Introduction
ZZ Packer’s “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” explores themes of identity, race, and gender and how those aspects of the heroine’s character intersect to generate inner conflicts. In the book, the main character is presented with internal conflicts that stem from their experiences of race, identity, and sexuality. These conflicts are depicted in a nuanced and complex manner, highlighting the ways in which these issues are deeply embedded in the character’s psyche.
Packer delves into Dina’s mind through various narrative techniques such as stream-of-consciousness, dialogue, and interior monologue, allowing the reader to see the world from their perspective. Dina’s struggle to reconcile her attraction to both men and women, her isolation from her black community, and her complicated relationship with her absent father all contribute to her confusion and anxiety, generating a range of interconnected identity conflicts that penetrate the story. I believe that racial, gender, and class conflicts are profoundly interlinked and, therefore, require a combined analysis to fully understand the author’s message of the multilayered nature of an identity conflict facilitated by the complexity and diversity of human experiences.
Sexuality and Emotional Isolation
The story focuses mainly on Dina’s discovery of her sexuality and gender identity through the development of her relationship with Heidi. In this case, Dina’s internal crisis arises from her lack of experience interpreting her feelings and emotions toward others. Engaging with a girl she genuinely likes causes confusion and anxiety, resulting in emotional isolation and an internal struggle to reconcile her feelings toward men and women.
Heidi’s sympathy further frustrates Dina, who is confused by the need to respond to the other girl’s affection. Though Dina threatens, “Next time, I’ll have to chop it off,” when Heidi puts her arm around Dina’s neck, she finds the act pleasant, reflecting her inner conflict about embracing her sexuality (Packer 9). Through this lens, Packer develops one aspect of the heroine’s identity crisis and emphasizes her social isolation, which is also reflected in Dina’s other internal conflicts. Particularly, her emerging sexuality is heavily challenged by the social expectations imposed by her race and gender.
Racial and Class Discomfort in a White Environment
Dina struggles with her identity as a black woman in a predominantly white environment, but not in a way the reader would expect. Dina’s identity conflict is initially introduced through her refusal to engage with her white classmates and her tendency to isolate herself. The story begins with this issue when the counselor addresses Dina’s refusal to engage in a group activity: “As a person of color, you shouldn’t have to fit into any white, patriarchal system” (Packer 1). However, the counselor’s attempt to level with Dina is seen as nothing more than the “I’m-down-with-the-struggle voice,” devoid of any proper understanding of Dina’s internal struggle that arises from something more than the question of race (Packer 1).
One of the few black students in a predominantly white environment, Dina becomes hostile toward other people for one reason or another, struggling to accept her racial identity and choosing instead to distance herself from it. Her refusal to communicate with white students and teachers stems, at least partially, from her race and class insecurities, which are developed throughout the story. Through Dina’s perception of other people and of herself, Packer dives into the intersections of race and class that culminate in Dina’s feeling of otherness and social isolation.
Dina also distances herself from other black students, emphasizing her disdain toward them more than almost any white character. When she describes other people of color, Dina internally antagonizes them through grotesque, nearly racist, overemphasizing certain traits. She often tells people around her in an almost comical way (Mura 113). Describing a black classmate with “overly elastic expressions resembling a series of facial exercises” and framing the scene in Commons through a tense dialogue with a person from the “black table,” Dina expresses her refusal to limit her identity to the societal expectations of race and gender (Packer 2; Packer 10).
These episodes, however, also shed light on the class aspect of Dina’s identity conflict, culminating in Dr. Raeburn’s comment on “black living in a white world,” viewing her habit of “pretending” as a “defense mechanism” (Packer 28-29). Though this perspective may seem like another interpretation of white racism through devaluing the heroine’s emotional intelligence, Dina agrees with it in a way. Her relationship with her absent father, the loss of her mother, and the family’s poverty are expressed through the need to literally and figuratively “yank the cushions off the couch” to get some money, underlining her internal class struggle (Packer 19). This aspect of Dina’s internal conflict intersects with her racial and gender struggles to generate a complex identity crisis.
Conclusion
ZZ Packer’s “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” is a powerful exploration of identity conflict and how it can manifest in individuals’ lives. The story offers a nuanced portrayal of the complexities of identity and the impact of social and cultural factors on individuals’ sense of self. Packer highlights the challenges that individuals have to overcome as they look for ways to combine their racial, gender, and class identity with their personal and professional aspirations. Through Dina’s journey, Packer offers a compelling critique of the ways in which racism, class discrimination, and gender expectations can shape individuals’ identities and emphasizes the importance of self-exploration and self-discovery in the face of these challenges. The author’s message lies in the idea of the multifaceted nature of an identity conflict facilitated by the complexity of the human psyche and the diversity of human experiences.
Works Cited
Mura, David. A Stranger’s Journey: Race, Identity, and Narrative Craft in Writing. University of Georgia Press, 2018.
Packer, ZZ. “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere.” The New Yorker, Web.