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Lesson 4

We will explore the differences between flashbacks and storytelling and analyze Toni Morrison’s choice to include both in Beloved. We will specifically focus on pages 159–173, which includes a flashback through the eyes of Baby Suggs. We will use this section of the novel to discuss narrative shift and continue to analyze Morrison’s authorial craft.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I analyze relationships among thematic development, characterization, point of view, significance of setting, and plot in pages 159–173 of Beloved?

  • Can I analyze how characters’ behaviors and underlying motivations contribute to moral dilemmas that influence the plot and theme in Beloved?

  • Can I evaluate how literary elements such as flashback and point of view shape Morrison’s portrayal of the plot?

  • Can I evaluate how Morrison uses text structure, particularly flashback and storytelling, to achieve her purpose?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • Beloved, Toni Morrison, Vintage Books, 2004

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Write – Discuss

We will evaluate the differences between a flashback and a storytelling event. We will then identify areas of the novel in which Morrison employs a flashback or a storytelling event and analyze the effect that her decisions have on the reader when interpreting the scene.

Step 1

In literature, a flashback involves an intended interruption of the chronological sequence of events to narrate a previous occurrence. Writers often use these interruptions to provide background information for the reader. Write down the term flashback in your Vocabulary Journal.

  1. What is the difference between a flashback and a story of the past?

Do a two-minute quick-write and jot down words or pictures to help you understand the differences between a flashback and a story told about the past.

Step 2

As a class, discuss your quick-write responses to define flashback and compare those definitions with storytelling of the past:

Flashback: A flashback is an episode in a story in which the events or character’s thoughts move backward to a previous point in time. The purpose of a flashback can be to clarify or to confuse. It can fill in details, further develop the character, reveal motivations, introduce conflicts, or complicate the narrative structure.

Storytelling: Storytelling within a narrative occurs when a character uses dialogue to share an event. The setting and time do not shift away from the chronology of the narrative; rather, the character’s words tell a story within the story.

The main difference between the two is chronology. A flashback is an active transportation to a different setting and time.

Step 3

As a class, we will evaluate each of the following instances in the novel and determine if it is a flashback or a storytelling event. We will then discuss Morrison’s choice to include both storytelling and flashbacks in the novel.

Pages 69-73 (Sethe’s mother): Story

Pages 84-85 (Paul D. and Mister the rooster): Story

Pages 92-100 (Sethe and Amy): Flashback

Pages 120-123 (Denver): Flashback through thought

Pages 125 - 133 (Paul D.’s and Georgia): Flashback

Now, revisit your initial response to the question "What is a flashback?" (from Section 2, Lesson 1) in your Learning Log and update your response if your understanding has changed.

Activity 2: Discuss

We will briefly revisit the homework with a partner to share perspective and deepen understanding of the characters’ internal and external conflicts.

Step 1

With a partner or small group, discuss your responses to the following questions from the Lesson 3 homework activity:

  1. Discuss Paul D.’s internal struggle with defining himself as a man (p. 147). What factors could contribute to his internal struggle? What external conflicts has he endured that could contribute to his internal conflict?

  2. Describe Denver’s feelings toward Beloved. Does Beloved feel the same way toward Denver? How does this relationship contribute to Denver’s internal struggle of longingness? What other external conflicts has Denver experienced that could contribute to her internal conflict?

  3. What internal and external conflicts is Sethe battling? Provide a citation to support each type of conflict (these citations may come from pages 1-158).

Use the information shared by your peers to update your Character Note-Taking Tool.

Step 2

Using your responses to these questions, as well as the perspectives shared by your peers, revisit your character analysis regarding repression. With your updated understanding of the internal and external conflict that your character is experiencing, how would your analysis change? Record a description of your changes in your Learning Log.

Activity 3: Read – Discuss

We will read pages 159–173 of the novel and learn more about Baby Suggs, her past, and her life after slavery. We will discuss Morrison’s decision to employ narrative shift.

Step 1

As a class, read pages 159-173. As you read, jot down questions and reactions to the story in your Learning Log. Also, write down sentences in your Mentor Sentence Journal that demonstrate strong examples of diction or syntax that effectively contribute to the tone and mood of the scene.

Step 2

After reading, discuss the questions and reactions noted while reading, and highlight any sentences that were added to your Mentor Sentence Journal.

Then, discuss the following questions as a class:

  1. From whose point of view is this part of the narrative being told? Why do you think Morrison chose to introduce a "new" narrator to illustrate this part of the novel?

  2. Is this part of the novel considered a flashback or a story? How do you know?

  3. What do we learn about Baby Suggs and her children from these pages?

  4. "Loaves and fishes were His powers—they did not belong to an ex-slave who had probably never carried one hundred pounds to the scale or picked okra with a baby on her back" (pp. 161-162). Connect this quote to Baby Suggs’s concern of people being angry with her. Also, consider the idea of "excess" and the irony of Suggs’s concerns.

    1. "the smell of disapproval was sharp" (p. 162)

    2. "she had overstepped, given too much, offended them by excess" (p. 163).

  5. What do you think the "dark and coming thing" (p. 163) is?

  6. We learn more about the Garners, the original owners of Sweet Home. Describe how Baby Suggs remembers them (pp. 164-173). Compare Sweet Home under the supervision of the Garners with Sweet Home under the control of Schoolteacher and his nephews.

Activity 4: Read

For homework, we will read pages 174–186.

Independently, read pages 174-186. Update your Character Note-Taking Tool and Learning Logwith notes from your reading.

Consider the following guiding questions as you read:

  1. Who is coming to Bluestone Road and why?

  2. "Right off it was clear, to schoolteacher especially, that there was nothing there to claim" (p. 175). What is the meaning of this statement?

  3. Schoolteacher says, "You just can’t mishandle creatures and expect success” (p. 176). Who is schoolteacher blaming for Sethe’s actions? What is wrong with his thinking? What is logical about his thinking? Could this quotation serve as a theme for the novel?

  4. What key piece of information about Sethe do we learn from these pages?

  5. What was Sethe’s punishment as a result?

Be sure to add new or interesting words to your Vocabulary Journal. Add at least one sentence that stands out to you as interesting or that represents a strong example of a particular concept you have learned in your Mentor Sentence Journal.