Becoming

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Literature that reveals the story of a person’s life can be told in memoir, autobiography, or biography. What distinctions among each of these genres should readers bear in mind while reading? Consider elements such as voice, tone, style, and authenticity in your response.

Teaching Suggestion: Biography, when contrasted with autobiography or memoir, is the story of a person’s life as told by someone who is not that person. Autobiography is a first-person account, but it is typically told in a straightforward, chronological order and encompasses the person’s factual life history. Finally, memoir is told as a first-person account of the author’s life experiences, but it is structured around memory, theme, or other narrative elements the author chooses. In this way, memoir offers more authorial control over the telling of one’s own story. As a linear narrative that begins with the author’s childhood, Becoming is autobiographical; however, the text includes strong elements of memoir, and consequently this prompt may serve as an opportunity to introduce the overarching theme of The Importance of One’s Own Story. Information from these or similar resources can help students develop additional context on the topic.

• Writer’s Digest’s “Defining Creative Nonfiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Memoir, Autobiography, and Biography” provides some helpful definitions of these genres.
• LitHub’s “Putting the ‘I’ in Biography: John Kaag on Biography-Memoir Hybrids and the Myth of Objectivity” is an exploration of the sub-genre “biography-memoir.”
• Grammarly offers examples of memoirs and autobiographies in this brief article to help distinguish between the two forms.

Differentiation Suggestion: For advanced learners and/or those interested in creative writing, the following question might be posed for discussion: Is it ever useful for an author to tell their personal story through a novel, as opposed to a memoir? Why might an author choose to do this? LitHub’s “On Deciding to Tell My Story in a Novel Instead of a Memoir” may be a useful resource before discussion or debate.

2. Intersectionality is an important concept in sociology, one that is especially useful in helping understand the related theory of privilege. How would you define the term intersectionality? What is the relationship between privilege and intersectionality?

Teaching Suggestion: In sociological contexts, intersectionality involves the multiple layers of our own identity, and how they come together; privilege refers to benefits or advantages inherent to or conferred upon certain societal groups, which leave others marginalized. For fuller definitions, Oxford’s Encyclopedia of Social Work’s entry on “Privilege” and Syracuse University’s “FYS 101: Intersectionality” might be helpful. With this question, students can discuss how facets of an individual’s identity connect to the idea of privilege, thus providing an opportunity for introduction of the text’s theme of Race, Privilege, and Access to Opportunities.

• The British Academy’s “What Is Intersectionality?” is a broad discussion on the meaning of the term.
• Vox’s “The Intersectionality Wars” explores the modern rise in popularity of the term (first coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989) and discusses its various connotations.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the text.

As we move from childhood to young adulthood, we may find ourselves becoming different people; you might, for example, shed old beliefs, habits, and other elements of identity that at one point made you “you.” Reflect on the “you” that you were 5 years ago. In what ways have you changed? Imagine the person whom you will be in 5 years. Describe this future identity. How are these “yous” different from the person you are today?

Teaching Suggestion: As discussed throughout the work (and reiterated in its title), the theme of Becoming is central to Michelle Obama’s memoir. This prompt offers readers the opportunity to reflect upon and think critically about their own personal evolutions from past to present to future. It may be beneficial to emphasize that evolution and growth are positive attributes, ones that help contribute to a rich and fulfilling life.

• BBC’s “Why Embracing Change is the Key to a Good Life” explains how change is central to personal betterment.
• The New Yorker’s “Are You The Same Person You Used to Be?” is a philosophical reflection on the ways in which we change over the course of our lives.

Differentiation Suggestion: For a more creative approach, students might craft a dialogue among their 3 selves—past, present, and future—and reveal the answers to this prompt’s questions through the conversation. Additionally, you may want to ask students how each of their 3 selves would answer these initial questions: How have your feelings about your family changed over time? How have your feelings about your creative abilities changed? Which of your 3 selves is the “happiest,” per se? Which of your 3 selves feels the freest?