In the words of some dead old Danish windbag, "to thine own self be true." Sounds simple enough. But what if you don't know who you are? Delphine is still figuring that part out in One Crazy Summer. She knows that she's black and she's a sister (and second mom) to Vonetta and Fern, but beyond that, she's not sure yet. She's not even certain the whole Black Power movement is even for her. As the summer progresses, though, Delphine starts to shore up her beliefs and sense of self—and she's not necessarily who she thinks she may be when the book opens.
Questions About Identity
- How does Delphine grow and change over the course of the book? Is she the same person at the end as she was at the beginning?
- How do the themes of identity and abandonment intersect? Cecile acts like she has to leave her kids in order to be herself. Is that fair? Is finding yourself worth abandoning your kids?
- Why is Crazy Kelvin so caught up in racial identity? How does this impact the way he views himself and others? Should everyone who is a part of the movement have the same view of identity?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
One Crazy Summer shows us that experiences shape identity.
Even though Delphine matures in the book, she's still fundamentally the same person at the end as she was when we first met her.