Arabella Reinacher
Mrs. Miller
Literacy 4/5
2 February 2023
Family is Identity
People get their identity from their family and friends. In the memoir Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacquline Woodson, she had a rough family life without a dad; her grandfather became a father figure. Jacqueline Woodson was born during the Civil Rights Movement, so when her mom wanted to see their grandparents in the South, the parents separated so then they could visit family; as a result, her family made an impact on her life. The biggest influence on Jacqueline’s life is her family, which has shaped her identity so far.
Her grandfather coming home from work late into the night shaped her to become the patient person she is. Jacquline was waiting on the porch for her grandfather, and as she saw him in the distance, she illustrated, “...my grandfather makes his way home… Then he is close enough to run to- three of us, climbing him like a tree… We call him daddy. This is what our mother calls him. This is all we know” (Woodson 50-51). She calls her grandfather
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Jacqueline and Maria were playing outside with bubblegum cigarettes, and she proclaims that “When my sister sees us pretending to smoke, she shakes her head. That’s why Daddy died, she says. After that me and Maira peel the paper off, turn our cigarettes into regular bubblegum. After that, the game is over” (Woodson 286-287). She feels differently about bubblegum smoking after her grandfather dies. Jacqueline stopped using bubble gum cigarettes because she doesn't want to do the real form and get addicted like her grandfather. Her grandfather smoked so much that it impacted his lungs and killed him. The grandfather was coughing all the time because of smoking, so she saw the first-hand effects of smoking. Her grandfather was a father figure to her, so when he died she felt genuinely strongly about not making the same mistakes as