119 likes. This poem serves mostly to forward the plot, as Mama leaves the children with their grandparents to explore the possibility of a life in New York City. LitCharts Teacher Editions. This causes Jackie to wonder about her own gift and what she will be able to bring to the world. Grandfather goes elsewhere during these meetings, having fun with his brother Vertie. Jacqueline, her siblings, and her grandmother pray for grandfather, but he tells them that he doesn't need their prayers because God sees that he works hard and treats people right. But I want the world where my daddy is and I dont know why anybodys God would make me have to choose. Maybe Mecca is the place Leftie goes to in his mind, when the memory of losing his arm becomes too much. "You can still see the words, right there, like a ghost standing in front, still keeping you out" (92) Click the card to flip . Many children live in the neighborhood of Jacqueline's grandparents. Once again, sounds and music fascinate young Jacqueline, and her special attention to them foreshadows her later forays into verse, as poetry is a form of writing that has a particular allegiance to sound and spoken language. Jacqueline clearly carries memories of being treated badly at stores in the South because she shares these experiences with her friend Maria later in the book. There is a boy with a hole in his heart who the three children spend time with; they tell him stories about New York City and Ohio, and they don't ask about the hole in his heart because their grandmother tells them not to. I love my friend, and still do when we play games we laugh. While Jacqueline is still enjoying Greenville, she is pulled between her life there and her desire to be with Mama. This statement conveys her belief that what she is sharing is real to her and that her intention is not to lie, but rather to expand her world beyond the walls in which she lives. It is an apt title for Part II, because during this time Jacqueline connects with both nature and her family's history and the way they are intertwined. He stays in bed all day and Jacqueline takes care of him. This statement occurs when the author, Jacqueline Amanda Woodson, writes her name for the first time without anyone's help. He sings a song as he walks slowly down the road, and Jacqueline wonders whether her aunt Kay can hear it calling to her in New York. During their outing to get ice cream, Gunnars explanation of the Civil Rights Movement allows the reader to see Jacquelines increasing racial awareness. She sits in the back of the bus with her purse in her lap, looking out the window at darkness and feeling hope. You can keep your South The way they treated us down there, I got your mama out as quick as I could Told her theres never gonna be a Woodson that sits in the back of a bus. The presence of tobacco plantsalong with the legacy of slavery that they evokeis another contradiction inherent to the garden. The other children dance and sing in the kitchen, but she always remains focused on what she is reading. Deep in winter, Jacqueline sits under a blanket with her head against grandfather's arm. This conversation with Mama makes it clear that Mamas sense of being at home in South Carolina is waning. Copyright 2016. Again, in this poem, the reader sees Jacqueline imagining a narrative that provides her with comfort, one in which Greenville, and her connection to it, dont change. "I believe in one day and someday and this perfect moment called Now .". The ambiguity of the metaphor allows it to carry a variety of possible resonances. Woodson seems to be suggesting that religion without genuine religious feeling lacks real significance, and that forcing religion upon people is ineffective. "Jacqueline Woodson, one of today's finest writers, tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse. We assign a color and icon like this one to each theme, making it easy to track which themes apply to each quote below. Woodson uses lots of imagery of rivers in her memoir, including at the end of Part I when her family returns to Ohio before her parents separate permanently. The children always look around in amazement at the different candies in the candy lady's living room, but after their grandfather announces that he will get ice cream, they always want that as well. This statement identifies an aspect of her character that believes in avoiding problems and creating conflict. Once her mother leaves, Jackie Woodson and her siblings are forced to become Jehovah's Witnesses and their grandmother tells them to use the Bible as their sword and shield. Print Word PDF. This quote is from the first poem, "halfway home #1" (104). Sometimes they don't listen to him because, as Jacqueline puts it, "Too fast for them./ The South is changing" (53). Though Georgianas reason for keeping the children apart is ambiguous, it seems to be out of some kind of elitism. You really never know when . Although Georgiana says she is not ashamed of the work she must do, her insistence on this fact, and the fact that she dresses so well to go to her job, seems to suggest the opposite that cleaning up the houses of white families is, in fact, a job that makes her feel lowly. Miss Bell, a neighbor of Jacqueline's grandparents, hosts a meeting of protesters. Definition. Down the road, three brothers live in a house that is dark all day; they only come out late at night when their mother comes home from work. Brown Girl Dreaming Study Guide. He asks for a story so she tells him one. When Jacqueline steps on a mushroom, Cora and her sisters say that the Devil is going to come for her. