Lula Ann's Dark Skin (Symbol)
In "Sweetness," Lula Ann's "blue-black" skin is a symbol of the black identity that Sweetness and members of her family have come to fear, and that Lula Ann has no choice but to embrace. In order to escape the prejudice, humiliation, and violence of living as black Americans in the segregation era, Sweetness's grandmother and parents use the privileges afforded by their lighter skin to pass as white. Sweetness grows up with an inherited prejudice toward dark skin, only to give birth to a dark-skinned daughter. Because of colorism, Sweetness is frightened by Lula Ann's blackness, and describes her daughter in terms that associate her with evil. However, Lula Ann manages to evade her mother's shaming and embrace the beauty of her dark skin, emphasizing it by wearing contrasting white clothing. Unlike her light-skinned family members, Lula Ann has no choice but to live as a black person. And despite her mother's fear of what this will mean for her, Lula Ann grows up to be confident and successful.
No Return Address (Symbol)
As a symbol of her rejection of her mother, Lula Ann includes no return address in the letter she sends to Sweetness to announce her pregnancy. While it is possible Lula Ann merely forgot to include the return address, Sweetness understands the gesture to be Lula Ann's method of punishing Sweetness for having been tough on Lula Ann while raising her. Even though the tenor of Lula Ann's letter is enthusiastic as she shares the news of her pregnancy, it is clear to Sweetness that her daughter has written out of a guilty conscience and would prefer to keep their relationship at a distance.
Sweetness Claims It Isn't Her Fault (Motif)
From the first lines of the story, Morrison establishes Sweetness's denial of responsibility for her actions through the motif of Sweetness claiming "it" isn't her fault and she cannot blamed. The ambiguous "it" refers both to the unexpected occurrence of Lula Ann's inexplicably dark skin and to the tough and distant way Sweetness raised her daughter. Sweetness relies on sharing the historical context of American racial bigotry and segregation in which her colorism developed rather than take any personal responsibility for her treatment of Lula Ann. However, Sweetness's desperate and repeated assertion of innocence reveals that she is wrestling with the guilt of knowing that she is partly to blame for not having recognized her daughter's beauty and accepted her for who she was.
