Please answer a minimum of SIX of the following questions on Danzy Senna's novel Caucasia. Use specific examples from the novel to support your answers. For the sake of clarity please post your responses as a comment to this post. Your responses will be due by this Sunday (April 24th) at midnight. Please let me know if you have any questions.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Caucasia begins with Birdie's recollection: "A long time ago I disappeared. One day I was here, the next I was gone." Why does Birdie come to think of herself as having "disappeared" when living as Jesse Goldman? Is her ability to disappear a blessing or a curse? Is Birdie "passing" when she calls herself black, or when she calls herself white? When is she not passing?
2. Cole and Birdie speak Elemeno, a language named after their favorite letters in the alphabet, "with no verb tenses, no pronouns, just words floating outside time and space, without owner or direction" (p. 6). How does Elemeno reflect the sisters' positions in their family and in the world? Why does Elemeno continue to be so important to Birdie throughout the novel?
3. In what ways is the tension between Sandy and Cole typical of that between any mother and daughter, and in what ways is it specific to an interracial family? Do you agree with Cole's statement: "Mum doesn't know anything about raising a black child" (p. 44)? Does Sandy treat her two daughters differently based on their appearances?
4. Why do you think Deck treats Birdie with a "cheerful disinterest-never hostility or ill will, but with a kind of impatient amusement" (p. 47)? Do you think he loves Birdie? How do Birdie and Cole respond differently to Deck's teachings on race? Who internalizes his vision of America more? By the end of the novel, have Cole and Birdie embraced or rejected their parents' philosophies about the world? Which sister seems to have become more like Deck, and which more like Sandy?
5. Officially, Birdie has no name. Her birth certificate "still reads 'Baby Lee,' like the gravestone of some stillborn child" (p. 17). Her sister's name, meanwhile, was originally Colette after the French novelist, but was later shortened to Cole. Discuss the significance of the sisters' names.
6. Sandy and Deck are initially drawn together by a quote by the French existentialist writer, Camus, who wrote: "Do you drink coffee at night?" What does this initial encounter tell you about their compatibility, or incompatibility? Why does their relationship eventually sour? Do you believe they were torn apart because of external pressures, or internal ones? Do you think they would have stayed together had they lived in a less racially divided city or in another country altogether? By the end of the novel, does Birdie believe that her parents really loved each other? Do you believe that they did?
7. Birdie refers to the time she spends on the run with Sandy, while "the lie of our false identities seemed irrelevant" (p. 116), as "dreamlike." Despite a sense of loneliness, Birdie says she felt "comfort in that state of incompletion" (p. 116). Do you feel that this experience weighed more positively or negatively in Birdie's development? By the end of the novel, has she found "completion"-or will she continue to live in this state of incompletion?
8. How did Sandy and Birdie's stay at Aurora affect Birdie's emerging sexual identity? How do her sexual experiences with Alexis compare to her later sexual experiences with Nicholas in New Hampshire? Does Birdie's emerging sexuality in any way parallel her search for racial identity?
9. Redbone lurks in the background of the novel as a sinister figure. Why does he initially take such an interest in Birdie? Why does he take her photograph in the playground? Do you believe he is in part responsible for the troubles that befall the family? Ultimately, who or what do you feel is to blame for Cole and Birdie's separation?
10. Birdie often seeks her reflection in other women's faces. What parts of herself does she see mirrored in Cole? Sandy? Maria? Samantha? Dot? Penelope? Mona? Others? What are the potential advantages and disadvantages to being a chameleon?
11. Birdie holds on to a fantasy of helping Deck's research by spying on white people while "passing." How does she fail or succeed in her study? What does she find out? Does she become Jesse Goldman, or is she able to remain Birdie in disguise? Are her fantasies about Deck shattered or fulfilled when she encounters him at the novel's conclusion?
12. At some point in New Hampshire, Birdie starts to add items to her box of "negrobilia." Discuss the significance of the various "artifacts" Birdie keeps in her box. Do they succeed in helping her remember Cole and Deck?
13. In the woods one night in New Hampshire, Samantha says to Birdie: " 'I'm black. Like you' " (p. 242). Do you think Samantha has been aware of Birdie's racial heritage all along, or is Birdie mishearing her? What or who gives Birdie the courage to finally leave New Hampshire?
14. Birdie sees her mother as "a long-lost daughter of Mayflower histories, forever in motion, running from or toward an utterable hideaway" (p. 286). In your opinion, is Sandy more "a hero, a madwoman, or a fool" (p. 332)? What motivated her to take up a life of political activism? What has she sacrificed in the process?
15. Do you agree with Deck that race is "a complete illusion... a costume" (p. 334)? Does Birdie and Cole's experience prove that racial identity is simply a costume, or something deeper?
16. In the novel's conclusion, Birdie says to her sister: " 'They say you don't have to choose. But... there are consequences if you don't.'" Cole replies: " 'Yeah, and there are consequences if you do.'" What are the consequences of choosing and not choosing? Have Birdie and Cole chosen one part of their racial heritage over the other by the novel's conclusion?
17. Birdie writes, "While there seemed to be remnants of my mother's family everywhere-history books, PBS specials, plaques in Harvard Square-my father's family was a mystery. It was as if my father and Dot had arisen out of thin air." Does her mother's white family's written history shape her identity more than her black imagined one? How does knowing or not knowing one's history contribute to one's sense of identity? Does what we learn about ourselves through oral or written histories give us a different understanding of ourselves?
18. Do you agree with Deck's theory about mulattos in America functioning as canaries in the coal mine? Is Birdie a canary in the coal mine? What do you imagine her fate will be?
13 - I honestly feel that it doesn’t matter to Samantha if Birdie is black or not. It would seem that Samantha is accepting of whatever Birdie actually is. There is an underlined notion that there is a connection between the two girls because of heritage, but Samantha kind of just sees people for who they are. This is an instance that helps Birdie to get courage in really seeing herself for what she is, but the thing that makes her really leave is the fact of a loss of connection between her mother and herself. Once her mother tells Jim about everything a sense of pseudo safety is gone and she realizes that she really needs to find herself. As the book develops there are points when Birdie realizes slowly that its ok to be herself and as a result she becomes more proud of herself.
ReplyDelete14- Sandy is a fool in my opinion. She is living “among ghosts” and though we find out there really is something to be afraid of, she ruined her own life, her daughters, and her entire family’s life. It would seem that Sandy’s lack of self acceptance and disillusionment to confrontation of real world crisis made her want to become a part of something actually real, breaking away from the made up category of whiteness she fit into. I don’t think her intentions were ever bad, but I do think she went absolutely crazy and as a result pushed everyone away.
15- I don’t think race is complete illusion, but I do think that Deck bought into that idea and pushed that belief on his family. The idea of race brought Cole and Birdie apart so I don’t think we can say race is fake in their lives. I think that race is constructed in many ways but I do think that it plays a prevalent role in the book and in the real world. I think race does take the form of a mask within the book, but that idea becomes undermined as the book ends up being about relationships and finding oneself exhibited between Cole and Birdie. It would seem that Sandy and Deck never really got over the idea of wearing race like a costume and fitting into roles that ultimately ruined them and their family. Even at the end of the book the idea of race consumes Deck so much that he cannot even really have a true conversation with his daughter.
16- The true consequences of choosing is that you loose who you actually are as a person if you try to fit yourself only into one category. The entire book Cole and Birdie were trying to be put into a category and choose side which in the end made them completely destroyed. Especially for Birdie, living choosing, needed up making her live a lie. At the end neither Cole nor Birdie has chosen a side. In fact the only way that they could have ended up how they were was by not choosing but rather reverting back to their made up language, the only place the ever felt comfortable.
