High School Literature

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High School Literature The story “Brownies” by ZZ Packer could be looked at as a work of literature from certain views, but in the opinion of Prose, the author of “ I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read,” I do not believe that this story would be looked at as a work of literature. This story does not seem very “uplifting” as Prose would want it to be for a high school reader. Although it is a very interesting story and it holds many important messages about our society and culture, it does not hold up to Prose’s standards as a work of literature. Prose believes that we “have rushed to sacrifice complexity for diversity.” (Prose, 76) This is exactly why I do not think that Prose would choose this story as a something she would want students to read. “The reader is being squandered on regimens of trash and semi-trash, taught for reasons that have nothing to do with how well the book is written.” (Prose, 76) Prose often talks about how stories that are chosen for our society’s high school curriculum are not complicated enough. The stories read by students are easy to read, and demand very little thought from the reader. Prose uses words such as transformative, complex, powerful, and profound for the books she believes should be used. These words do not describe the story “Brownies” by ZZ Packer. Although there are many accurate similes and decently used language in the story “Brownies,” the overall point of the story seems very simple for a high school student to pick up on. I do not think it would engender a feeling of deep thought for students, as Prose would want. The story “Brownies” seems like it would be easy to analyze. It seems like more of the type of story that would evoke more of a response, which in my opinion would not be greatly valued by Prose. She seems like she would be more interested in having a high school student have to work to analyze a story, than respond about how they felt about a certain piece of writing. Racism is a strong message in the story “Brownies.” There are two troops of brownies camping in the same area. One of the troops is black girls, and the other is all white girls.

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