Rachel Murrell
Brown girl, Brownstones
Isolation is an important issue that the narrator highlights in the novel ‘Brown Girl, Brownstones’. Discuss the importance of isolation in the novel using textual evidence from the novel.

One of the themes in the novel ‘Brown Girl, Brownstones’ is the issue of isolation. The narrator skilfully crafts a riveting story about a group of Bajan immigrants in 1939 who make Brooklyn, New York their home. The narrator employs a range of narrative techniques to highlight this important issue, however there is a heavy dependency on setting, language and characterisation which simultaneously bring to the forefront the several forms of isolation encoded in the novel. The narrator details the isolation and plight of the Bajan community who have come to New York. Set against the backdrop of the effects of World War ІІ and the Great Depression, the narrator pays great attention to the Bajan community by observing the inter-relationship of the Boyce family members and the friendship of the Bajan women. The narrator uses setting as a narrative technique in highlighting the important theme of isolation in the novel. She has placed the Boyce family in Brooklyn where they lease a brownstone house. Both the Boyce family and Bajan community altogether live and share close relationships with one another but it seems that the immigrants are secluded from the wider city. The narrator’s description of their community depicts a sense of segregation between them and the locals. The narrator expresses how the white families left the area leaving behind many of their fine possessions, and illustrates the arrival of the Bajan community
“... like a dark sea nudging its way onto a white beach and staining the sand...they came.”
This statement clearly illuminates to the reader the level of inferiority, social divide and ultimately the isolation endured by the Bajan community in Brooklyn as they strive to achieve the American Dream. This isolation felt by the community drives them to voice their suppression from the whites so that their opinions can be heard. “Talk yuh talk, Silla! Be-Jees, in this white-man world you got to take yuh mouth and make a gun.”
Florrie Trotman, a friend of Silla’s stated in the novel as the Bajan women sat in Silla’s kitchen, conversating. This statement deeply illustrates how the Bajan community suffers greatly because of their skin colour. The narrator also uses language to reveal their struggle. Ironically, as the women sit at the kitchen table gossiping about the rest of the Bajan community, it seems that the kitchen table is symbolic of the sub-conscious isolation from the local population of Brooklyn. The Bajan community rarely share relationships with members from the wider society. The American Dream seemed like the Holy Grail to Silla but she was oblivious to the fact that the American Dream did not include the Bajan community.
Silla’s brownstone is also home to Suggie Skeete, a new tenant to the Boyce’s. There, she entertains the men whose physical love helps her survive in the Bajan community where they disagree with Suggie’s lifestyle.
In the novel, the use of language is quite symbolic in depicting the issue of isolation among the characters. Selina Boyce’s isolation can be seen in many ways that one as the narrator tells the story. She goes through an awkward pre-pubescent stage in her life where she feels that she in misunderstood by the rest of her family members except her father.
“As Selina entered, the chandelier which held the sunlight frozen in its prisms rushed at her, and the mirror flung her back at herself. The mood was broken. The gown dropped from her limp hands. The illusory figures fled and she was only herself again. A truculent face and eyes too large and old, a flat body perched on legs that were too long. A torn middy blouse, dirty shorts, and socks that always worked down into the heel of her sneakers. That was all she was. She did not belong here. She was something vulgar in a holy place...”
This paragraph strongly depicts Selina’s personal isolation from the reality of her existence. She desperately wants to be like the previous tenants of her house; the estranged white family who once owned the brownstone house. She is portrayed as a tom-boy and to some extent, and outcast; her physical appearance leads to her isolation. Selina is trying to find her own identity and a sense of belonging. The narrator chose to use imagery to depict this. Selina’s isolation from Silla, stems from the fact that she demeans her mother’s aspirations of obtaining the American Dream. She associates her mother’s goal with materialism which is something Selina despises. The narrator is highly skilful in describing the level of disconnection between Selina and her mother. She describes how the house fell silent at the abrupt pause of her bangles as Selina’s arm dropped. “Above all, it was a silence which came when the mother was at work.”
The relationship between Silla and Deighton is complex in nature as they share extremely different views about life. Deighton is obsessed with his new land while Silla wants to own a brownstone house. To Deighton, the land back home is part of him, and is essentially his physical connection to his homeland in Barbados. On the other hand, Silla, in sight of her own dream, has a very different approach. Her goal is to attain the American Dream. She seeks ownership of the brownstone house as opposed to leasing it. This symbolises the attainment of this dream. The narrator’s use of language shows how Silla and Deigton’s ideals clash and create tension among the Boyce family and the Bajan community.
Of all the aforementioned narrative techniques employed in the novel, characterisation is heavily dependent upon when detailing the isolation of the Bajan community. The narrator uses Bajan dialect throughout the novel firstly, in portraying their isolation. “...But with their coming, there was no longer tea in the afternoon, and their odd speech clashed in the hushed rooms, while underneath the ivy the old houses remained as indifferent to them as the whites, as aloof...”
The narrator’s metaphorical description of the Bajans’ dialect as “odd speech” resonates with the reader the segregation among the whites who emigrate from the Brooklyn brownstone houses and the Bajan immigrants. The use of dialect in the novel may also be used as a technique in providing the reader with perspective of each character. Selina Boyce’s character is depicted as the protagonist in the novel. We see her isolation from her mother, Silla, and her older sister, Ina. This is as a result of her feeling misunderstood by them. Consequently, she shares a special bond with her father, Deighton which does not include Silla or Ina. Selina is drawn to her father as he is cheerful and carefree as opposed to Silla who is rigid and focused on achieving the American Dream like many other Bajan immigrants. Deighton is indifferent to Silla’s goals as his dreams revolve around returning to Barbados to make a home for his family. They disagree on nearly everything and so Deighton’s isolation stems from this. Due to his nonchalant character the Bajan community isolates him as their ideals do not match his. The narrator compares him to Silla is many ways, expressing that she is motivated and driven by the American Dream while Deighton is a dreamer who constantly attempts to start a different career that he hopes will bring him instant wealth. Silla therefore isolates Deighton since the other Bajan men around her are working hard to come successful. Selina observes this and sub-consciously takes her father’s side as she shares his views.
Suggie Skeete is isolated by the Bajan community because they do not agree with her lifestyle. Her promiscuity affects her relationships with her peers in the community.
“That concubine don know shame. Here it tis she just come to this man country and every time you look she got a different man ringing down the bell...”
This statement made by Silla depicts Suggie’s daily life and as such, the Bajan community is judgemental of Suggie and her immoral customs. To conclude, the novel ‘Brown Girl, Brownstones’ depicts the hardships of the Bajan community, individually and as a whole. The narrator skilfully employs narrative techniques to illustrate the isolation suffered by the Boyce family as well as the rest of the Bajan immigrants. It depicts their struggle to fit in with the rest of society as well as attaining success despite their background.