Caucasia: Birdie's Character Danzy Senna's

CAUCASIA: BIRDIE'S CHARACTER Danzy Senna's debut novel Caucasia was published in 1988 and that in itself is a critical part of the character of Birdie. This is because unlike many novels based on construction and reconstruction of race which normally have characters from early 20th century or from during the Civil War, Caucasia has its characters set in the late 20th century and that is why they are not only believable to a modern reader but also quite differently in their approach to race issues.

The novel thus focuses on the development of a racial identity that goes well beyond the strict boundaries of whiteness and blackness. Senna achieves the purpose of construction a whole new definition of racial identity through the character of Birdie who is half white and half black but can easily pass for a white person since she takes after her white mother.

Her sister Cole on the other hand looks black and this creates an interesting and complex contrast where Birdie is raised like a black girl, going to all black school and has a black sister but looks white and feels more comfortable with white girls. Set in 1970s decade, the novel chronicles the struggles of Birdie as she tries to find a racial identity for herself that is neither too black nor too white.

Though highly preferred by her rich maternal grandmother who refers to Cole only as "your sister," Birdie still loves her sister deeply and the same goes for Cole who protects Birdie from sling remarks of black girls at their black school. However circumstances and politics separate the two girls and Birdie is forced to go underground with her mother while Cole leaves for Brazil with her father and his new black girlfriend. Throughout the novel, Birdie tries to establish an identity for herself through variety of experiences.

While still in Boston, she tries to fit in with the black girls and be more like her black sister. In New Hampshire, she learns the meaning of being white through her friend Mona. This is when she understands what whiteness really is as others consider her white Jewish girl and openly allow themselves to be racist in front of her as they ridicule the only black girl at school. It is finally at Aurora that Birdie learns to negotiate the boundary of skin color carefully.

Even though her time at the woman commune is short, Birdie learns an important lesson that she doesn't belong to either race completely and hence must tread carefully between whiteness and blackness so she can use it to her advantage to forge an identity that truly defines her white/black self. Birdie's character reinforces the author's complete rejection of racial binary that divides people into a world of either and/or.

You can either be black or you are white but Senna wants to go beyond that strict binary condition and hence creates a character through which a new identity is forged. This new identity is not based on theories of multiculturalism either because even a multicultural identity is based on ethnicity and race. Instead Birdie advocates identity based on multiple affiliations and a person's ability and choice to connect or de-connect with those affiliations.

But the novel also raises and exposes the hypocrisy of whiteness that still that persists in our society even though whites would consider themselves anything but racist in this modern society. In this connection, Hooks argues, "In white supremacist society, white people can safely imagine that they are invisible to black people since the power they have historically asserted and even now collectively assert over black people accorded them the right to control black gaze." (Hooks, p.

340) For Birdie however there is a huge challenge that emerges from being black with a white skin. While the blacks would normally choose to ignore a white girl in a black school, the same doesn't work for Birdie since she is essentially raised as a black girl and wants to be accepted as one in her school mainly because she doesn't want to "lose Cole for good" (62).

What is truly interesting in this scenario is the black gaze, which is forced to acknowledge the presence of a white girl who is working hard to be accepted as a black person. Birdie is visibly white but to be able to pass as a black, her performance must be believable. It must be so convincing as to force the black gaze to take notice. And that is what Birdie tries to achieve during her time in Boston.

But blackness is a pervasive issue at the black school and this is one experience in her life that teaches Birdie what it means to be a white and be ignored because of that. Even despite her best efforts to pass as a black, her obvious white skin color puts her in an awkward situation where is rejected by black girls and the eventually by the black gaze.

The first instance of this appears on the first day of school when "at the end of each class, everyone stands and says, Black is beautiful. Loud and clear" (44) but when it is Birdie's turn to repeat these words, she can only manage to wonder aloud, "Black is beautiful?" (45).

This further creates a division between herself and others at the school as one girl later comments, "Guess you must be ugly."(45) the torturing and tormenting continues till Cole takes a stand and threatens other girls with bodily harm that they finally leave Birdie alone. Even though Birdie is no longer tortured for her white skin, it does become a problem for her because girls decide not to include her in their groups and thus Birdie is left friendless and doesn't have a real sense of belonging in that school.

Birdie works hard to assert her blackness in an otherwise white body. She learns to speak like black and practices her black speech but her skin color still manages to create division between her and the other black girls. She is also invisible to her father who treats Cole more as his child than Birdie.

Birdie refers to Cole as Deck's "young, gifted and black prodigy" (55), the "proof that his blackness hadn't been completely blanched- that his body still held the power to leave a mark." (56) The earlier narratives of whiteness and blackness treat race as something written in stone. Danzy Senna transcends that approach to show that blackness and whiteness are nothing more than performances that can be donned and abandoned at will.

This is reflected in the efforts of Birdie to pass for a black girl when she changes to wardrobe to include, "Sergio Valente Jeans, a pink vest, a jeans jacket with sparkles of the collars and spanking white Nike Sneakers." (63) the whole process of turning black for Birdie is symbolic of the shallowness of racial identity.

A few changes in wardrobe and hairstyle, some changes in speech warrant her entry into "blackness" as her friend Maria responds: "so you black?" (63) Birdie then goes on to change her hairstyle and gets some curls. This makes her more black in the mirror but Senna raises the question: is this blackness or whiteness is all about? Then answer we get from her novel and from Birdie's character is an emphatic "YES." Color-based identity is something that can be fabricated at will.

Blackness and whiteness become hollow forces when seen through Birdie's eyes and her performances. The utter shallowness of skin-based identity is further exposed when Birdie is on the.