MILLIE MURRAY - TEACHERS' NOTES

Text taken from: Sorelle

Download the original text pdf file of Sorelle.

About the book

The novel focuses on the relationship between a black teenage girl, Sorrelle, and her Asian boyfriend, who have to contend with the tension between their two communities.

Sorrelle has always thought she would only date a black boy, but when her brother Trenton introduces her to Arun, the Asian boy every girl seems to fancy, she can’t help falling for him. Sorelle’s Asian friend, Priya, fancies Arun and tells her own mother about the relationship. The boy’s parents then learn about it through Priya’s father. They pay a threatening visit on Sorelle’s parents to make sure the couple never meet again. However, they keep meeting in secret, helped by Sorrelle’s brother’s girlfriend, Zara.

Teachers' Notes

The following notes correspond to the Sorelle readers' notes, where activities for reading groups can be found.

• Activity 1: Encourage readers to do a web quest and identify sources

• Activity 2:

Name	Who is s/he?
Aunt Melda	Sorrelle’s mother’s sister
Sorrelle’s Dad
Sorrells’ Mum
Trenton	Sorrelle’s brother
Zara	Sorrelle’s brother’s girlfriend
Priya	Sorrelle’s best friend, Asian
Priya’s parents
Arun	Sorrelle’s Asian boyfriend
Arun’s parents
Sukhi	An Asian friend?

• Activity 1: Aunt Melda can’t understand why her niece is ready to give up a free holiday in Florida for a boyfriend she has only recently started dating. Should Sorrelle leave Arun behind or not?

• Activity 2: The unusual spelling is an attempt to reproduce Aunt Melda’s strong Jamaican accent. Focus on the difference between the way she speaks and the way Sorrelle does. Does this suggest the descendants of Caribbean immigrants have become 'acculturated'? As the story is told form Sorrelle’s point of view, does the way Aunt Melda’s speech is represented visually suggest her niece finds it funny? Notice the way Sorrelle’s mum speaks on p. 99.

• Activity 3: Arun’s parents’ visit on Sorrelle’s family and the prohibition to see Arun as a result. Since then, their families have been keeping an eye on the couple to make sure they don’t meet.

• Activities 1 - 6: Open answers

• Activities 1 & 2: Open answers