BROWNIES - ZZ PACKER
I think there is a lot that can be learned from ZZ Packer's story "Brownies." I personally really enjoyed this piece because the writer had a very unique voice that I could draw from.
From a writers perspective, the imagery was very unique. She described objects in a very unexacting way which peeks the readers interests. What were some of your favorite lines as a reader?
Some of my favorite lines were:
"That did it, the girls in our group turned elastic" (page 3)
Baby Pigeon descriptions throughout
"A convey of insects threw up tantrums from the wheat grass" (page 11)
"Shaggy white balls of paper towels sat on sink tops like corsages on display" (page 12)
What about the story made you curious and attentive enough to keep reading?
For me, reading about an unexpected POV of racism was interesting. ZZ Packer wrote, "What are you... Caucasian" (Page 4) The story really highlights the racial divide and how meaningless it really is. At the end of the story Laurel, aka Snot, talks about her father asking some white people to paint their porch in order to enjoy the sight of white people kneeling before him. One of the children asks if the father said thank you. This innocent question shows how cruel and pointless racial divide can be.
What to take away as a writer?
1) The attention to detail makes the story more believable.
2) I thought that the use of absurd descriptions made the story come alive.
3) Write in a setting that is from a distant memory.
I used to be a girl scout and have tons of memories of dirty camp grounds and whispering gossip between bites of burnt marshmallows.
I think its so important to retrieve these memories and write within the setting of them.
4) The bigger picture will come out eventually, just focus on the smaller story.
I think ZZ Packer does a great job focusing on a girl's camping trip and through conversation the story opens up to reveal a much bigger theme about racial injustice.
Hail ZZ.
ReplyDeleteI totes agree –loved the imagery and language, especially with regards to how they painted a character. Mrs. Hedy’s scolding that was “as though she could say these words again at the exact same pitch if a button on her were pressed” was on point; reminded me of several teachers at my middle school. And that description of Daphne was interesting too. “… her voice was petite and tinkly, the voice one might expect from a shiny new earring.” Packer really loves similes, and while I felt she went overboard with them at times, I enjoyed how clever they were.
Thematically: the racism, yeah, but also that chain of cruelty that starts with one group of abused people and ripples out. I really liked how the story ended with the anecdote of Laurel’s dad and the Mennonites at the end was a solid way to hit the piece home. I know it spelled things out a bit, but for some reason it just felt like a necessary beat. Maybe it comes from the irony that the narrator learns something while Arnetta, the most in need of empathy lessons, uses the Mennonites as her next target. I liked that little closing bit, too.
As far as what to take away writing-wise, I second everything above and find them all going hand-in-hand. Strong/ precise details= more immersive story. Where do you get strong/ precise details? Your past is probably a nice bank. Then of course, playing with that charged language will lead to good sentences, good paragraphs, and etc., etc. a good story. Oh – and I theorize that hyper, fun language comes from writing what you know and care about, so toss that in too!
Yes, the imagery used was really able to paint a picture of the campground and in some ways even highlighted how the girls were misled by their stereotypical view of the white girls in Troop 909. They saw the light skin color, the colorful girly themed sleeping bags, and the straight blonde hair. They saw their privilege, and when they think that Daphne has been insulted, they immediately want to get into a fight. Although, later it is revealed that the girls in Troop 909 have disabilities and likely did not mean to insult anyone.
ReplyDeleteThe story was filled with racial tension. To the girl's in Laurel's troop, and to the other kids in their school, to call someone "Caucasian" was an insult. This juxtaposes the word "nigger" that the girl from Troop 909 supposedly calls Daphne. Both terms are used in derogatory ways, but whereas "Caucasian" is a term that commonly describes a race, "nigger" is a term created to insult a race. That is not to say that Laurel's troop was in the right to want to cause a fight, but it does give weight to Laurel's observation that "there was something mean in the world that [she] could not stop."
The use of colloquial language in this story made the dialogue strong and gave each character a unique voice. This made the story entertaining to read. It also marked the differences between the girls even within their own racial group. Girls like Octavia, with her pretty hair, and Arnetta, with her loud, take charge attitude, have power. Janice, a country girl does not. Laurel, who seems like a rule-follower is called "Snot" and not well liked by the group. Daphne, the quiet one, is liked, but not really powerful. There is a hierarchy that parallels the social hierarchy based on racism in the rest of the world.
On a side note: Having been a Girl Scout for a few years, I really sympathized with Laurel, "The Friend Song" is torture.
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ReplyDeleteImagery and characterization were probably my favorite elements of this story. The author uses very quirky descriptions to describe the people and settings. Phrases such as:
ReplyDelete"twirled her hair into pretzel shapes"
"Stray strands of her hair were lit nearly transparent, thin fiber-optic threads"
These descriptions help color the story and make the events very clearly seen and heard by the reader. I do think that such similes are used a bit too often, though they are well done.
The characters are all well crafted and believable in my opinion. They seem at times to almost be caricatures of types of people, but at the same time there is a lot of depth to them. They might not all be likable or easy to relate to, but they all have very specific ways of speaking, carrying themselves, and going about things.
