A Thematic Study Of Brown Girl, Brownstones

Paule Marshall, American black female writer, was born in1929, Brooklyn. Herparents are Barbadian immigrants who come to US after WWI. She starts to write atthe age of thirty. After her first novel Brown Girl, Brownstones was published in1959,she begins to establish her literary reputation. Brown Girl, Brownstones is consideredthe first novel which concerns the development of Barbadian people as well.This novel describes the immigrants’ lives in Brooklyn under the GreatDepression and WWII. This thesis analyzes the multiple themes in this novel by usingthe methods of closing reading, comparison and induction. Furthermore, it exploresthe author’s views on race and women.This thesis contains six parts. In the introduction part, this thesis makes a briefintroduction of the author and her works as well as literature review. Chapter oneanalyzes the antiracism theme by revealing the trauma that racial discriminationbrings to the Barbadian immigrants. Chapter two explores the feminist theme. Wherethere is oppression, there is rebelling. This is especially true to Barbadian women,because they live in a world where they never stop struggling for their basic rights.Chapter three mainly expounds the initiation theme, which explores the difficultiesthat a black girl Selina meets on her way to be an adult. It mainly focuses on theeffects that family and love relationship have on her development. Finally, in theconclusion part this thesis explores author’s views on race and women.