91 pages 3 hours read

Michelle Obama

Becoming

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2018

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Before Reading

Reading Context

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.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 91 pages of this Study Guide
Plus, gain access to 8,650+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools