Summary Of Brownies By Zz Packer

Laurel, the narrator of ZZ Packer’s short story “Brownies”, experiences different complexities of relations between whites and blacks during her fourth grade Brownie Troop’s camping trip at Camp Crescendo. Through the idea of groupthink, Packer reaches the revelation of dehumanizing and the perpetuation of marginalization of all racial groups. Gaining acceptance and belonging expresses the true meaning behind groupthink or tribalism; however, conforming to these groups leads to losing one’s own individualism and compromising their personal beliefs. One tends to follow this trend also due to one’s fears of challenging the social norm. In the Brownies situation it is their deep rooted southern traditions; however, this teaching of protect your own no

“They smell like wet Chihuahuas.” (Packer 2). Arnetta makes this statement to her troop members as the girls from Troop 909 were entering Camp Crescendo. Packer’s word choice defines the thin line between the two different troops: The “white” girls versus the “black” girls. These terms attract the reader’s interest due to their rough and gruesome contexts and underlying meanings. 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