Our two literary texts for this week–Adichie’s “A Private Experience” and Morrison’s “Sweetness”–both address issues of difference: specifically the violence that can result from racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic difference, and how that violence always falls harder on the marginalized community. For our discussion this week, respond to the following questions on how these two essays explore issues of difference:
1. How do Adichie and Morrison use point of view/perspective to explore the effects of violent marginalization as a result of difference? Adichie uses third-person perspective, while Morrison uses first-person perspective. What are the effects of each author’s respective choices in point of view? How do their choices of point-of-view impact the characterizations of their respective characters?
2. Adichie and Morrison both explore themes of family (especially motherhood), the violence of colonialism, and the impacts of racial tension. Discuss the similarities and differences you see between each author’s exploration of these themes.
