Brown Girl, Brownstones

The events of Brown Girl, Brownstones span a time of momentous changes in the United States and abroad, so knowing something about the historical context is essential for comprehension of the important themes of the novel. World War II, the Cold War, and the countercultural movements that began in the 1950s are all contributors to the events of the novel.

World War II started in 1939. While the Boyces mostly ignore the direct impact of the war in the United States, the family and their friends and neighbors do have important discussions about their responsibilities to the country as immigrants during wartime. Their sense that the war has little to do with them reflects the Barbadians’ feeling that they are alienated from American culture and must depend upon themselves. While the war brought with it a general distrust of immigrants’ loyalty, as the war ended, there was also a greater awareness of the Holocaust; Silla’s naming of her mother as Hitler may in part be an indirect acknowledgement of the impact of intolerance and oppression on the lives of those around her.

During the war, the United States mobilized to arm and feed the country. The impact of this industrial mobilization is readily apparent in the novel.