It is commonly said that “kids can be cruel,” however ZZ Packer’s short story, “Brownies,” suggests that kids learn their cruelty from society. It’s not so much that the girls in the story aren’t cruel, it’s that “there [is] something mean in the world that [she] could not stop.”
In the beginning of the story, it is clear that the girls of Laurel’s Brownie troop feel no empathy for the girls in the other troop. Packer begins the story with the shocking – and telling – quote “By our second day at Camp Crescendo, the girls in my Brownie troop had decided to kick the asses of each and every girl in Brownie Troop 909.” Why should the girls feel empathy for Troop 909? After all, they are simply white girls that these girls know very little…show more content… Following a dramatic scene where Laurel’s troop planned to get even with the other troop, the Troop 909 leader reveals that the troop is full of “delayed learners.” As the girls realize Troop 909 is also discriminated against, Octavia, the second in command, no longer wants to take revenge on the girls for being white. They, for the most part, empathize with the girls in Troop 909. Arnetta, in classic fashion, does not empathize. She instead continues her story and blames specific girls. Later, she “[makes] a gesture of mock pride toward an imaginary sash,” mocking the girl she blames. She doesn’t empathize with or even feel for the girl, even after she knows about her…show more content… They consider the possibility that they were at the camp with the mentally disabled girls because both groups are considered “inferior.” Arnetta shares a story of being “looked at” in a mall by a white lady and the other girls empathize with her. However, Laurel shares a story that isn’t empathetic. Her father asked a Mennonite man to paint his porch because “”it was the only time he’d have a white man on his knees doing something for a black man for free.’” This story demonstrates the same anger towards white people which Arnetta and the others feel when they plan to attack the girls of Troop 909. They have been taught by society to distrust white people. Laurel makes a very perceptive statement about empathy when she “knew there was something mean in the world that [she] could not stop.” This “something mean” is what teaches kids to be cruel. It is what leads people to discriminate against each other. Daphne empathizes with the Mennonites and is the exception; she wishes for the world to be nice. Arnetta and Laurel’s father do not follow the same rule. They, as well as many others, are infected by the “something mean.” Rather than the oppressed feeling empathy for others, they tend to take advantage of others more oppressed than