ReplyDelete17- I don’t think so at all. It would seem that Birdie is influenced by her mothers written family history as much as stories about her fathers. It seems that Birdie not knowing about a certain part of her heritage actually hurt her as we see she tried to make meaning of it through the whole book. I feel that we gain a sense of pride in most cases about who we are once we find out where we have come from, essentially what has made us, good and bad. I am not sure a person can ever really understand fully who they are unless they first understand where they came from.
18- I think the canary euphemism is completely ridiculous. Everyone’s story is different ad by using this story to describe people you are generalizing. Deck was so lost in his studies that he didn’t even realize how his daughters, perfect examples of his experiment, actually worked within their own world. Birdie was like any other teenage. She had her own personal battles in trying to find out who she was, and yes race identity had a part in it, but at the end of the book, it was the relationships that helped Birdie understand who she was, not what she looked like. And I imagine Birdies fate will be good. She seems to have discovered where she belongs and finally has someone, her sister, to really understand her and what she needs.
18. Deck says that race is just an illusion, which I disagree with (Sorry Deck, I think it exists, we cannot really escape it). Lee also compares multiracial children to canaries that coal miners used to test the air in the mines (If they died, it was obviously bad). I think the fate of Birdie and Cole foreshadows how we relate to race in America. Symbolically, Birdie can be thought of as a canary, a poor tiny, helpless bird deserted by her own black father and she lives her life mistreated and scared. I imagine that these things leave her scarred, especially on an emotional level.
ReplyDelete5. I am not sure about the significance of Cole's name, but the fact that no name is ever officially put on Birdie's birth certificate is really symbolic since she is the light-skinned daughter of a white woman and black man, Birdie is caught between two worlds (black and white) and not fully part of either one. Perhaps there is also significance in "Birdie," she sort of "flies" between "black" and "white" as her identity changes throughout the novel.
ReplyDelete12. The night before Birdie and Sandy leave, Cole and Deck create a box of "negrobilia" for Birdie. These are mementos to remind her of her Negro heritage. The box contains a black Barbie doll, a program from school, a pamphlet on Brazil, a silver Egyptian necklace from a museum and a James Brown tape. Since the box is the only thing she takes with her when she runs away from home, I think the box is really important to Birdie and does help her to remember her father and sister.
ReplyDelete9. I believe Redbone is in part responsible for the troubles that befall the family because according to Sandy Lee, it is Redbone who turned her in to the FBI or "Feds," and this is why Sandy and Birdie must go on the run. And after all, Sandy Lee calls Redbone, "'That high-yellow Uncle Tom sellout motherfucker."'
ReplyDelete14. I think Sandy is a madwoman and a fool trying to be a hero, and she is a walking paradox since her goals conflict each other. She has disdain for upper class whites, and yet she does her best to fit in with them. She helps the friends she makes in her activism smuggle guns and hide fugitives so she can be accepted in the black community. She figures over-compensating for her whiteness and subjecting herself to persecution will demonstrate she is doing her part for black people.
ReplyDelete13. Birdie is hoping Samantha will identify her as black because being it represents everything good in Birdie's life such as connectedness in her family and a close relationship with her sister. When Samantha says, "I'm black. Like you," Birdie can no longer handle the “passing” that has become part of her life, so I think this is the “what” that causes Birdie to leave New Hampshire and Samantha is the “who.”
ReplyDelete1. Birdie has disappeared when playing Jesse Goldman. She cannot talk about her previous life, she must make up stories about non-existent relatives, and she has to pretend to be a different race. She always connected with Cole, and being her little sister, but now she cannot say that Cole even exists. I think to her, her "passing" is a curse. She misses her sister, and doesn't understand why they must separate. I think Birdie is "passing" when she calls herself black or white. She is both and neither at the same time. It would be very difficult for anyone, but as a child to be told that you are now white, it would be confusing.
ReplyDelete5. The fact that Birdie doesn't really have a name is very significant. She no longer has a single identity, and she never had one to begin with. She was what everyone else called her. Her father called her one name, her mother called her another, and in the end, Cole named her. Then she had to abandon that name for yet another. Cole has always had the same name, and she was able to keep that name. Cole never had to "pass" like Birdie did. She was always able to just be herself.
8. Birdie was at a very sensitive age when staying in Aurora. She was just entering puberty and it can always be difficult. By staying in a place with only women during this change brought curiosity. Her experiences with Alexis and Nicholas are quite different. She had a more intense experience with Nicholas. In a way it is like her racial identity. She acted one way with Alexis and another with Nicholas.
13. I think that Samantha might have said it, but at the same time, Birdie was just hoping that she would say that she was black like her. I think that she wanted to feel a connection again to Cole and her father and this was her way. I think that this gave her the courage to leave New Hampshire. Cole and her father were always on her thoughts in that town.
14. I think that Sandy is more of madwoman. She is driven crazy by her husband and the idea of race and her daughters. It was the idea of marrying Deck and trying to fit in with the right people that made her become an activist. Because Deck was involved in the ideas of Race, being an activist was a way for her to get involved too and focus on something. She has sacrificed her sanity in this. She is now paranoid that she will go to prison, although I think she is just trying to escape from her life which didn't turn out like she thought it would.
15. I think that Deck truly believes that race is an illusion and a costume, but I don't think that this is true. The book shows this. Birdie tried to act as if race was a costume, and it didn't work well with her. She was angry and upset about "passing" in the novel. Using race as a costume wasn't possible. It didn't allow her to show her true race, and she had to hide. This is not how it should be in the world. Race is not a costume.
1) Birdie feels like she disappeared because she was not able to identify with her true race while she was "Jessie Goldman". She couldnt talk about her old life or her true identity so it was as if she didnt truly exist. She is passing when she calls herself white or black. She is not only one and should identify with being both.
ReplyDelete2)The language between the sisters of elemeno is a very important element in the novel. It shows that they are the same and can communicate and identify with eachother becuase they have the same biracial identity. There is also an outside world that doesnt understand them or the language and wants to stop speaking it and conform to either being black or white. Birdie holds on to this because it shows the bond between her and her sister as well as her biracial identity.
5) The fact that Birdie has no real name is very significant. It parallels with the difficulty of being biracial and not have a true racial identity. She is not able to call herself black or white and that is very difficult for people to go through. It also shows that the outside world doesnt truly except biracial people and dont see them as truly belonging to any race.
15) I do not agree that race is an illusion. Throughout the book Birdie shows that race is not merely the color of one's skin but how and with whom that person identifies. Maybe race should be just a costume but i feel that it bonds people together and creates a community or even family among people with the same race. Racial ties are far to strong to be fake and i feel that society will forever cling to them.
14) I think that Sandy is both a mad women and a fool. She is obsessed with being an activist becuase she sees it as her one way to identify with the black community. I think that after marrying Deck she wanted him to accept her like one of his own race so she became an activist. Eventually she lost who she truly was and became nuts.
16) i feel that this explanation is very insightful. It describes the constant conflict that biracial people have to go through. And dont feel that either of them has truly taken a side by the end because they also have that conflict of not being whole of either.
1. Birdie believes she has disappeared because she always talks about how she is pretending to be Jesse, and she is always acting like she’s somebody in a show, pretending to be somebody she isn’t. Her real self as Birdie has disappeared, and she has become a new person, fitting her surroundings at that time. She seems to have the ability to choose whichever race she wants, when she was in Boston, she was pretending to be black, and when she was in New Hampshire, she was pretending to be white. I feel she is forced to pass as one or the other based on her surroundings, which is a blessing when she needs it, but a curse when she’s trying to identify herself and figure out who she really is.
