The Characteristics of Laurel "Brownies" written by ZZ Packer is an unusual short story about racial segregation amongst young African American and white Brownie troops. The story takes place in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. The narrator, Laurel also known as "snot" is sort of an outkast amongst the other troops. Laurels peers set out on a mission to beat the white girls of troop 99 up, because they thought that they heard the girls use a derogatory word. The black troops are clueless to the fact that the white girls are different, and meant no harm by using the word.
It also expands on the idea of during early childhood some children are exposed to the concept of prejudging. Interacting with whites is not common for the Brownies, so automatically each reveal their hatred and envy of Troop 909, except for Laurel, because she has never encountered racism. In the short story, “Brownies”, the term downgrades not only the white girls’ troop but white people in general. Arnetta amplifies the word wet by using the noun, Chihuahua, which are small weak “lap” dogs. Packer’s diction shows whites as privileged, since they can sit in laps, and also demonstrates the tension between the two
Other students had started coming up with mean nicknames such as “Dave The Food Thief”. Dave was constantly doing chores since he was his mother’s “slave”. He had so many responsibilities that most children wouldn’t have. Dave had felt like he wasn’t even part of a family or had his own life he wasn’t even allowed to be in the family car. Dave started stealing food from When the trash can at home since the store owner had found out about Dave stealing food and had report Dave to his mother.
A person comes to conclusions about situations based on their point of view. If an individual is in downtown Los Angeles, he/she will mention how chaotic and populated it is, but if that person is on top of the Mount Hollywood, he/she will be overlooking a gorgeous view of the city and will describe Los Angeles positively. The point of view a person has goes hand in hand with how he/she will understand an issue. In ZZ Packer’s “Brownies” the narrator is in a position that gives her a unique insight of the camping trip she and her brownie troop take. The reader is able to see the narrator’s honesty because of the personality traits she displays throughout the story.
She employs many literary devices that support her specific claim in this passage as well as she provides many clear examples of how stereotypes have shaped young girls’ lives throughout the book. Through these examples she succeeds to use them as evidence so the audience does not conform to
The main character’s characteristics were shown to be rough, violent, loud, and “bad”. In the text, “People say things about me. Bad things. Momma says I give ‘em reason to,” the main character’s reputation seems to show her as a rebel. “’No,’ that’s what I wanna tell him,” shows that she’s blunt and speak what’s on her mind.
The author of “Brownies” uses similes, foreshadowing, and irony to portray the theme of racial discrimination and prejudice. In the story “Brownies” the entire story is more of a whole simile about the racial segregation and societies view on racial prejudice. As the Whites were described as having more money and being more over the top as the author says: “their rolled up sleeping bags chromatized with Disney characters: Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Mickey Mouse.” The bags to symbolize wealth because all of those bags actually truly cost the most that others really can’t afford the nice things like those sleeping bags.
From the day she was born, she was seen as an outcast and a burden by her siblings. “I believe I came not only an unexpected, but an unwelcome guest into the family… so that I was rather regarded as an impertinent intruder” (Charke 11). This immediate disapproval from those closest to her may have had a major impact on her self-image and confidence later in her life. For example, in the letter to herself at the beginning of the story, she says that she has never seen herself as a friend, and speaks of herself in a very
2 Questions of “Brownies” 1. In the short story, “Brownies,” I would describe the narrator, whose name is Laurel, as a shy and timid girl, questioning the way people act. Most of the girls in her group do not take a liking to her, for she says, “[They] already decided their course of action, me being the only impediment” (Packer 847). Moreover, the narrator is very smart because she is skeptical, for she is the only one who questions the girls if they, in fact, heard troop 909 call one of the girls a nigger.
Literary Analysis Essay William Howard The short story that I chose for my literary analysis essay is “Brownies” By ZZ Packer. This fictional short story had a powerful meaning because it focused on how racial stereotyping can cause a lot of problems even among young girls who were attending a Girl Scouts camp. “Brownies” also showed how stereotyping can actually be harmful and can sometimes lead to hurtful consequences for the person who is the victim of it and for the person is guilty of stereotyping someone. I decided to do my analysis of this short story using the historical context element because of the long history of problems between the Black and White races in this country according to our history books, including
A pressing, socio-economic issue seen prevelantly in today’s society is racism. The term has been used for a long time, but has still found its way to stay in the current vocabulary of people in the twenty-first century. The timeless occurence of racism in society has been documented in a piece of literature that enables the horrors of this foulness to forever be known. “Brownies” by ZZ Packer made its way to the shelves in 2003 and has left many in awe of the in-depth perception of how people of the black race were mistreated. The story starts off when a group of black girls were mistreated by a group of white girls at a retreat known as Camp Crescendo (Packer 1).
Frequently, she is verbally abused by her siblings by being called many rude names. “‘You don't know because you are stupid!’” (Mah 14). This quotes Big Sister calling Adeline stupid for something she didn't know the answer to. It is important because it gives evidence that Adeline is abused and treated unfairly at home, though most people outside the family do not sense that at all.
While reading the story, you can tell in the narrators’ tone that she feels rejected and excluded. She is not happy and I’m sure, just like her family, she wonders “why her?” She is rejected and never accepted for who she really is. She is different. She’s not like anyone else
Brownies is a short story about 4th graders who go on a summer camping trip near the southern suburbs of Atlanta in Georgia. Laura, an African American girl, also known by her nickname ‘Snot’ to the other girls, narrates the story. The Narrator explains how her Brownie troop took a dislike on each and every girl in another Brownie troop, Troop 909, on the first day. The fact that girls from troop 909 were white was the main factor contributing to the dislike. This essay aims at showing how racism creates conflicts and hatred between people as evident in the short story.
In this short story the Brownie troops at the summer camp appear either all black or all white, no mixed troop is present. This displays the constant segregation occurring and the influence it has on young children who are vulnerable to a racially segregated environment causing them to portray themselves a certain way. The black girls have little knowledge of people different than them, “When you lived in the south suburbs of Atlanta, it was easy to forget about whites. Whites were like those baby pigeons: real and existing, but rarely seen or thought about” (pg. 5), because of these girls have little contact with one another and the black girls are extremely conscious of the differences they posses. The feeling of differences comes from the world around them, what they hear and see affect their opinions tremendously.
