Point of View

The book is written with a combination of first and third person perspective. The story switches from one character’s viewpoint to the other providing a fuller picture of the events.

Setting

Sweet Home was the farm in Kentucky that was described in the memories of the characters. The Garners lived in the farm house where Baby Suggs and then Sethe worked with Mrs. Garner. The men worked in the barns and fields. The slaves’ shacks were on the property. A big tree near the corn fields was called Brother, this tree provided shade to the men during their meal breaks.

House 124 was in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the big house Baby Suggs was given when she arrived as a free woman. House 124 was outside of town in the colored neighborhood. A large feast was celebrated at 124 the night before Sethe killed her child in...