ReplyDelete3. Sandy and Cole’s relationship is similar to that of any mother daughter relationship because they fight about silly things, and the daughter is constantly embarrassed of her mother. This happens to all children, regardless of race. It is different however because Cole gets mad at her mother saying she doesn’t know how to raise a black child. Sandy doesn’t have the experiences needed to show Cole about being “black” such as when she was trying to braid her hair, but didn’t know how because she had never had that experience. I think Sandy tries to treat her daughters the same, because she always wants to do things together with them, and make them feel equal.
5. I think the fact that Birdie has no real name compares to her ambiguity when it comes to her race. Cole has a real name, and is constantly perceived as black, it all is set in stone. However, Birdie doesn’t have a real name, has changed it, and can be whatever race she wants.
8. This experience at Aurora is talked about a lot, and referred to when talking about her experiences with Nicholas. Birdie seems to be confused about her sexuality, and doesn’t always know what is right. This corresponds to her racial identity in the book because she seems to be confused as to what race category she fits into. She doesn’t always know what race she is; while at the same time doesn’t know exactly about her sexuality.
15. I believe that Deck’s statement about race being an illusion is not true because many people identify with their race, and it is who they are. They have beliefs and values that fit with their race, and isn’t something that should be thought of as a costume. However, I think that this idea of race as a costume is really showed by Birdie in this novel. She puts on a costume wherever she goes. She has to prove that she is black/white, and put on a “costume” to fit what she is supposed to be. This doesn’t work for her though because she doesn’t ever feel that she is right with whatever “costume” she puts on.
16. I really liked this quote because it shows how race is perceived in society today. People want you to pick a race, and there are consequences for whatever you choose. Once you choose, you’re pretty much forced into those beliefs/values and you may lose your identity, as shown by Birdie becoming Jesse. If you don’t choose, people don’t understand you, can’t classify you, and can become uncomfortable with the racial ambiguity. This reminds me of when Jesse was asked by her friends if she was Jewish, because they were all wondering about her religion, and were happy to find out that she wasn’t a practicing Jew. This also reminds me of when Birdie was at her first school, the other kids didn’t like her because they weren’t sure of what she was. Once they decided she was black, everyone liked her and she became popular.
1. Birdie things that she disappeared when she was living as Jesse Goldman because she had to leave her real identity behind and could not be who she really is. She was forced to only tap into one side of her identity, and this side of Birdie wasn't even her real self. She could only be a white girl was forced to push back any of her African American heritage she had learned about or had experienced so far in herself that she forgot who she really was. When she couldn't even recognize herself anymore because she had become someone who she really was not, she disappeared, not only from society but from herself. Her ability to disappear, I feel is a curse. Since she could pass as white made it so that she was forced to pass rather than have the ability to be who she really was. Her mother used Birdies whiteness to her own advantage not taking into account how this might affect how her daughter grew up viewing herself. She is passing when she calls herself either black or white. She is both, not one or the other. Birdie is not passing when she is alone. When she is alone she is her real self and not the Jesse Goldman white girl that her mother forced her to be.
ReplyDelete2. Elemeno reflects the sisters position with their family and in the world in that this shows how they do not have the same perspective as everyone else. They both share the perspective of being black and white, a point of view that not even their mother and father can comprehend. By speaking their own language they share a bond, just like the bond they share in that they are both black and white. It is so important because it bridges a gap that the girls feel with the world. They know that if they have their own language they have something that cannot be impressed upon like how they have been because of their racial made up. Elemeno serves as the sisters' only thing that they can share without the ideals of others penetrating it.
8. The stay at Aurora affects Birdies sexual identity because she was there at a very fragile and impressionable time in her life. Living with only women brought about Birdies curiosities just like she become curious when she was at a predominantly minority filled school. Her sexual experiences with Alexis were very different from the ones she experienced with Nicholas. With Alexis they seemed to come naturally and with Nicholas her reactions to what happened between them were much more intense and didn't come as a natural thing. It is like the two sides of her identity. Birdie struggles with her African American side because it seems so foreign to her seeing as she doesn't look the part, just as she struggles with her experiences with Nicholas. She acts one way when she's passing as white which seems to be normal (like when she was with Alexis), but when she was attempting to look and talk more "black" she didn't seem to play the part naturally (like when she was with Nicholas).
11. Birdie succeeds in her study in that she passes for white while knowing that she is not. She tricks the people surrounding her, not purposely; rather she was forced to do so. She finds out that people do not accept people of color of any sort as long as their color shows. In certain situations like when she is with her group of girlfriends, Birdies becomes Jesse Goldman. But when she is in the comfort of her own home she is herself. I feel that Birdies fantasies about Deck are completely shattered at the end of the novel. He is such a small part of the ending, which proves that he wasn’t what Birdie measured him up to be when she thought about him.
ReplyDelete13. I feel that Birdie was just hoping that Samantha had said that, and in her state of mind that night Birdie may actually have thought that Samatha truly did say it. I think the fact that Birdie thought that someone actually saw her heritage showing in her features is what made Birdie leave. She realized that she was not as different as her father and sister and wanted to be the daughter to her father that she couldn’t be before since no one ever noticed her heritage based on her looks. I don’t think Samantha does know Birdies heritage at all.
15. I do not agree that race is a complete illusion. Many people define themselves by their race and that should never be taken away from them. However, I feel that negative perceptions that people have based on race are complete illusions. Racial identity is something deeper than skin color. It gives people something to identify and come together with. It allows differences between people other than personality. Race is not a costume that someone can just put on or take off, it is something that sticks with a person throughout life.
1.) I felt that Birdie disappeared because she never felt that Jesse Goldman was really who she was. When pretending to be her she was hiding a part of her. That she was never truly whole when she was forced to being someone else. Not only was she hiding a part of herself she had to keep her families identity a secret.
ReplyDeleteI felt that it was both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because she was able to fit in, and was not the odd girl out. The curse was that hiding a part of who she was took a tole on her. I also think that she is just passing when she calls herself either black or white. Since she is both, being forced to choose one or the other she is not truly identifying who she is. I always felt like she was not passing when she was just with her sister. That she was able to become herself if the sanctuary of her sisters presents.
3.) I think that any teenage daughter and mother will have tension. They will have problems and fight. I remember when I was younger thinking that my mom just did not get me. But I also think that Sandy does have some difficulties with raising a black child. She had not really been around anyone of color until she married Deck. I do not think that she treated the two daughters differently, but I do think she had more trouble with Cole. I think Sandy tried really hard with Cole, but I think she had greater difficulty. Also I think the tension was worse because Cole seemed to think her mother could not raise her properly.
4.) Deck seems to see Cole as his success story. She is the daughter that he thinks represents who he is. So he shows that in his treatment of both girls. I think he loves Birdie, but he does not seem to know how to deal with her. He seems to think because Cole looks more like him, she will share his ideology. Whereas Birdie looks so different from him so he feels that she won’t share it. This is ironic because Birdie is the one that seems more interested in Deck’s teachings. She is the one that wants to listen to him, and retains what he says. Even when Birdie is on the run she still takes ideas of her father with her and is even “spying” on white groups. I think that by the end of the novel they both do not truly relate with their parents ideals. Birdie leaves her mother, and finally realizes that she does not know if she truly even believes that her mother’s idea about danger. Then both sisters do not seem to totally reject Deck’s ideas but they do not seem to take them completely serious. There are parts that they seem to say are true, and other that he is a little crazy. I also think both girls represent both parents in different ways. Then they both have turned into their own person.
