Z.z. Packer’s “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere”: Summary And Review
Drinking coffee elsewhere by Z.Z. The main character of Packer’s stories is Dina. Dina was born in Baltimore, raised there and then went to Yale. Dina has a difficult time getting along with new people. It is possible that she is experiencing difficult life events. Dina’s initial isolation is partly due to these events. Dina, a Yale freshman, is instructed by the orientation program to play games. Dina refuses the trust game with these mostly white students.
In the next round, students will describe a physical object that they would love to be. Dina is not amused and says that she’d like to be an object, such as a gun. This would allow her to eliminate everyone on the planet. The dean hears her and is not pleased with the response. Dina’s response was because she dislikes many of the Yale students because they were once slave owners. Dina is now required to meet with her dean and attend weekly counseling sessions because of the incident. Dina’s door is knocked by someone later in the novel. Dina opens her door to find a crying white girl. Dina discovers that the girl in question is also a student of poetry. This girl’s name is Heidi.
Dina asked Heidi why she was so upset. Heidi replied that the boys had called her derogatory names. Heidi and Dina grow closer over the following days. Heidi jokes about Dina being a lesbian. Dina initially doesn’t take Heidi’s jokes seriously, but she begins to doubt her sexuality later. Dina, Heidi and their friends both apply for dishwasher jobs in the dining room. Dina can have conflicts with some people that she meets in the restaurant. Dina’s and Heidi’s relationship grows stronger every time they share a shift.
Dina starts to wonder if Heidi is attractive to her. It’s the only thing I will say to avoid spoiling the story. Drinking Coffee Alone is about identity, authority and race. Identity is a major theme. Dina is at the center of this book, as she struggles to discover who she really is. Dina has to also deal with the fact that she is African American at a school where most of the students are white. Dina is not fond of or respects the authorities.
As an example, the Dean may send a counselor into Dina’s room. Dina deals with the counsellor initially, but it doesn’t go on for long. Dina begins to show up naked so that the counselor feels uncomfortable. Dina shows up naked to make the counselor uncomfortable. Dina’s situation was certainly not helped at all by the dean, who probably tried to help her. Dina probably felt more outcast after this. Brownies is a title of one story in the collection. The story takes place at a Girl Scouts camp. There is an African American group and a white group in this Girl Scout camp. The white women are called “babyish”. White girls are also seen with toys. African American Girls are too old to be doing such things. They call other girls “babies”. During the story, it appears that one of those in Dina’s group called the N word. Arnetta was the one who made this claim. Arnetta claims that the girls should fight against the whites. They soon discover that the white girls are mentally challenged as they creep up behind the other group.
Arnetta’s accuser of using the N-word couldn’t form a full sentence. This passage was interesting to me because it demonstrated how stereotyping and racism are mutually reinforcing. It’s something everyone does. Everyone stereotypes or assumes certain things. This passage demonstrates the importance of thinking before you act. This book is interesting. Dina’s perspectives are shown in this book. The book also illustrates some of the modern problems people face every day. The book does a great job of focusing on Dina’s life and the events that happened in it. Dina goes through a variety of events, some when she’s young, others as an older woman. The book I chose was a decent one, but I would have picked another book if it were up to me. The reason is that I prefer to read books with a lot of action.