I enjoyed that the story brought to light more serious issues beneath the surface of the squabbles of elementary school girls, such as race and intolerance. It did not take very long for the story to clearly become about race, but this issue was not shoved in the reader's face. It was also interesting due to the unique perspective it was given, in which the prejudice of these young black children also becomes apparent, such as in their use of the word "Caucasian" as an insult. The story cleverly flips the expectations of the reader by slowly revealing more about the characters, allowing the reader to gain sympathy, or at least a degree of understanding, for them. The reactions, or lack thereof, of the characters to these new insights is also very telling of their personalities and whether they have learned anything or not throughout the course of the story.
One particular thing I did want to point out that stuck with me is the portrayal of Daphne. She is, in my opinion, one of the best written characters, which is impressive considering she has about three short lines in the entire story. She appears to be the quiet girl who needs looking after by the others. However, it is increasingly apparent that the other girls do not care about her in the slightest. They use their apparent care of her to their advantage to give them a reason to confront the troupe 909 girls. This is apparent in the fact that the group leaves Daphne in the bathroom picking up trash, without bothering to help her or give her a second thought. The other girls look to her for support of their biased ideas so that they can feel a sense of validation. Daphne, who does not seem to have the want to raise a hand for or against the other girls, is not without her own suffering, as is evident in the lines of her poem that entrance the narrator. This puts her in a place that the other girls, with all their assumptions and spoiled natures, cannot cross into. Their surface level friendship becomes little more, to her, than pandering and patronization.
I found it interesting that the narrator never really understands these lines of hers, despite all her wishes to befriend Daphne or look out for her. Regardless of her realization at the end that "there was something mean in the world that I could not stop" she cannot come close to the understanding that Daphne has reached. It's my opinion that the narrator herself does not particularly stand out. She's just an average goody-two-shoes with a couple of doubts. However, it might be the narrator's average nature that so makes the other characters remarkable.
ZZ Packer does a great job of establishing setting, not just of the camp, but of the period in Laurel's life that she is remembering. The descriptions of their Disney sleeping bags (only including the earliest Disney characters), some faded, and mention of the Igloo coolers created a visual and temporal anchor for the piece in remembered childhood.
ReplyDeleteLaurel is in a special position as a narrator, in that while she does have her own opinions and agency within the world, she is chained to the social structure of being a young girl who is not at the top of the food chain. ZZ packer examines the manipulative tactics of girls like Octavia and connects that to how these girls have been effected by racism.
It’s never confirmed, but it is implied, that no one from troop 909 used a racial slur at Daphne. Whether or not they did, the “invasion” of troop 909 is a threat to Octavia and her position of power and the troop’s sense of safety in the camp.
Troop 909 is associated with unattainable consumer ideals, and the sense of exclusivity created by white supremacy. Their new Disney sleeping bags, shopping for dresses, reference to brands like Superman, “shampoo-commercial hair.” Since the girls’ interactions with real white people has been limited, troop 909 is not personalized, but seen as a collective and oppressive reminder of the world that they are not permitted to join.
It is in the end, after we’ve learned that troop 909 is made up of disabled girls, that Octavia’s fear and hatred only caused more harm to everyone present. The story of Laurel’s dad and the Mennonites cemented this theme, while also showing how racism hardens and makes cruel those it affects.
As a writer, ZZ Packer’s details made this story feel so real to me. Perhaps it tapped into my dormant Girl Scout memories. By created a vivid world of experience she was able to characterized the girls and show how they were made.
The most impressive element of this piece for me was how believable it was. I did have a little issue with them being in the 4th grade, I felt that 6th grade would have been a better choice particularly because of the quick witted responses we get from the girls. But, it never felt like an adult pretending to be a child and that is what was so crazy. It was descriptive and challenging enough that, as an adult, I wasn’t bored or feel like I was reading a children's story — and it wasn’t just because of the subject matter dealing with racism.
ReplyDeleteHaving been born in Georgia, not too far from where this story takes place, and lived in Louisville, Kentucky, a city where ZZ Packer herself lived as a child, the racism she mentions is painfully believable. I moved to Las Vegas when I was 6, so I luckily missed a lot of first hand aggressive racism. But, when I got older and I would go visit my southern relatives, I was repulsed (ex when I was 12, I went to a mall with my cousin and, in the food court, she very loudly proclaimed that she hated black people because they smelled like chicken grease — she was 18). Because I know how horrible people in these areas she is in area, I thought that the racism was almost toned down from what it truly is — though I understand why she chose to do it the way she did, because these are supposed to be very young girls who couldn’t even understand yet that people are being prejudice towards them.
The story telling in this work was incredible, it flowed so well and made for such a smooth and easy read. I listened to the audio version of ZZ reading it herself so I don’t have specifics to share, but there were lines of description or comparison within this piece that literally made me say “damn that was good” out loud. It was also interesting how it was told in first person of a character who hardly had any lines of dialogue — almost getting a “fly on the wall” perspective because of this.
I was very excited to read a story about race that seemed to take on a very different perspective. I thought tackling this from a girl's point of view in the south was fresh and interesting. There was so much nuance in this story that you point to in your post, and I really admired that about ZZ Packer's writing.
ReplyDeleteI think, after reading this post and Ryan's post, that this is a great example of a story about political/social issues without having an agenda.
Thank you, to the 7 of you, for providing thoughtful, and worthwhile comments. It's wonderful to see that a story really engages you and inspires you to write passionately about the story itself, but also the diction, style, use of similes, and reflect on your own work. From now on, we'll have the first readers post and everyone else comment accordingly afterward. IMpressive!
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