Paule Marshall Brown Girl Brownstones Analysis

Paule Marshall’s Brown Girl Brownstones revolves around Barbadian (Bajan) immigrants living in Brooklyn, New York. As a non-native black population, the Bajan community is forced to consider their American identity, which presents issue that are new to them. Some people in the community are unable or are not willingness to assimilate into the established culture of America and they find themselves in a system into which they cannot fit. Marshall focuses the story on a particular family known as the Boyce family. They are Bajan decedents who settle in Brooklyn. Although, the Boyce family migrates to America for a better life, their lives are a tremendous struggle and pursuit of the American Dream utterly destroys the family.
The Boyce family consists of Silla, the mother, Deighton, the father and Selina and Ina, their two daughters. After Silla and Deighton get married, they move from Barbados, in around

the1940s, into a brownstone in Brooklyn. They maintain their cultural ties with their island country. The family enters a society that, at every turn, sees them as black regardless of their origin. That is to say, the average American sees the family in the same way that it sees the native native-born Blacks. This, in many ways, imposes the struggle of the native native-born Blacks struggle on to the struggle of the Boyce’s family, especially racism and segregation. Selina, the protagonist, sees her mother and other members of the Bajan community struggling to make ends meet like many African-Americans at that time.
The Boyce’s struggle diverges from that of the native-born African-Americans in the emphasis that Marshall places on their idea of land ownership and settling into a home away from home.

Both Silla and Deighton feel the need to own something that represents a security in their community. For Silla, owning the brownstone gives her an ultimate prize in the American society. Owning a home means owning land and owning land for many immigrants is the key to moving up in society. While most native Blacks at the time were fighting for their civil rights, Silla is obsessed by the American Dream of house ownership. She is extremely ambitious and driven, working ridiculous hours to save the money to buy the property. Even more remarkably, she does it by herself while at the same time supporting her family. Silla ultimately becomes so maniacal about owning the brownstone, however, that it becomes her only priority. She even starts to destroy her family relationships by being overly oppressive. She emasculates and resents her husband for not helping her achieve her

goal.
For Deighton, on the other hand, the American Dream of owning a house means nothing to him because he does not aspire to become apart of American society. When Deighton inherits land from his sister in Barbados, he is thrilled and wants to keep it and eventually move back. With this new land he feels like he can live like a king compared to living like a peasant in America. Silla, on the other hand, wants to sell Deighton’s land and use it as capital to sustain her dream of the brownstone. This becomes a major conflict between the two. To Deighton, the land symbolizes a part of himself and his family. It is not just a land; it is his place in the Barbados society back home to which he belongs. In holding on to the land, he attempts to hold on a part of himself that remains unchanged. Moving to the U.S. changes everything and his life as an immigrant proves an unfulfilling and his future in this foreign land is uninspiring. Silla, out of desperation