7.) I think that it weighed more negatively on Birdie’s development. She was at an age where she was trying to find her place in the world and where she fit in. At Nkrumah school she had to change her persona to fit in there. Then on the run she is constantly forced to hide part of herself. She could never be just herself, so by not having real identities, she also did not have a real personality. I think she could find completion at the end of the book. She is with her sister who could help her understand certain things better. Also if she goes to that knew school, where she can figure out who she truly is and where she belongs, without having to pretend just to fit in.
ReplyDelete13.) Part of me feels that it does not matter whether Samantha said that to Birdie of not. Maybe Samantha actually said it or maybe she did not. I think the significant part of that moment was that it was what Birdie wanted to hear. I got the feeling that Birdie desperately wanted Samantha to answer that way, so she heard it the way she wanted to. I think by finally “hearing” it said out loud whether real or pretended that she indeed was black, gave her the courage to leave. She was hiding half of her, the black half, the part that was with the rest of her family. So by it finally being said she was black, she had the courage to break free, and find what she had lost.
14.) I got the feeling that she was a fool and a little of a madwoman. I was never quite sure if she was actually running from something or just thought she was. She seemed to be always trying to find her place, and by taking up the life of a political activist she felt like she had. Then when it fell apart and she lost her husband, she had to do something else. That running was how she found herself again; she was able to rebuild herself. She sacrificed her daughter in the process. She did not fight for Cole, or fight to find her. I know she loved Cole and in her mind she had to leave her behind.
1.Birdie comes to think of herself as having disappeared because of the way people see her, and because she loses herself in a few different ways. The people in her life tend to see her as either black or white, as either Deck or Sandy’s daughter, or as Cole’s sister. She is always defined by the other, someone/something that is not her. When she lives her life as Jesse, she completely abandons her past, a past which defines her. To the people around her she has a completely different past full of different beliefs and experiences making her a different person. Not to mention that she is passing as white which, while race may be a socially constructed idea, is still very real. I think the only time she is not passing is when she is alone with her family: specifically her parents and Cole, and perhaps Dot as well. Her grandmother sees her as white, her friends all see her as either black or white. The only time she can be herself is when she is with her family or when she is alone.
ReplyDelete2. I think Elemneno is representative of the girls’ status within society. They don’t have any particular place, there are no rules to what they are. They are both black and white while being neither at the same time. I think Elemeno is important to Birdie for two reasons: it is a connection to Cole, her past, and her true self. Elemeno also allows Birdie to “float” through life, being neither here nor there. It is an attempt to keep the memory of herself alive.
7. I’m not sure that the experience weighed either more positively or negatively. I think had things stayed the same and Birdie was able to continue her life in Boston with her family nearby the relationships would still be strained. The sisters would continue to be looked at differently and described in relation to the other. Of course she would have been more complete had she stayed with Cole and both of her parents which would have been beneficial, but Deck’s indifference toward Birdie would have been harmful. In being on the run Birdie was able to go behind the scenes, so to speak, to see how White people act when they think they are alone. Obviously I think this can be harmful as well, but disillusionment would have had to come at some point. I think Birdie will continue to live in a state of incompletion just because her family has been split up for so long. She has lost pieces of herself while gaining others, but there will always be pieces missing as long as she has to deal with racial barriers.
11. I think Birdie succeeds in her study. She successfully infiltrates white culture and passes as a white girl and learns the truth about what some people think and feel in regard to other races and ethnicities. She learns about the racism that her friends have towards others (for example the hatred that Mona has for Samantha). I think she gains a little bit of Jesse Goldman and loses a little bit of Birdie, but I’m not sure there was a way for her to escape that. Her fantasies about Deck are most definitely shattered at the end. She was expecting him still be on the run, unable to come and find her and Sandy. She in no way expected him to be living (somewhat) comfortable, writing a book, working on the same theories he was exploring six years previously. I think what hurt her the most was that he didn’t seem to care enough to go looking for her.
ReplyDelete13. I think Samantha was probably aware of her heritage all along. I think her silence was a form of solidarity with Birdie. Or, if she was mishearing her, I think it’s something that Birdie was searching for all along. She needed someone to acknowledge that she was Birdie, not Jesse. I think this is what gave her the courage to finally get up and leave. Birdie had had enough of the life she was living, the loss of her sister, and the constant unknowns that were frequently hovering in front of her. Samantha’s comment finally made her snap and realize she couldn’t continue to live her life this way.
14. I think Sandy is kind of a madwoman, really. I think Sandy saw society for what it was and felt the need to make a change. Perhaps she even felt guilt over the way her ancestors and her family and her fellow White folks treated other ethnicities and felt an undeniable need to change it. Not that there is anything wrong with that, and she was most certainly encouraged and shaped by social factors and other activist movements at the time that focused more on radicalism, but she went about things the wrong way. I think she wanted to see change and she wanted it NOW. She sacrificed a lot in the process: the ability to have a normal family and a normal life. She gave up almost any iota of stability in the process. Of course she also gave up the white privilege as well.
1.While living as Jesse Goldman, Birdie was taking on a new identity as someone else, and is expected to leave her past behind her. She wasn’t “herself” anymore, and expected to hide the true identity of herself and her family, which is why she said she disappeared. I think her ability to disappear is convenient for her in the many situations she is placed in, but at the end of the day it is a curse. When she disappears she loses some of her identity and becomes confused as to where she belongs and who she is. Her ability to disappear is the same thing as having the ability to change/lose her identity, which slowly eats away at her true identity. I think Birdie does have the ability to pass as both black or white, obviously depending on the situation she is in. One situation when Birdie does not pass is with her father. He seems to see her as white, no matter the situation, and with him, she will never pass as anything else.
ReplyDelete2. I think that quote itself, “..floating outside time and space, without owner or direction” explains how Birdie feels quite often throughout the novel. It reflects the issues both her and her sister have with their identity, who they is, and where they belongs within her family, and the world in general. There is a clear divide within their family due to the fact that one daughter looks white, and the other looks black, and through their fathers action, he seems to except Cole as his daughter more than he does Birdie. Elemeno is one thing that connected the two, and allowed them to create their own identity as mixed race children. Elemeno is so important to Birdie, because it is one thing that she can hang on to from her past, and something that always keeps her connected with her sister, whether they are together or apart. It is something that they together made up, and throughout the novel was something that remains constant for them both, while the world around them continued to change.
5. The sisters names reflect their identities within their families, and within the world they live in. Cole, looking more African American than she does white, has had a harder time passing as white throughout the novel, but by saying that, she has a stronger sense of identity. She is named after a significant female in history, showing that her name has meaning and depth. When Birdie was born, her parents argued over what to name her, so on the birth certificate they put the name Baby Lee. She got the name Birdie from a nickname given to her by her sister. I think the fact that Birdie was never given a formal name reflects the fact that Birdie essentially never really knew who she was, and struggled with her identity all throughout the novel. Her name was not rooted to anything meaningful, which could be another reason why she so freely could change her identity and her name at different times throughout the novel.
