91 pages • 3 hours read
Toni MorrisonA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
How do the women of the novel contribute to Milkman’s journey? Which women serve as “dolls,” “doormats,” or “birds,” and how? This discussion will help students trace the theme Beyond the Doll and the Doormat: The Power of Black Women.
Teaching Suggestion: Prepare a three-column chart on the board before the discussion. Label one column “Doll,” another “Doormat,” and the third “Bird.” Ask the class to categorize the following women, recording their names in the appropriate columns: Ruth, Lena, First Corinthians, Pilate, Reba, and Hagar. For each, record supporting evidence for the categorization.
Differentiation Suggestion: For ESL students or students with learning challenges, open a discussion to describe and define the symbolism of calling a woman (or anyone) a “doll,” “doormat,” or “bird” before asking them to categorize the female characters. To call a woman a “doll” is to suggest that she is pretty but not smart and to call a woman a “doormat” is to suggest that she submits to the will of others without protest or self-consideration. To call a woman a “bird” suggests she can fly because nothing weighs her down.
By Toni Morrison
A Mercy
A Mercy
Toni Morrison
Beloved
Beloved
Toni Morrison
God Help The Child
God Help The Child
Toni Morrison
Home
Home
Toni Morrison
Jazz
Jazz
Toni Morrison
Love
Love: A Novel
Toni Morrison
Paradise
Paradise
Toni Morrison
Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination
Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination
Toni Morrison
Recitatif
Recitatif
Toni Morrison
Sula
Sula
Toni Morrison
Sweetness
Sweetness
Toni Morrison
Tar Baby
Tar Baby
Toni Morrison
The Bluest Eye
The Bluest Eye
Toni Morrison
The Origin of Others
The Origin of Others
Toni Morrison