1. Much of “Brownies” is very funny. What role does humor have in the story—and how does it relate to the decidedly unhumorous ending? The story is very humorous. Humor plays a role, because they are such young girls. The humor adds to the setting of being at a summer camp. The girls thought they heard a racial slur from the white girls’ troop. They said they were going to beat them up or put daddy long legs in their sleeping bags. The unhumorous ending is that the white girl troops are have special needs.
2. What realization does the narrator have at the end of the story? How does this change her understanding of her father and of racial dynamics more generally?
The narrator realizes that there's evil in the world that she cannot stop.
2. What realization does the narrator have at the end of the story? How does this change her understanding of her father and of racial dynamics more generally?
The narrator realizes that there's evil in the world that she cannot stop.