8. I think Birdies stay at Aurora is another example of the way she changes herself in response to her surroundings and to the varying situations she’s been placed in. Birdie in the novel is at an impressionable age, where she is figuring out her identity, which includes her sexuality. There have been so many outside factors that have molded her identity throughout, and this is another example of her changing in response to the setting she is in. I think this explains her relationship with Alexis and Nicholas. The way she is with Alexis is different than the way she is with Nicolas, similar to the way she acts differently when she is around African Americans, and when she is with white people. This goes back to the idea of her ability to “disappear”, and her lack of having a strong and unchanging identity. In fact her identity changes all the time, just like her sexuality changed when she was with Alexis, and when she was with Nicholas. It parallels her search for racial identity because, in the same way she is unsure of her sexuality, she also seems to be unsure of her race as well. She’s kind of in the middle in both her sexual identity and her racial identity, which is apparent in her relationship with both Nicholas and Alexis.
ReplyDelete15. I do agree in some ways that race is a costume, because it is something that has been constructed and imbedded into our society over time. However in the novel it is clear that race was something much more for Birdie, and her whole family. I think Deck is contradicting himself but making the statement that race is an illusion, because he himself seemed to have a hard time seeing past race, especially in the relationship between his daughters. The first time the girls realized they were different, was when Deck first said early on in the novel that Birdie’s mother needed to “cut this naïve, color blind posturing. In a country as racist as this, you’re either black or you’re white. And no daughter on mine is going to pass.” By saying this is seems that Deck believes that race is much more than just an illusion, and in this period of time, race is something that defined your status in society. In the novel, it is what separated Birdie and Cole, and also what defined them. It is something that they struggled with throughout the entire novel, and therefore it was a very real thing that comes along with a lot more meaning, that simply what you see on the surface.
16. The consequences of choosing is that, while you pick one, you leave behind the other. Birdie and Cole represent the many challenges that biracial people have growing up in America, and the one major problem is that they felt as though they were forced to choose one race or the other. That is the problem because many biracial people feel as though there is not a racial category for them, so therefore they must choose one or the other. If they chose, they are leaving one half of their racial identity behind, however if they don’t chose, they may not feel as though they have any real place as both. Like we’ve talked about in class, people automatically categorize other people as soon as they meet them. It makes them feel uncomfortable if they are unable to do so, so if Birdie and Cole don’t chose, that would be the consequence. By the end of the novel, Birdie and Cole do not chose one or the other. Instead they continue to try and find a place for themselves somewhere in between.
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ReplyDeleteMeredith Cotter
ReplyDelete5. The mere fact that Birdie’s gift certificate reads Baby Lee plays significantly into her lack of identity. It is a representation of herself as a misplaced person in an environment where racial identification means more than just the color you are – but the person you are. She feels conflicted with her parents, and their role in Civil Rights/Black Power, and her missing name on her birth certificate only reinforces the fact that she does not truly belong. On the other hand, Cole’s birth certificate reads ‘Collette.’ The fact the Cole has a name on her birth certificate shows how has a stronger identity, and does fully identify with being black. She can do this because she is dark enough to identify with the black race, and not feel like an outsider. There is much less racial ambiguity with Cole than Birdie, and this is represented in their names – Cole is officially Collette, and is Black; Birdie is Baby Lee, and is visibly biracial.
3. The tension between Sandy and Cole is typical of any mother/daughter relationship, regardless of race (especially when the daughter is at the adolescent age). They fight about everything, and get irrationally mad at each other. A good representation of that was when Cole got upset when her mother couldn’t braid her hair to her liking. Cole responded in saying that her mother doesn’t know anything about how to raise a black child. I think Cole was wrong in that situation, because her mom legitimately tried to give her the hairstyle she wanted – and Cole didn’t see that. I don’t think that it is a matter of Sandy being a ‘bad’ mom and not knowing how to raise a black child. I feel that the bond a mother feels for her daughter means a lot more than the bond between races, but that is a notion not realized to Cole at that point in time. I personally feel like, it is not the mom’s fault and she tries her best to raise her girls, but Cole just is un able to identify with her mother as well, because she doesn’t look just like her. Therefore she gives her mother less of a chance.
14. I feel that Sandy is more of a Madwoman. She has become obsessed with the idea of race and took on a life of political activism after her husband who studies race relations. I believe that this happened for 3 reasons: One, she wanted to fit in with him and his friends, and help them with their cause; two, the book mentioned her inability to really fit in with her family. She did not agree with the uppity nature of her family, and her father (whom she had identified with) had died. She also was a misfit in her schools days. She probably identified with Black people as social outsiders, just like herself and felt that by helping them she was helping herself. And three, after having two biracial children, and realizing the horrors of the world, and the hardships they could endure, she strove to make the world as safe as possible for them. This was shown through her desire to home school them, and her opposition to Deck’s idea to send them to a ‘black power school.’ She has sacrificed her marriage and her sanity in the long run. While there were other factors contributing to her and Deck’s separation, one of the major ones was their ideas on race. Deck took a more intellectual scholarly approach to researching and writing books on the subject, where Sandy was more active. Also Sandy’s involvement in civil rights action has made her paranoid. She feels that people are always following her, and that is something that ends up effecting Birdie.
Meredith Cotter
ReplyDelete1. Birdie thinks of herself as having disappeared when living as Jesse Goldman because she has basically thrown away everything she has known about herself to make up a new and false identity. Even though she did not have a strong identity as Birdie, it was still her past, history, and family that she could no longer acknowledge. She was not allowed to tell anyone that she was part black, and being ‘black’ was something she had tried to see herself as for a large part of her life. I feel that her ability to disappear is a curse; because it means that she does not feel a sense of belonging, comfort ability in being herself, or knowledge as to what ‘herself’ means. I also feel that when trying to place herself on a racial category, Birdie is always passing as one or the other (black or white). Because she is not fully one or the other, and does not feel that strong connection to either side, it’s almost as if she is faking being white or being black – like when she is identifying as being white as Jesse Goldman, she knows a part of herself is black, therefore she is passing.
2. Elemeno reflects the sisters’ opinions on the world because is it closed off and exclusive only to them. With this language, the girls created their own world where race doesn’t matter, and they were just two girls. Because they were biracial, both girls kind of felt displaced in their family and their world and with Elemano, they felt closeness, community, and acceptance in each other. They did not have to worry about the racist tensions of the outside world – a world that would ultimately reject people like Birdie. Elemeno continues to be so important to Birdie throughout the novel because it was an escape from the racial rigidness that was to define someone. It served as a comfort for her because it represented that place of solace in her childhood, a place where categorizing her race did not matter.
15. Deck’s idea that race is a complete illusion… a costume, is both a right and wrong in my eyes. I feel that race could be an illusion because it is a social construct. People can be misled by their preconceived notions of race – or what it means to be black or white. In my opinion, someone does not have to be defined by their race. They are only defined by their race by people who choose to define them in that way. I do not agree with the idea that race is a costume. I believe that race is not something that you can take on and off or disguise yourself by. If you identify with a race, you are considered that race – for better or worse. In our society, if you truly identify with a race – it’s not something fake or some sort of cover-up. I think Birdie and Cole’s experience reinforce that notion that race is something deeper than just a costume. They both struggled with identifying themselves in a racial category – and it was something detrimental to their growing identities. The idea of race played into who they were in society, and where they belonged. It was not really a choice to them as to where that would be. They were placed there according to the skin tone that was given to them – not a costume. And the fact that they were biracial led to even more struggles, as it was impossible for them to ‘pick out the costume’ that made them acceptably white AND black.
