Brownies Essay

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Brownies The short story “Brownies” written by ZZ Packer and narrated by one of the Girl Scouts named Laurel or “Snot”, involves a confrontation in a restroom over a perceived racial slur between a troop of black Girl Scouts and a troop of white Girl Scouts. Ironically, the black troop comes to find that the white girls were in fact, retarded or “delayed learners”. The irony is doubled when the black Girl Scouts have no misgivings at even calling the white Girl Scouts “retarded” while arguing over the racial slur that was heard by the girls, “nigger”. Dramatic Irony is irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in play. Throughout the entire story, the black Girl Scout troop wants to physically confront the white Girl Scout troop over a racial slur that they weren’t even sure was said. The dramatic irony in this is that the reader is aware that the racial slur was never actually used; yet the characters within the story falsely believe that it has. “Brownies” critiques racial chauvinism through the use of dramatic irony. ZZ Packer uses this technique throughout the story and it is immensely effective. ZZ Packer displays the black Girl Scout troops hidden racial hatred for white people through ironic humor. She conveys hidden philosophical messages to the reader through her text. While explaining the importance of a secret meeting, she also went on about the meaning of a secret saying, “A secret meant nothing; it was like gossip: just a bit of unpleasant knowledge about someone who happened to be someone other than yourself” (pg 9). This is an effective use of dramatic irony because the definition Packer provides for “gossip” is the basis of the entire story. The black Girl Scout troop creates the lie that one of the white Girl Scouts used the racial slur “nigger” and this drives the rest of
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