Literary Analysis Of Short Story: ZZ Packer's Brownies

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When I was a little girl, I used to love to read stories. Whether it was long or short, it didn 't matter much to me as long as there were words on the page, if I could physically hold the book and if it had the occasional illustrated picture in it. I even loved to do the summer reading program that we had at our local library because it gave out prizes to kids for their achieved specific reading goals. But now I believed that I read stories solely for the purpose of not having anything else to do. I did not have a smartphone nor was I allowed to watch the television for long periods of time. Later on down the road, when I grew older, technology consumed my everyday life. The constant updates and notifications keeps me glued to the beckoning …show more content…
By dictionary definition, they are a story with a fully developed theme but significantly shorter and less elaborate than a novel (Merriam Webster). They pack so much information in no more than a few paragraphs but, the storylines, if the story is interesting, help you reflect on your own life. One of the short stories that I have read that I personally related to were ZZ Packer’s, Brownies. The story is about little black girls who go off to a summer camp and try get back at the little white girls because they thought they called one of the Brownie troops a nigger. Throughout the story, the Brownies make fun of the white girls calling saying “They smell like Chihuahuas. Wet Chihuahuas” (Packer, 1081). We also see how one of the troop girls, stayed strong in front of the white girls because that what she has learned as a black girl. I could relate with that because when I was younger, I was taught to stay strong and don’t cry in situations. It was taught to my mother, my older sister and me. I don’t know where it comes from but it was just instilled in us to be strong and keep your head held high. ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson was another short story that not only me but others may relate to. The story shows how people blindly follow tradition without thinking about how effective it is. The citizens of the town follow the tradition of picking a name from a box and stoning whoever’s name gets picked out of it without …show more content…
Raymond Carver’s story “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” and Nathan Englander’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank” ae both good examples of this. Both stories present these “slices of life” moments to the reader that gives the story a casual feel. Both stories are with a group of friends, sitting around, drinking and talk about some deep topics. In Carver’s story, the subject is love or what they think love is. They all try to pinpoint the meaning of love but even at the end; still no one knows what it is. He subject of love is hard to describe. Nick and Laura start describing what love is but never get around to defining it. After reading the story, the reader is left to think what they themselves think the definition of love is and the love in their life. Englander’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank”, plot is a little different because they talk mostly about their Jewish culture. Mark, also known as Yerucham, starts off by talking about how they do not have many resources as Deb and the narrator does. As the story comes to an end, they play this game called ‘Who Will Hide Me?’ When you think of a person and ask, would that person hide you in there house during a Holocaust. The game started out fun, but we find out that Mark wouldn’t hide his wife Deb if that situation came up. The story helps the reader think about their own heritage and what trials

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