"Brown Girl Dreaming" Part 4 Review

What is Jacqueline’s tone in the poem “tomboy”?

• She admires her sister’s reading ability.

• She is proud of the things she can do that her sister can’t

• She is offended that her mother calls her a tomboy.

• She regrets the fact that she reminds her mother of her father Jack.

In “stevie and me,” what is the impact of Jacqueline being able to make her own choices at the library?

• Jacqueline gains confidence because she finally feels like she is as gifted as her sister.

• Jacqueline feels like she is growing up because the librarian doesn’t choose books for her.

• Jacqueline sees other Black people reflected in a book and realizes that she has a story worth telling.

• Jacqueline is comforted by reading the story of another young person whose family has given them a nickname.

In Part III of the novel, many of the poems illustrate Jacqueline’s deep connection to her family. Compared to Part III, How do the poems in this chapter contribute to a different understanding of Jacqueline's relationships to her family?

• These poems show that Jacqueline is becoming more curious about her family’s past.

• These poems show that Jacqueline has always been misunderstood by her family.

• These poems show that Jacqueline is beginning to value the ways she is different from her family.

• These poems show that Jacqueline’s experiences with Maria’s family are causing her to question her own family’s faith and traditions.

In “daddy this time,” Gunnar Irby says to Jacqueline, “You’re going to be fine, / you know that” (235). What is his motivation for saying this?

• He wants to encourage Jacqueline to do well in her upcoming performance.

• He wants Jacqueline to stay inside with him while her siblings play outside.

• He wants Jacqueline to believe in herself after he’s gone.

• He wants Jacqueline to tell him more of her stories.

In “what everybody knows,” how does Jacqueline’s grandmother react to desegregation in Greenville?

• She begins to go to stores where she and other Black people in Greenville previously weren’t allowed to go.

• She continues to follow the laws because she knows that white people’s attitudes haven’t changed.

• She encourages Jacqueline to exercise her rights and work for change.

• She worries what her neighbors will think if they see her downtown.

Which quotation best supports the idea that Jacqueline doesn’t want anyone to limit her creativity?

• “How can I explain that stories / are like air to me, I breathe them in and let them out / over and over again.” (247)

• “But on paper, things can live forever. / On paper, a butterfly / never dies.” (249)

• “promising myself / there’ll come a time / when I can use the rest of my story … // … and give myself and my horses and my cows / a whole lot more time / than six minutes!” (251)

• “Not enough for a real book until / I cut each page into a small square / staple the squares together, write / one poem / on each page.” (252)

Reread the following lines from the poem “new girl” on page 254:

“Those days / the world feels as gray and cold as it really is / and it’s hard / not to believe the new girl isn’t mas mejor than me. / Hard not to believe / my days as Maria’s best friend forever and ever amen / are counted.”

How does the repetition of the phrase “hard not to believe” contribute to the tone of the poem?

• It develops an admiring tone.

• It develops a suspicious tone.

• It develops a worried and anxious tone.

• It develops a frustrated and angry tone.

How does the poem “moving upstate” illustrate one of the motivations for Jacqueline’s storytelling?

• It shows that one motivation for Jacqueline’s storytelling is to comfort her uncle.

• It shows that one motivation for Jacqueline’s storytelling is to entertain her friends.

• It shows that one motivation for Jacqueline’s storytelling is to avoid painful realities.

• It shows that one motivation for Jacqueline’s storytelling is to prove to her sister that she is creative.

In the poem “too good,” how does Jacqueline’s conversation with her sister change her perception of herself as a writer?

• Jacqueline begins to believe that she is more of a songwriter than a storyteller.

• Jacqueline begins to have greater confidence in herself as a writer.

• Jacqueline realizes that she can write stories about nature.

• Jacqueline becomes discouraged about her writing.

Consider several poems that appear near the end of Part IV: 

“on the bus to dannemora,” “mountain song,” “poem on paper,” and “how to listen #7.” 

How do Jacqueline’s real experiences with her family contribute to her identity as a writer?