I’m Down (Memoir) Blog 2

Although the following paragraph may seem awful and cruel, its also funny because you can imagine Wolff’s innocence. The reason it works is because she’s good about her mistakes and takes them lightly and as learning experiences.

In the pages leading up to this passage, her father told her to go play with the neighbourhood kids while he finished his game of dominos. Mishna see’s a group of kids and asks if she can play with them. The leader of the group, “Nay-Nay” says that their playing with Barbie’s. Mishna doesn’t know what a Barbie is but runs to her house and grabs her favourite doll, Tommy the turtle.

“The neighbourhood kids were all standing in front of Latifa’s house fully into some sort of Barbie orgy. Hot, wild, Barbie-on-Barbie action, complete with sound effects like, ‘uh, uh, uh.’ And besides discovering lesbianism, I found that what I was holding could not have been further from a Barbie. ‘What’s that, whitey?’ Nay-Nay asked, point to my doll.
‘Tommy,’ I said. ‘He’s a turtle.’
‘You thought you could bring your broke-ass turtle down here to play Barbies?’
I shrugged.
And with that, Nay-Nay began cackling in a way that quickly caught on with the rest of the group. I just stood on the corner holding Tommy the Turtle as five black girls holding plastic white women laughed at my stupidity. I was desperate and argued, ‘Mine’s a Barbie doll, too… Its just a different kind of Barbie!’
To which Latifa, a girl a year older than me, exclaimed, ‘That ain’t no Barbie doll! That’s something out of the Good-will goodie box!’”

From an early age, Mishna learns that she has to stay on her feet and that other kids will take a shot if they get a chance. This idea is repeated throughout the book with many events and problems happening because she talked without thinking. This passage also makes reference to her family’s poverty which is paralleled in later chapters.