Sassafrass’ Love Language

Sassafrass’ partner Mitch speaks a striking line from her section of the novel that illustrates both the materiality of Sassafrass’ craft and a reason for the discord in her relationship with Mitch: “You can create whole worlds, girl” (70). In context, Mitch intends to pressure Sassafrass into channeling her self-expression in writing rather than “all…

The Wonders of Weaving

InSassafras, Cypress & Indigo, Ntozake Shange uses textile weaving as a source of strength and comfort for Sassafras when she is feeling low. After being abused and leaving her boyfriend Mitch, Sassafras leaves LA to be with her sister in San Francisco. “…the cold she felt continually reminded her of being alone – forsaken, she…

The controlling, wrathful, and god-like, Mitch.

In Ntozake Shange’s Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo, Mitch is compared to divine powers that highlight his control over Sassafrass. Gods are above humans , they are at the top of the hierarchy. When Sassafras was explaining Mitch’s appearance she states, “his presence was that of one of those Olmec gods. Mitch thought of himself as…

“Child’s Play” and Relationships with Rappers

In his 2016 song “Child’s Play”, Drake explores the complications of his relationships with women given his status in the music industry, boasting about how easy it is for him to buy expensive things to impress one nameless woman in particular. Drake details how he could “take you to the mall and get you a…

“Eat to Live” vs. “Live to Eat”

There is a saying that people either “eat to live” or “live to eat.” Food fulfills a basic physical need of the body and provides nourishment. Aside from physical satisfaction good brings to a person, psychologically food offers so much more. The tastes, smells, places and people associated with certain food bring up strong emotions….

Womanly Work as an Integral Structure: Weaving Together Society

We quickly learn that the loom in Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo is of particular importance. Each daughter possesses something that early on acts to signal to the reader the divergent paths they are to take. For Cypress this is dance, for Indigo her dolls that act as her link to a different world, and for…