TONI MORRISON
• born February 18,
1931 in Lorain, Ohio
• grandfather was born a
slave
• her family lost their
land and were forced
to work in the mines
and mills of the
industrialized North
Lorain, Ohio
• attended Howard
University and later
Cornell
• has taught at several
universities
• is divorced and has
two sons
• 1988 Pulitzer Prize for
Fiction
HER NOVELS
• The Bluest Eye 1972
• Sula 1974
• Song Of Solomon 1977
• Beloved 1987
a ghost story
a jigsaw puzzle
a work of historical fiction
a mystery
?
… one of the best books for
young adults written in the
1980s…
… more suited for advanced students
due to the complexity of the plot and
the mature subject matter
While reading
Focus: The plot / the different characters
1. Keep a reading log in which questions are
written and crossed out when they have
been answered through the reading or in
discussion with another reader. Try not to
read ahead of the group.
1st date: till 165 (Book One)
2nd date: till the end (Book Two and
Three)
While reading
2. Develop a time line of the events in the story.
Discuss it with the other group members.
3. Keep a list of characters and explain their
relationships. Discuss and complete this list with
the other group members.
4. Make a list of words ad phrases you have found
particularly appealing or impressive and share
these with the other group members.
After reading
1. Write responses to ‘Beloved’ in which you
express your thoughts and feelings about the
novel as a whole.
- approximately 15 lines
- date: 30 November
2. Share the written responses in small groups.
Explore similar and different responses of group
members, trying to understand what made
different readers respond as they do.
Evaluation
• Writing skills: will be assessed in 15 lines
personal responses to the novel as a whole
• Speaking skills: will be assessed in group
discussions (November 23 + 24 + 30) and
active participation in ‘final analysis’
• No separate examination
And finally ABRAHAM LINCOLN …
"Whenever I hear any one arguing for slavery I
feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him
personally."
The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume VIII,
"Speech to One Hundred Fortieth Indiana Regiment" (March 17, 1865), p. 361.
"I leave you, hoping that the lamp of
liberty will burn in your bosoms until
there shall no longer be a doubt that all
men are created free and equal."
The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler,
Volume II, "Speech at Chicago, Illinois" (July 10, 1858), p. 502.