Brown Girl, Brownstones (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Paule Burke
- First Published: 1959
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Social criticism
- Time of Work: During World War II and shortly before and after the war
- Setting: Brooklyn, New York
- Principal Characters: Selina Boyce, Deighton Boyce, Silla Boyce, Suggie, Miss Thompson, Clive Springer
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Social realism, Bildungsroman, Domestic realism
- Subjects: African Americans, Girls, Maturation or coming of age, Family or family life, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., Self-discovery, United States or Americans, Parents and children, Caribbean, Blacks, New York City, 1940’s, 1930’s, Ethnic groups, Ethnic relations, Immigration or emigration, Inner cities or inner-city life
- Locales: Brooklyn, NY
The Novel
Brown Girl, Brownstones examines the personal and social development of a young girl, Selina Boyce, born to first-generation Barbadian immigrants to New York. Her first impressions of the world include the heavy, oppressive brownstone dwellings of her neighborhood, a later symbol of all she wishes to escape. She grows up in an atmosphere of familial and social tension: World War II hovers vaguely over her childhood, but more immediate concerns are the battles within her own household.
Selina’s father, Deighton Boyce, is an unskilled and uneducated...
[The entire page is 4352 words long]
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See Also:
Paule Marshall (Cyclopedia of World Authors)Paule Marshall (Short Fiction)Paule Marshall (Long Fiction)
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