1. Birdie thinks of herself as disappeared because her former life with Cole and her father and identifying herself as both black and white is gone. Her mother is usually uneasy when Birdie mentions their past and Birdie feels like she is constantly running from it. I think her ability to disappear is her mother’s blessing yet her own curse. Her mother is benefitting from Birdie’s disappearance because for the most part Birdie plays the role of Jesse Goldman well. On the other hand, Birdie is losing touch with who she is. Birdie is passing either way. In both cases, she tried too hard to fit into a black or white racial category when she is in fact neither. She is not passing when it’s just her and Cole and they are being themselves completely.
ReplyDelete3. I think the indifference between Sandy and Cole is mainly to do with their racial differences. Sandy did not seem to identify herself much with Cole nor did Cole identify with Sandy. I would have to say this is specific to their interracial family because the instances where Sandy couldn’t relate to Cole where mostly when Cole was trying to fit in with her peers, who were black, and Sandy could not understand the culture. I think she treats the children differently based on appearance; she seems to like that Birdie resembles her, and I think she feels more of a connection with Birdie because of that.
5. The parent’s neglect to officially name Birdie symbolized a few things. First of all, both parents were unable to decide on a name; therefore, this indicates that they no longer think the same and are maybe drifting apart in ideologies. Secondly, I think Birdie sometimes was on the outskirts of the family. Both parents were very concerned with “the movement,” but Birdie was never part of “the movement.” As a young child who appeared very white, she wasn’t seen as part of “the movement” by her family. It seemed like her family was more concerned with how Cole would be perceived by the world and they assumed Birdie would be fine because of white privilege; therefore, Birdie was kind of in the background. Her mother even admitted to Birdie that she was caught up in a race war because of Cole, she doesn’t seem to mention the fact that Birdie is just as black as Cole.
7. I think Birdie’s experience with her mother weighed very negatively on her. Even with Dot and Cole at the end of the novel, Birdie didn’t feel that total sense of belonging. I think she will continue to live in a state of incompletion. She never felt completely loved by her father, at times she felt like she didn’t fit in with Cole, and with her mother she was forced to lie about her identity. I think that her life has been so false she will continue to search for herself.
12. These “artifacts” were significant because Birdie was able to hold a piece of herself while she was forced to live life as a white girl. For whatever reason, the artifacts made Birdie feel closer to her identity and helped her identify herself as black. I think they really do help her to remember Cole and Deck because the pieces remind her of her roots but, I think the box served a more important purpose to Birdie: the box helped keep Birdie grounded, this box served as a piece of the other half of her family; with this box, she has more of a sense of who she is.
13. Personally, I think that Birdie was mishearing her because I think that is what Birdie wanted to hear. I think Birdie found a piece of herself in Samantha and I think she envied Samantha. I think Birdie wanted to be like Samantha and be open about her race because she felt so confined by being Jesse Goldman. All along, Birdie only wanted Samantha to identify with her.
Mary
ReplyDelete3.The tension that exsisted between Sandy and Cole as a mother and daughter were common issues that many mothers and daughters deal with on a daily basis. While growing up many children tend to get frustrated or angry at their parents for their rules or how they parent them. These were issues that Sandy and Cole dealt with in their relationship. As well as the traditional problems that mother and daughters go through, the fact that they were an interracial family definitely added to the issues. Because Cole's mother is white and does not embrace the black culture in which it seems Cole identifies more with it certainly caused more tension between the two. When Cole mentions in the book that her mother doesn't know how to raise a black child, I somewhat agree with her but not entirely. I feel that Sandy treats her daughters the same but doesn't specifically know how to raise them in the black culture. One example was when Sandy would continuously try to do Cole's hair in braids but it would never come out right.
2.Elemeno, the language that the two girls speak is something that brings and keeps them together. When things arouond them aren't ideal or they want to talk about the situation without others knowing they use their language. Especially during times when their parents were arguing about their different political views the girls used this language to not only talk but feel comforted. In the world this Elemeno was how the girls coped with the situations they dealt with. As the novel goes on, Birdie continues to refer back to this language as a form of comfort and a way to remember her sister who she has been separated from for years.
1.Birdie's sense of feeling "disappeared" while pretending to be Jesse Goldman makes a lot of sense. Even though I feel that before she even became Jesse she didn't really know who she was, Jesse's persona wasn't the true Birdie. Pretending to be someone that she truly wasn't could easily make her feel as though she has disappeared. In the situation in which her and her mother are in, you could say that it is helpful that she has the ability to disappear. At the same time this could effect her because it may make it difficult to find the the real Birdie. When she refers to herself as soley white, she is considered passing. She is omitting the fact that she is black as well as white.
5.The girls names definitely represent the relationships of their parents that develop throughout the novel. Cole being their first daughter was named after a commonality the parents shared when they first met. Representing the strong relationship that Deck and Sandy had at the beginning of the book. Then as time went on and their political views began to stregthen, it effected their relationship. When Birdie was born they couldn't decide on a name. During this time their political views and actions were headed in two different ways. The differences in the names represent something way deeper then just names.
ReplyDelete8.While in Aurora Birdie experiences some of her first sexual encounters. With the young girl Alexis she begins to understand certain things about sexuality that she didn't know before. Though they were small and minor things I feel that she used these encounters as events to base the future experiences she has with Nick. They become much more real when she has encounters with Nick. I feel that her emerging sexual identity goes along with her own identity pursuit in general.
16.Being biracial causes you to have a very important decision to make. You have three choices put infront of you..you can either choose to identify with one or the other race that you are or you can choose the third option and identify yourself with both races. In the novel both Cole and Birdie are forced to make this decision. Though in the beginning of the book it seems that Cole tends to identify more with the black race, the parents do "help" the girls in making a decision. With each daughter going with one of the parents almost forces them to pick the race and culture of the parents they go off with. When choosing to identify with one race over the other causes you to forget who half of you truly is while just focusing on the other half. By not choosing you are allowing yourself to become your own individual person that believes in whatever taking whatever from either race. By the end of the novel both the girls are continuing the search for themselves.
14.Over all I see Sandy as a "madwoman" more than any of the options. When she gets something in her head, she sticks to it and goes to any length for them. I believe that her eventual love for Deck, her angry feelings against her mother and their family, along with personal beliefs in activism all were reasons for her strong desire to change things. For her beliefs she sacraficed an easy life style.
Geoff Simmonds
ReplyDeleteCaucasia:
1. I really think that Birdie “disappears” any time she is not around her sister. Cole is the only one Birdie can truly be herself around. Her father, mother and everyone else around her expect to see what they will themselves to see. Like the example at the first school, Birdie is being harassed by the other students, until Cole tells them that Birdie is black like them. This also blends into question two.
2. Elemeno is so important to Birdie and Cole because it is uniquely theirs. It belongs to neither race, nor color. In their minds, it is as individual as the two of them are. And the connection that is there, the bond between the sisters is strengthened by this language. The final emphasis to this fact is that Cole remembers the language when they finally meet up again in California.
3. Birdies time on the run with Sandy and finding comfort in her “incompletion” is probably something that she will deal with for a long period of time. The fact that she is finding comfort in not being wholly one “race” or the other is something that actually completes her. Only in the acceptance of being the “incomplete” really makes anyone whole, and more so from her standpoint in that she is never complete in “others” eyes, including her father and mother.
4. Even though Deck doesn’t know that she is compiling this research for him, I think that she is being successful in that she is able to “pass” and no one really gets that. I’m not even sure that Sandy remembers that she is “passing”. Hiding in plain sight sometimes can be the best defense to go with. I believe that she was still Birdie in everything but name, but again must state the only time she seems to be fully herself is with her sister. The idea of Deck is broken, he is not the passionate professor he once was, driven to study race and interactions, but has become more obsessed with proving something. What he is trying to prove now is but a guess, because it is not what he started with.
