Brownies

The protagonist of "Brownies" by ZZ Packer is referred to by her nickname, "Snot," for most of the story, though her real name is Laurel. She lives in an all-black suburb south of Atlanta and is a...

The story is one big ironic twist. Arnetta and Laurel and the other girls in their troop start out believing that there will be trouble between them and the white girls. The story begins with...

In this story, humor is used to help the reader remember what it was like to be this age, the age of the girls in the story. Mrs. Margolin's amusing acrostics for words like Bible—"Basic...

Throughout the short story, Laurel (also known as Snot) and her fellow troop members are filled with indignation that the white girls who show up at their campsite have addressed one of them as...

There are a few reasons that Z.Z. Packer could have called the short story "Brownies". The most obvious reason is that the main characters, including the narrator Laurel, are part of a Brownie...

ZZ Packer's short story "Brownies" is a contemporary tale of naivete, double standards, ignorance, and racism where a troop of 4th grade black Girl Scout girls from suburban Atlanta, believe to...

One thing to compare is the function of racism in each story. In "Battle Royal," Ellison's protagonist, a black man, is humiliated and exploited by white men with the hope of a college scholarship...

One member of a scouting troop, Laurel, is the narrator of “Brownies.” Although she has individual relationships with all the other Brownies, certain aspects of her behavior set her apart. Laurel,...

There are many connections between the title of ZZ Packer's story and the story itself. Since you asked for five, we’ll limit the connections to just five. Let's start with perhaps the most obvious...

The first time the leader of Troop 909 becomes an important character is at lunchtime on the second day of camp. Arnetta eyes out the white girls from Troop 909 and wants to attack them in...

There are two ways to approach this prompt, so be sure to clarify your instructor's goals before beginning this assignment. First, your instructor might be using a journal as a reader-response...

One of the work's overriding themes is the idea that racial prejudice and discrimination carries implications for both aggressors and targets. There is little doubt that the girls defensive...

Being a Brownie is the early training for being a Girl Scout, and both organizations exist to empower girls to be their best selves and to serve their communities and learn how to be leaders....

The role of humor is "Brownies" is largely to provide irony as things are different than what the reader expects. The largest source of ironic humor in the story is how the main troop of girls...

Maybe...but let's start by noting that it may be a stretch. Apollo pursued Daphne, and she was turned into a laurel tree to escape his lust. Apollo took the laurel leaves and made them into a sign...

“Brownies” is a short story by ZZ Packer. It was first published in 2003 and follows the story of a group of Brownies who are at summer camp at Camp Crescendo. When explaining the importance of the...

Inequality can be occur in any part of society. Class is closely equated with social inequality, but numerous dimensions of culture also have unequal components. In the United States, race and...