Brown Girl Dreaming By Catherine Woodson

Family and writing make up the identity of who people are in the world. In Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, it follows poems that show moments throughout her life. She grew up during the time of the Civil Rights movement where black people protested for rights. Jacqueline finds her identity by showing her beliefs with writing and memories. Jaqueline’s family and her first efforts as a writer inspired her to identify her beliefs and wonders of the world with what she had learned throughout her life. Her Grandfather, Gunnar, inspired Jacqueline by helping to accept her as herself no matter her choice with writing and beliefs. During the summer, Jacqueline and her siblings go to their grandparents house to stay. Their grandfather is ill and she comforts and accompanies him. Gunnar says, “You’re my favorite, smiles and winks at me. You’re going to be fine, you know that” (Woodson 235). This matters because Gunnar thinks that everyone is a person and deserves to have rights equally. Gunnar believes in Jacqueline as herself, that she is perfect just the way she is. This inspires her to accept her dream of writing and realize her identity that way. She keeps the memories with her and Gunnar as a reminder and wants to keep the memories alive.

When Jacqueline is three, she learns how to write the letter J in her name. She asks her sister, “Will the words end, I ask whenever I remember to. Nope, my sister says, all of five years old now, and promising me infinity” (Woodson 63). Therefore, as she begins writing she realizes that writing is everything to her, her own name and the words she can use to express her own thoughts. Her own poems are a starting point to her identity when she starts finding herself in the world, where she writes down the world around her and the events that occur. In the world where she has no idea where her place is among many others, she finds the answer through