5. Samantha probably saw some reflections of herself in Birdie, being that she was the same in that manner. So I really think that she did say “I’m black, like you”. The fact that she was not hiding any of who she was, I think is what gave Birdie the courage to get up and go find the person she connected with best, Cole. Samantha’s courage to not be afraid of or hide from her dual heritage is a powerful spark for the flight that becomes the start Birdies journey to reunite with Cole.
6. I agree with Deck in a way. I don’t think that the canary metaphor is limited to just mulattos. Depending on location, time and circumstance anyone could be a canary. The way humans treat each other, says a lot about culture and society in general. There is no rule saying that the test has to be done by any particular person. So yes, Birdie would have to be a canary as well, as for her fate… I would like to think it would be good. She is back with the one person who loves her just for her, not what she could be for either side of the Black/White race issue. In truth, it will be hard for both of them still, as society still struggles to keep up with the changes of time on thoughts.
1. I think that Birdie thinks of her life as Jesse Goldman as disappearing because she completely removed herself from her history and heritage. She was a completely new person and therefore Birdie no longer existed. Besides her mother she had absolutely no contact with her family, or people she was friends with when she was younger and lived her life under a falsified past. In a manner of speaking Birdie did actually disappear, "Jessie" did not talk or act like Birdie.
ReplyDelete3. I do think that some of the tension between Cole and Sandy were typical tensions that happen between a mother and daughter at that time period, especially when the parents are in the process of separation. But I do believe that Cole had a point about Sandy not knowing how to raise a "black child". Sandy seems to ignore some of the differences between Cole and Birdie, like how radically different their hair is. Sandy ignores these differences and tries to treat Coles hair the same way she does Birdies even though it ends up hurting Cole.
4 While I do think that Deck loves Birdie he is very clueless about showing it and does not realize how he is treating the two girls differently. As much as he does love Birdie though he sees Cole as his prodigal daughter who needs to pass on his knowledge. Though he tries to teach Cole his ideas about race, Birdie is the one who is far more interested in hearing about them, perhaps in order to get some attention from her father instead of him focusing all of it on Cole. By the end of the novel both girls seem to reject the teachings of their parents instead of listening to the them preach they base their knowledge of race relations on the experiences that they have had themselves.
8. In Aurora her sexual experiences with Alexis seem more natural and fluid where her experiences with Nicholas seem far more forced and awkward. This seems to mirror her perception of race. Her first sexual experiences were natural and with no outside thought or analysis of what was happening but the more she grows, learns, and experiences the more tentative and unsure of herself she is.
12. I don't think that Birdies addition to her box of "negrobilia" was in order to remember Cole and Deck directly. I think it was in order to help remind herself of her past. She was beginning to blur the line between Birdie Lee and Jesse Goldman and these items made her remember that she wasn't just some white girl from new england who's father had died from a brain aneurism, she was a girl who was mixed race and she had a sister and a father somewhere who were living a completely different life.
14. I think that Sandy is a mixture of a hero and a madwoman. I think she was so motivated to be physically doing something to help the effort due to her marriage to Deck. She seems to be trying to make up for her families past history of being white and privileged by helping out people who are oppressed and unprivileged. These actions eventually lead her into dangerous situations because she got over her head. Though her intentions were pure she did end up putting her family in danger, though perhaps not as much danger as she believes.
5. The significance of the name in the case of Birdie is simple. It represents the struggle for her to find her identity. She has been stuck in the middle between black and white. She is really trapped between these two that she can never really find her own identity. She is forced to struggle with her identity and she is not a part of either one. As we see in the book she bounces back and forth between the two worlds and and does not truly belong to one group.
ReplyDelete16. I feel like the consequence of choosing in their case either black or white is that they will lose who they actually are. You cannot force yourself to fit into a group that you do not fit into. If you do this you are living a lie and pretending to be someone that you are not. This can destroy you and you can lose who you actually are. They do not end up choosing a side in the end and they do not have to be someone they are not.
1) I believe Birdie feels like she disappeared because she lost her true self both with not being able to identify with her real self after having to leave her sister and start a new life. She has to assume an entirely new identity, pretend her sister doesn’t exist and because she is mixed race she doesn’t even have a way to identify in that regards. I think it haunts her through the entire book.
ReplyDelete2)The language that the 2 sisters created, Elemeno is something that they created to cope with a harsh situation that they were living in while with their parents. They used it when they were scared, or unsure and it helped them get through a lot of difficult times. I think Birdie holds on to this because it’s a simpler time in her life and she misses her sister a great deal and holds on to it as a way to remember her.
5) I think the fact that Birdie never really has an official name bothers her. Cole’s name is eloquent, being named after a French write…I took it as if she was planned and mattered. It seemed Birdie was a mistake almost and they didn’t know how to deal with her so that’s why she wasn’t named.
9) I do believe that Redbone is a part of why the family is always on the run. When the character was first introduced on pgs 15 & 16 you could feel the tension surrounding the character. Also Sandy has always referred to him negatively.
12) I think Birdie uses the box to remember her past. She keeps adding to it as a way to remember her father and in a way remember that part of her heritage.
14) I tend to believe that Sandy is a bit of a madwoman. My impressions started in the very beginning with the closed meetings in the basement and harboring people from different countries. She always had some conspiracy theory cooking and never seemed to be quite right with the way the world ran.
17. I think that a persons written and oral histories definitely gives them a greater understanding of themselves in most cases. Knowing ones history gives a sense of where someone came from and their families experiences. In the case of birdie only having an understanding of her white family, I don’t think it necessarily shaped her identity. I think birdies white written history had nothing to do how she identified herself. Cole clearly was not influenced by written histories and I don’t think Birdie was either.
ReplyDelete14.In my opinion Sandra is a combination of a madwoman and a hero. Her life of political activism stemmed from her strong affiliation with the black community. I feel that it primarily came from her feeling as an outsider in the white community and comfort in the black community. In taking up a life of political activism it took Sandra a lot of courage to break away from her family. She gave up a life of luxury she once had in her wealthy white family. She also takes her political activism to extremes and in attempts to make a difference she gets a little too paranoid and “into” the movement which wasn't always the best situation for her daughters.
15. I agree completely with Deck saying that race is “a complete illusion...a costume”. It is clear to see through Cole and Birdie that race is a costume. It is a way to identify someone and how they “should” act. Once race is identified by society, then it becomes deeper and makes a person. Cole appearing more “black” gave her the illusion that she could identify as black over her sister Birdie. In truth it wasn’t their race but their experiences that made them who they were.
6.I think the initial draw between Deck and Sandra through the writer Camus, showed their compatibility and allowed the two to look past race and see a common ground of interest. I believe their relationship eventually sours due to the pressures from society. Had the two been living in a different city and certainly a different country all together, I think their relationship would have been much more likely to last. I think in the end Birdie does believe her parents loved each other, I also believe this but think that due to societal pulls, their love could not survive.
5.I believe the significance of the two sisters names are identifiers of how they are perceived in the book. Cole while being of the same race as her sister Birdie, strongly identifies with the black culture and and has a great sense of self than Birdie does. She is given a name to identify with that is constant and not changing. Birdie on the other hand is constantly being pulled between her two races of black and white and feels at a loss of identity. Much like her name that is pulled back and forth between her mother and father, her self identity is also pulled between the two.
