Genre
Short story; literary fiction; novel excerpt.
Setting and Context
The story is narrated from the present day and concerns the legacy of Jim Crow segregation laws in the United States.
Narrator and Point of View
The story is told from Sweetness's first-person point of view.
Tone and Mood
The tone is reflective and conversational; the mood is bitter and remorseful.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Sweetness is the protagonist; the antagonist is her dark-skinned daughter Lula Ann.
Major Conflict
The major conflict in the story is that Sweetness is unable to accept her daughter's dark black skin and so tries to instill inferiority and deference in her daughter.
Climax
The story reaches its climax when Sweetness reveals that Lula Ann is successful in spite of having embraced the beauty of her dark skin and living proudly as a black woman.
Foreshadowing
Understatement
Allusions
When Sweetness says that her daughter's skin will always be a cross to bear, she alludes to Jesus Christ being forced to carry the cross on which he would be crucified.
