Much of Brownies is very funny. What role does humor have in thestory?

• It is often said that humor helps us listen to difficult subjects or be open to things that wed rather not hear. The humor in Brownies feels particularly Southern, as if we are reading a story by Flannery OConnor (which makes sense as the story is set in Georgia). The humor offsets this dark and disturbing story by providing some lighthearted moments.

ZZ Packers dialogue is often droll. For example, Octavia says, I mean, I really dont know why its even called campingall we ever do with Nature is find some twigs and say something like, Wow, this fell from a tree (par. 44). The story also brims with religious humor. In paragraph 6, it is particularly funny when Laurel describes that Mrs. Margolin was especially fond of imparting religious aphorisms by means of acrosticsSatan was the Serpent Always Tempting and Noisome; shed refer to the Bible as Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth (par. 6). Lastly, Packers descriptions of the adult women is especially funny and shows Laurels erudition and wit. For example, the leader of Troop 909 has a severe pageboy hairdo of an ancient Egyptian who lays on a picnic blanket, sphinx-like, while eating a banana (par. 40). Later, when the tearful white girls all crowd around her, it reminded Laurel of a hog Id seen on a field trip, where all the little hogs gathered about the mother at feeding time (par. 148).