspective to Sweetness, Morrison also shows how personal experiences and upbringing can shape one’s worldview and attitudes toward others. Sweetness’s perspective is heavily influenced by her own experiences of growing up in a racist society and by her family’s history of passing as white. Her perspective highlights her fear involved in her rejection of her daughter’s dark skin, as well as her internal turmoil and guilt.
Related Titles
By Toni Morrison
