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Jacqueline
Odella, or Dell, is Jacqueline’s older sister. She is named after her Uncle Odell, who died before her birth. Odella is a voracious reader and an excellent student. Instead of playing playground games with the other children, Odella prefers to read whenever she can. Jacqueline and Odella go to the same schools, where Jacqueline feels that she is constantly compared to her sister since Odella is so smart.
Odella Quotes in Brown Girl Dreaming
The Brown Girl Dreaming quotes below are all either spoken by Odella or refer to Odella. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1
Quotes
We’re as good as anybody.
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Part 2
Quotes
Retelling each story.
Making up what I didn’t understand
or missed when voices dropped too low, I talk
until my sister and brother’s soft breaths tell me
they’ve fallen
asleep.
Then I let the stories live
inside my head, again and again
until the real world fades back
into cricket lullabies
and my own dreams.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3
Quotes
Sometimes, I lie about my father.
He died, I say, in a car wreck or…
He’s coming soon…
if my sister’s nearby she shakes her head. Says,
She’s making up stories again. Says,
We don’t have a father anymore.
Says,
Our grandfather’s our father now.
Says,
Sometimes, that’s the way things happen.
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Our feet are beginning to belong in two different worlds— Greenville
and New York. We don’t know how to come
home and leave
home
behind us.
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Brown Girl Dreaming LitChart as a printable PDF.
Odella Quotes in Brown Girl Dreaming
The Brown Girl Dreaming quotes below are all either spoken by Odella or refer to Odella. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1
Quotes
We’re as good as anybody.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2
Quotes
Retelling each story.
Making up what I didn’t understand
or missed when voices dropped too low, I talk
until my sister and brother’s soft breaths tell me
they’ve fallen
asleep.
Then I let the stories live
inside my head, again and again
until the real world fades back
into cricket lullabies
and my own dreams.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 3
Quotes
Sometimes, I lie about my father.
He died, I say, in a car wreck or…
He’s coming soon…
if my sister’s nearby she shakes her head. Says,
She’s making up stories again. Says,
We don’t have a father anymore.
Says,
Our grandfather’s our father now.
Says,
Sometimes, that’s the way things happen.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Our feet are beginning to belong in two different worlds— Greenville
and New York. We don’t know how to come
home and leave
home
behind us.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
