North vs South

 The theme of North vs South is explored throughout the book of Brown Girl Dreaming. This theme was remarkably interesting to me so I wanted to dive deeper into it.

The North 

Jacqueline describes the North as being alienated. NYC lacks the sense of serenity that Greenville displays for Jacqueline. During Jacqueline’s first few years in Brooklyn, the city feels lifeless to her. The landscape of Brooklyn is nothing compared to South Carolina. Jackie misses her grandparents and the red dirt beneath her feet. Woodsen confesses in her authors' note that she dearly misses the South and its landscape- something the North simply cannot offer. The North however does offer more opportunities for people of color than the South does during this time. The Northern states, such as New York, suffer far less racism than their southern counterparts. The discrimination that floods the South is unsafe for people of color hence why when Jackie and her family move to NYC, they take the bus at night to avoid the violence that abrupts from White racist individuals. Mama makes the move from Greenville to Brooklyn because of the abundance of jobs. As a Mother Mary Ann feels obligated to provide her children with only the best. She feels that this move is the only way to obtain this goal she has set for herself. 

The South 

For Jacqueline, the South offers up a sense of affiliation and love. During her first few years of living in New York City, Jacqueline favors living in South Carolina than Brooklyn. In South Carolina, she is surrounded by family members who live in a setting that she has grown accustomed to. Jacqueline uses optimistic words to describe the landscape of the south and admires the red rich dirt that South Carolina has to offer. Jacqueline is not the only character with this intense love for South Carolina. Mama longs for South Carolina as well while living in Ohio and discusses her homesickness with Grandma Grace. A poem that stuck out to me throughout the first half of Brown Girl Dreaming is titled Ghosts. Jackie writes that 

“In downtown Greenville, 

they painted over the WHITE ONLY signs, 

except on the bathroom doors,

 they didn’t use a lot of paint so you can still see the words,

 right there like a ghost standing in front

 still keeping you out.” 

Despite all the hate and disrespect Jacqueline and her fellow African American community had faced she still considered the south to be a place of comfort. Jaqueline will not allow the White community to push her away from her homeland and I found that to be so inspiring. Another poem that shows Woodsen’s positive outlook on life is on page 130. She states that 

“What is bad now won’t be bad forever, 

and what is good can sometimes last a long, long time.” 

Woodson looks back on her childhood as being a positive experience and would not want to have it any other way.  It has shaped her into the person she is today.