3.The tension between Cole and Sandy is similar to that of any normal mother and daughter. The two fight like any teen and her mother, arguing over small issues, however as an interracial mother and daughter their issues are somewhat different. Cole feels that Sandra doesn't know how to raise a black daughter and that their racial differences are too big for them to have a normal relationship. In instances of Sandy doing Coles hair and trying to help her daughters, Cole doesn't see past the fact that her mother is white. I don’t think Sandy treats her daughters differently due to appearances like Deck does. I think Sandy tries her best to treat both of her daughters equally regardless of how they look.
-Ryan Fleming
17. I am not sure if her mothers written family history effects her more then her fathers stories. It would really seem that physically seeing a piece of your family history would certainly strengthen its truth. Although, the majority of African tribes used oral traditions along with many other peoples and that is they way that they were told their histories. That does not make them less true or not as believable. You really gain a sense of who you are and pride when you learn about your history. You get to see what has made your family what it is by seeing what they have been through both good and bad times. You cannot really understand who you are unless you know where you come from.
ReplyDelete9. It is clear that Redbone is part of the reason why the family faces the troubles that they do. He is responsible for handing Sandy over to the FBI thus forcing them to go on the run. Also, he when introduced in the book there is a clear tension that surrounds Redbone. We see that Sandy has referred to him negatively on many occasions.
12. The adding of artifacts to the box seems to really just be a way for her to remember parts of her heritage. This is stuff of her fathers side and by collecting these items it helps to build her understanding of that side of the family. Her mother has written accounts and such whereas finding something from her fathers side would be new and exciting and worth keeping so that there are new pieces added to her history.
2. The language that they 2 girls create is really comfortable for them and helps them to separate themselves from the hard situation around them that they are in. I guess that is called a coping mechanism. It keeps them from having to deal with the "real" world and allows them to be safe in their own world with their own language. This helps them get through many tough times and to hold onto it means to remember one another and times that were not as harsh and more simple.
5. The names of the children were relied a key component of the novel. Birdie never had an official name. Likewise, Birdie never had an official race. She trancended races, changing herself however she could fit in. This lack of a true name led to her myseterious personality, no one in the novel ever knew who she truly was. Cole's name also buried much weight. She had a defined name, along with her defined black race. Being named after a writer was significant as well, as Deck paid more attention to developing Cole intellectual than he did Birdie. Birdie was floating in every aspect, nothing about her was concrete. While Cole was the opposite, with a specific purpose and specific qualities.
ReplyDelete7. Birdie's experience on the run gave her a sense of maturity. She saw other people's lives flash before her in her travels, and it ultimately made her stronger. It is hard to say whether it had a positive or negative effect on her life though. She could have turned out great living in Boston. I do believe that it caused her to mature much earlier than most children though. She was much smarter and seemed above most of the people she communicated with, she understood more than they did. I don't believe she found completion upon seeing Cole. I believe Birdie still needed more in her life. She saw herself in everyone, but still didn't completely know who she was.
9. Redbone was quite the peculiar chracter in the novel. I think he found an interest in Birdie because of her curiosity. He knew that she was looking for answers, being the "spy", and he wanted to exploit it. I'm really not sure what the significance of the picture was, but I would speculate that it could have potentially been ill-willed, to hurt Sandy. But even if this was the case, I would never put all the blame on Redbone. Society is to blame for their separation, and their separation is just an extention of the separation that was a part of everyday life in America. The simple idea that blacks and whites are different, and should be treated as such. This is what separated Cole and Birdie.
13. I thought neither of these possibilities upon reading this passage. I thought her saying that symbolized the insignificance of color. To Samantha, it didn't matter what color you were. Jewish wasn't a color either, but that's how she referred to Jesse originally. I don't think it was necessarily courage that caused her to leave. I think it was that constant yearning to rid herself of her white "passing" and to rejoin the life she once knew, and it had finally manifested itself with Samantha's words.
15. I completely agree with Deck that race is an illusion. But the word "illusion" gives the idea that it is transparant, or that it holds no weight. This is where the problem arises, because it was very apparant in society that race definitely held weight; and this weight is felt by everyone, regardless of color. Birdie and Cole's existance were just extentions of this theory. Every day they questioned where they belonged because of race. So yes, the concept of race itself is nothing more than a costume. But until these costumes no longer carry preconceived notions with them, race will continue to influence every day of our lives.
16. This was one of my favorite quotes of the novel. There are plenty of consequences which arise from choosing a race, and just as many for not choosing. People who side with one race are stereotyped and subject to overt racism. They are viewed as a group, rather than an individual. People who don't side are subject to being the outcast, never knowing where they belong. Floating between different identities, just as Birdie had. While Cole most likely sided with her black racial heritage, I don't think Birdie truly had. At the end of the novel, I still believe Birdie had NO idea who she was, and that's what left her incomplete.
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ReplyDeleteSara Ceraso
ReplyDelete2. The language that the two sisters make up, Elemeno, is an exclusive bond the two share. They allow themselves to be separated and isolated from everyone else because they are the only two that understand it. The language is “without owner or direction” much like the sisters themselves. It allows them to recognize the fact that although they don’t look alike, they are one in the same. They are both biracial dealing with biracial obstacles. To each other they were accepted and this language brought them closer together. The language brings her back to her childhood when her and her sister would be together and apart from the outside world. They would not judge each other and they would not even recognize each others physical differences, they were just sisters.
3. The issues that Sandy and Cole deal with are common amongst mothers and daughters. Sandy being white and Cole being bi-facial may have added a little fuel to the fire. It is common that outside perspectives and attitudes can be brought into a family setting and unbalance the dynamic. It is not out of the ordinary that Sandy would not know how to raise a black child in the sense of teaching them African American history. Sandy is white so it would be normal that she wouldn’t know as much as Deck would on the topic. But raising a child in general should not have anything to do with their race. Sandy’s “craziness” doesn’t help with their relationship either. Sandy tries too hard to become one with the African culture which may set some people off.
5. The names of the two sisters reflect their identities a great deal. Cole, being predominately black looking is the sister with an “official name.” So although she is recognized as someone whose race is inferior, she has a stronger sense of identity. It reflects many other African American people with the idea that they feel a strong sense of pride in their heritage. The fact that she was given he name after someone famous shows the thought and time taken picking that name for her. Dealing with “Baby Lee,” her lack of a name reflects her lace of identity. I feel that Birdie struggles more than Cole with her racial identity. She is torn between two identities and because her parents didn’t “assign” her one she is left to figure out her identity on her own.
12. After being separated from half of her family, this box was all Birdie Lee had. The “artifacts” allowed Birdie to recognize herself as black and remember her heritage that people might not often ascribe her to. We know that these items are very important to her because she makes sure not to leave the box behind when running away from home. The box helps her to remember Deck and Cole and remember that she to is like them.
13. “I’m black. Like you.” Holds a very deep significance to Birdie. She has gone her whole life being light skinned and not knowing whether society, or even her family had viewed her as black. Whether Samantha said those words or not, they were what Birdie wanted to hear from somebody. She wanted someone to view her as black even though her skin color said other wise. These words encouraged Birdie to leave. It was what she needed to hear to give her the courage to find her other half of her family. She realized that she could identify with her father just as much as Cole could.
14. I would describe Sandy as “mad-women” who views herself as a “hero.” I see her as a paranoid and anxious character who bring a lot of tension in the book. She takes her activism too far at times thinking she is helping when really she is hurting her family, especially her daughters. She tried so hard to be recognized as someone who is accepting of other races, so much that when her and Deck finally split up she had trouble identifying herself.