Essay Sample: Exploring Identity, Race, and Family Dynamics: An Essay on Birdie and Cole's Journey

The students treat Birdie and Cole as segregated individuals who they see as different. Somehow, a critical examination of Birdie’s comments and thoughts and trends indicates that she feels they are inferior to the students. Evidently, she affirms that “My body would fill in the blanks, tell me who I should become, and I would let it speak for me,” indicating that she is undergoing mental and emotional struggles (Senna 1). Therefore, the “blanks” that refer to their identity and individuality is an indication that the treatment they get from the students affects them mentally and emotionally.

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Birdie and Cole have a special relationship. In literary form, they are a representation of the exact opposite of items juxtaposed. They are the daughters of a mixed-race involving a black father and a white Caucasian mother. They come from a family of intellectuals, which also happens to serve as activists of the Civil Rights Movement. The structural inequality of the 1970s of Boston would make one expect the two girls to be different and look at each other differently. However, the two sisters are close to the point that they develop a private language that is more of a coded form of communication. Thus, Birdie and Cole seem to communicate that blood connection is superior to skin color. The rest of the world would consider them as two different races, yet they are close despite Birdie being white, while Cole appears darker.

The self-change in an attempt to fit surroundings greatly impacts the families and individual personalities. The family constantly changes the environment, for instance, through the father and Cole moving to Brazil (Senna, 2013). Through Cole, readers realize that the relocation was a result of the change in personality, hoping to find racial equality that seemed to be lacking in the United States. Additionally, their mother undergoes a significant change of personality as she attempts to escape the federals whom she believes are tailing her. By so doing, she ends up abandoning everything they ever valued, including possessions, close allies, and identity. Therefore, she has to put on a whole new personality upon relocating to New Hampshire.

The shoebox that had been marked “Negrobilia” was a momentous gift that Deck and Cole offered to Birdie. The father thought that it was an excellent idea for Birdie always to remember him in a positive way. Therefore, he offered her the things he treasured most, including James Brown’s tape recording, the Afro pick, as well as his most valued Egyptian necklace. These were more of souvenirs that Birdie would use as a remembrance of the father for the nine years. Moreover, the box could be an ephemera and remnants of the societal and cultural construct of the black community, particularly of the 1960s (Senna, 2013). It is worth noting that the box significantly represented the good gesture of Deck taking custody of Cole and letting the wife take Birdie.

Goldman’s identity that the two take is a clear indication that a person’s identity is a mere perception. Birdie, after taking a new identity, becomes a reflection of a teenage Jewish girl, who tries to establish roots in the racist region of New Hampshire. Thus, she tends to be different from the young crossbreed of the black and white parents that once lived in Boston. Through the character’s narration, a reader realizes that the two had different qualities as she categorically states that, “…it was as if my mother believed that Cole and I were so different. As if she believed I was white, believed I was Jesse” (Senna 275).

Discuss the significance of this quote by Birdie on p. 190 with the larger themes of the novel: "I would, quite literally, feel myself rising above a scene, looking down at myself, hearing myself speak. I would gaze down at the thin girl sitting by the fence, the one with her brown hair falling into her eyes, drawing patterns in the dirt, and watch this girl with the detachment of a stranger."

The novel primarily focuses on interracial difference and identities and their impacts on individuals and the community in general. In this text, Birdie explores this theme from a bird’s eye viewpoint. She categorically gives the readers an insight of race and the inequality from the racists’ standpoint. The text is significant as it offers the readers a chance to resonate with the thoughts of the character. Through the text, a person can get a clear idea of the prejudice. The vivid descriptions the character offers and the tone that she uses helps in analyzing the content.

Samantha Taper, being the adopted child who happens to be of a mixed-race and living and studying in the racial society of New Hampshire, is a characterization of the plight of the people of color in the novel (Senna, 2013). Her interactions and relations with Mona is a manifestation of the indifference in interracial individuals. Taper has closer ties and feels free with Birdie (Jesse), who also comes from a mixed-race family. Therefore, the character is a vital tool for communicating the theme of identity as Taper identifies with people who are “similar” to her kind.

Once Birdie goes to Boston, she learns the true nature and characters of her mother. She establishes that her mother is caring and a survivor who can blend in any form of social setting. Additionally, the mother played a perfect role when she was faking being Jesse Goldman. Her once hidden characters clearly manifest to Birdie.

“Canary in the mines” is the metaphorical representation of the adversities that comes with the attempts to rethinking race and racial segregation (Senna, 2013). Deck theoretically applies the phrase to call Birdie and Cole to the realization that exclusion and underrepresented in the societal setups are inevitable due to their mixed-race situation. Thus, decision making in a society highly depends on race, which will eventually affect the two.

The end of the novel suggests that Birdie and Cole are most likely going to embrace their parents. Sandra and Deck Lee are more likely going to have a common understanding amidst the indifference and societal approach and attitude towards the mixed-race families.

Reference

Senna, D. (2013). From Caucasia, with Love. A&C Black.