In the short story “Brownies,” author ZZ Packer uses narrator Laurel to explore the tensions that exist between belonging to a community and maintaining individuality. While at camp with her troop of Brownies, she finds herself torn between achieving group inclusion and maintaining her own individualism. Although the events of the novella take place at Camp Crescendo, Packer is able to extend (and parallel) this struggle for identity beyond the walls of the camp and into the racially segregated society from which the girls and their families. Packer explores how an individual's inherent need to be included in a group consequently fuels segregation and prejudice against those outside the group in various social and societal strata. Although he ignores the catalytic events that occurred much later in the story, Packer explicitly makes us aware of The first paragraph indicates that Laurel and her troupe not only share a cohesive group identity, but that part of this unit is based on their obvious racial difference from the all-white group, Troop 909. The aggressive tone of this passage illustrates that there need not be an outright confrontation between the two groups ; the conflict is already there since Troop 909 is “doomed from day one” (Packer, 185). Before they even arrive at camp, group dynamics inherently form around race, which then leads to segregation, something that has only grown stronger throughout their lives in suburban Atlanta. Because their complete separation from the white community most likely stems from socio-economic factors, it becomes clear that Troop and Laurel's community are on the side of the "have-nots", fueling their prejudice and ignorance towards Troop. .... in the middle of paper ......op and within its black community to explore how racism and hatred can be transferred. Although Laurel is aware that the insults probably did not occur, she decides to accompany her troop to attack Troop 909 anyway, reaffirming her inclusion in the group but disagreeing with the justification. After reflecting on her father's experience with the Mennonites, she begins to understand that her troop's justifications have the same roots as her father's. Although none of the girls in Laurel's troop have been harmed in any way by Troop 909 or directly discriminated against by another white person, they still perceive that there is racially motivated interpersonal and cultural conflict . Disconcerted by the realization of this self-perpetuating cycle of racism and segregation, Laurel realizes that "there was something wicked in the world that I couldn't stop ».” (194).