Birdie Lee, seven years old at the beginning of the novel, is the protagonist of Caucasia. From the beginning, Birdie's parents have disagreed over her. Sandy Lee wants to name her daughter Jesse, after her white suffragette grandmother. Deck Lee wants to name her Patrice, after the black African revolutionary Patrice Lumumba. Finally, everyone starts calling the girl Birdie, but no name is ever officially entered on her birth certificate. This is highly symbolic, since as the light-skinned daughter of a white woman and black man, Birdie is perpetually caught between two worlds.
Initially, Birdie assumes she looks like her beloved older sister, Cole. Only when Birdie starts school does she realize that while Cole looks like a typical black girl, Birdie herself appears white. The disparity in the two sisters' appearance means they are.....
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