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. Jacqueline is the closest to him out of all four children, and she greatly respects his relationship to nature and his willingness to be different. Course Hero, Inc. As a reminder, you may only use Course Hero content for your own personal use and may not copy, distribute, or otherwise exploit it for any other purpose. Part All Parts Character All Characters Theme All Themes Part 1 Quotes Nope, my sister says, all of five years old now. Quotes and Analysis Summary And Analysis Part I: i am born Part II: the stories of south carolina run like rivers Part III: followed the sky's mirrored constellation to freedom Part IV: deep in my heart, i do believe Part V: ready to change the world Symbols, Allegory and Motifs Metaphors and Similes Irony Imagery The American Civil Rights Movement At school Jackie is often compared to her sister Odella, yet she is very different. Brown Girl Dreaming study guide contains a biography of Jacqueline Woodson, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Georgianas ambiguous metaphor in this section of the poem could be read several different ways. Section 4. Jacquelines early interest in the sounds of words foreshadows her interest in poetry. When the phone rings, the children run from wherever they are and fight over who will get to talk to their mother. After deciding to divorce her husband . It sits beside us for a while. She refers to these figuresMalcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., James Baldwin, Rosa Parks, and Ruby Bridgesby first name to indicate a certain love and familiarity she holds for them. part, A girl named Cora and her sisters live down the road, but Jacqueline's grandmother won't let them play together because the mother of Cora left their family and ran off with the church pastor. Once again, language keeps Jacqueline from fitting in. The children fail to grasp the significance of their religious study and they do not understand the way that Georgiana and other Jehovahs Witnesses imagine God to work. Web. Mama insists that her children speak properly, presumably out of a fear that they will be mocked or disrespected by white people if they speak in stereotypically Southern ways. In this intimate moment, Woodson asserts once again Jacquelines love for and deep interest in storytelling, writing, and the possibilities of imagination. Woodson writes, "They say a colored person can do well going [to the City]./ All you need is the fare out of Greenville./ All you need is to know somebody on the other side,/ waiting to cross you over./ Like the River Jordan/ and then you're in Paradise" (93). Jacqueline, feeling that her role in the family is threatened, resents Roman and pinches him. Watching / waiting / wanting to understand / how to play another way. Summary. He says he wants to move there one day, but when he looks off into the distance he looks the wrong way. - Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. This moment shows racial violence not only as a hateful act in itself, but as one with rippling repercussions. Give students a bookmark at the beginning of every Part of Brown Girl Dreaming. She writes about the ocean, toy stores, celebrities, skyscrapers, and hair salons. It expresses the core internal conflict of the book, which is Jacqueline's feeling of lacking a home and wanting to find one where she will feel her presence is stable and accepted. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. How can I explain to anyone that stories / are like air to me Rather than reading a story to the class, Jackie recites it for them and they are in awe of her ability to memorize. Woodson shows Jacquelines early attention to language when she describes the different ways that people refer to her in South Carolina. This poem serves again to forward the plot, describing Mamas homecoming and her announcement about their move to New York. Gunnars cough worsens, making Jacqueline anxious. Jackie Woodson. 3.7 (3 reviews) Term. Jacqueline, as she lists her weekly schedule, shows the reader the enormous amount of time that she and her siblings spend in religious environments or studying religious texts. Woodson shows how, despite Gunnars higher status in his workplace, race still negatively impacts him at his job. Given Jacquelines earlier sense that Roman is a new york baby, Jacqueline seems to be taking out her anxiety, both about her familial role and about the move North, on Roman. When grandmother takes Jacqueline and her siblings downtown, there are many stores grandmother won't go into because they treat African Americans differently. 1 / 12. Jacqueline says that only the dolls are real to them, since that's what they can actually see. If someone had taken that book out of my hand said, Youre too old for this maybe Id never have believed that someone who looked like me could be in the pages of the book that someone who looked like me had a story. Woodson shows again how race affects the dynamics of work, and how necessity brings Georgiana to take a job that makes her feel racially debased. Maybe, I am thinking, there is something hidden / like this, in all of us. Jacqueline notices that when she and her family are in stores downtown, people follow them because they're African American. Segregation is no longer legal in South Carolina, yet blacks who walk into previously "Whites Only" stores are subjected to humiliation as paid workers follow them around to ensure they do not steal. Examples of Personification in Brown Girl Dreaming. Jacqueline's sister explains the word "eternity" (130), and Jacqueline thinks about how things that are bad won't last forever and good things can last a long time. Each week is the same. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights. He also misses Ohio and his father, seemingly more than Odella or Jacqueline. Gunnars parents decision to give him a name that no master could ever take away reflects the fact that slave owners gave slaves their own last names as a sign of ownership. By protesting, Miss Bell risks losing her job, and Woodson makes clear the bravery and cleverness of Miss Bells solution to this predicament when she discusses Miss Bells secret meetings at her house. Woodson highlights the way that, despite equal job responsibilities in the workplace, social and geographic segregation is rampant in the South. Says, Sometimes, thats the way things happen. On Monday they have Bible study at home, on Tuesday they have Bible study at Kingdom Hall, on Wednesday they do laundry at home, on Thursday they go to Ministry School, on Friday night they are free to play, on Saturday they knock on doors to spread Jehovah's Witness beliefs, and on Sunday they study at Kingdom Hall again. Brown Girl Dreaming By Catherine Woodson Quotes. She tells the children that they are halfway home, and Jacqueline imagines her standing by a road with arms pointing North and South. Grandmother chides the children, telling them that everything, from the swing set to each breath they take, is a gift from God. The Civil Rights Movement continues to feature prominently in the childrens lives, as it is frequently discussed and explained by adults. The other children run off, and Jacqueline and her siblings stay at home listening to their mother and Dorothy talk about the protest trainings. Dell soothes the baby, saying the loud crying is Jacqueline's punishment. 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