Characters
The main characters who meet at Saint Bonny's Orphanage.
Who are Twyla and Roberta?
The reason for the narrator not wanting to share a room at the orphanage.
What is race?
This story touches on how people remember and interpret the past, especially in relation to the older/mute woman at the orphanage.
What is memory and perception?
Morrison purposefully leaves this significant detail out about the two main characters.
What is the ethnicity of the two girls?
The older/mute woman who is mistreated at the orphanage.
Who is Maggie?
The reason for both girls going to live at the orphange.
What are absent parents/mothers/guardians?
The girl's beliefs align with their respective parents (prejudice, ethnicity, traditions).
What is learned behavior?
The main characters and their differing ____ determine how they perceive each other.
What is social class/status?
The strict caretaker at Bonny's Orphanage.
Who is Mrs. Itkin?
Morrison describes what Twyla was doing when the main characters meet again after leaving the orphanage.
What is working as a waitress for a run-down diner?
Both girls bullied the older/mute kitchen worker along with the rest of the orphanage children, despite it going against their personal morals.
What is Asch's Conformity Theory?
The main characters rely on false information and assumptions to interpret each other's actions.
What is misunderstanding/miscommunication?
The person described "as comfortable as a house slipper" by the narrator.
Who is Mr. (James) Benson?
The event that first caused resentment between the two main characters.
What is Roberta's mother's refusal to shake Mary's (Twyla's mother) hand?
Morrison shows how ___ can divide and bring people together.
What is social identity?
This is inferred about the subject of the protest that the two main characters participate in.
What is the Civil Rights Movement?
Roberta's husband who works in "computers and stuff."
Who is Mr. (Kenneth) Norton?
The people who the main characters were fighting for during the protest.
Who are Twyla and Roberta's sons/children?
The shifting memories in relation to the older/mute kitchen worker show _____ bias.
What is conformation (bias)?
What do you think the significance is behind Roberta's mother being ill during the story?
Class Discussion.