Fourth Graders

Irony is used in the text as a way to demonstrate how immature and superficial the Brownie troop of fourth graders are. Many of the girls present lack of intelligence by attempting to overcompensate for this trait. Arnetta and Octavia take pride in saying three syllabled words such as chihuahua and Caucasian, despite not being able to spell chihuahua and not knowing the meaning of Caucasian. After Daphne enunciates the last words of her winning poem, the girls stand up and clap despite not understanding her words, as though to seem sophisticated and aware of the meaning only the adults actually seemed to understand. One of the most blatant cases of irony is the immediate reaction of the girls once realizing the white girls in Troop 909 are disabled. The entire plot of fighting the other troop in the bathroom is based on the alleged use of the word n——- by a member of 909, yet the girls refer to them as r——– as soon as they understand that the white girls have special needs. Arnetta and most of the other Brownie girls fake the sense of moral obligation while plotting the bathroom fight, despite the fact that Arnetta cannot even identify the correct troop member who allegedly said it to Daphne, who never confirms the incident either. Arnetta and Octavia use Daphne as a pawn under the façade of caring for their fellow troop member, as seen in the girls’ poor treatment and aggression towards her. Other instances such as Octavia lacking any sympathy for her mother’s divorce as well as her and Arnetta’s frequent acts of getting “Snot” to shut up further proves the façade of a moral compass. Irony within the text is an important element in the exposition of who Arnetta and Octavia are as people and their true intentions that conflict with their justifications for revenge. While reading, I began to notice the blatant contradictions the girls make as well as how much they care about their image. Every contradiction that stood out to me seemed to include how the girls truly think versus what they pretend to know or believe. The main goals of this performance are to flaunt intelligence or incite conflict, such as a fight with Troop 909. Arnetta and Octavia especially seem to present themselves in any way that makes them look impressive, such as being a leader and being smart. Besides Daphne and Laurel, the rest of the Brownie troop mostly thinks superficially about their image and hardly considers what is right.