91 pages • 3 hours read
One Crazy Summer
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Symbols & Motifs
Cecile’s Printing Press
Cecile's printing press occupies her kitchen table and is the means by which she publishes her poetry and contributes to the Black Panthers’ cause (albeit with reluctance). Cecile’s press symbolizes her voice as an artist and her prioritization of being an artist over being a mother. While Cecile goes through the slow, deliberate process of setting up the type for printing her poems, Delphine states that Cecile looks like she is “fixed in prayer” (109). This comparison to praying shows that Delphine recognizes that the work of an artist is in some ways sacred. It is set apart from ordinary experiences, and therefore worthy of reverence.
Cecile's decision to set up her press in her kitchen—a place associated with food preparation, family, and nurturing—reflects her unwillingness to assume the responsibilities of motherhood. When she allows Delphine to help her print a poem, the print turns out lopsided. Cecile claims that the print is a waste of paper, signifying her belief that creating art is solitary work and not something she is willing to sacrifice to build a relationship with her daughter.
Miss Patty Cake
Miss Patty Cake is the white, blue-eyed, blonde doll that Fern carries around. Giving Miss Patty Cake to Fern was one of the last things Cecile did before abandoning her children. For Crazy Kelvin, Miss Patty Cake represents Fern's acceptance of white beauty standards. For the other children at the People's Center, Miss Patty Cake not only represents white beauty standards, but also Fern's immaturity. For Fern, however, the doll represents one of her only connections to her mother.
The Community Center
The People's Center, called "the center" by most characters, is where the Black Panthers administer their breakfast program to the Oakland community and where the Gaither sisters and other children learn about black history and activism. The center represents the self-help and education that were part of the practical answers to inequality in the United States during the 1960s.
The Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge first appears in the novel during the Gaither sisters’ flight to Oakland. Delphine surrenders to her childlike desire to get a glimpse of the bridge by pushing her younger sister out of the way. She is able to see the bridge fully when she takes her sisters on a trip to San Francisco. The bridge represents the few moments when Delphine accepts her role as a child.
Delphine’s Timex Watch
Delphine's Timex watch is brown and practical rather than girly and cute, like the watch Vonetta once owned. Delphine uses the watch to keep track of the girls, to limit her brief relaxation during baths, and to catch the bus in Oakland. Early in the novel, Delphine says she “can count on it to keep things running on schedule” (49), but she also wishes that her “Timex wasn't so reliable or the ticking so steady” (50). The watch not only symbolizes the pride Delphine feels from being a responsible older sister, but also the burden this role imposes.
San Francisco
During the 1960s, San Francisco was associated with a countercultural movement that gave rise to a rejection of traditional morality, materialism, and societal structures. The trip that Delphine and her sisters take to the city allows them to have encounters with people outside of Oakland, which at moments feels suffocating to Delphine. San Francisco initially represents a sense of freedom and adventure that the girls expected to experience when they came to California. However, their encounter with a racist store owner in San Francisco makes them appreciate Oakland more.
Oakland
During the 1960s, Oakland had a large population of African Americans. Unfortunately, the Oakland Police Department was brutal and racist during this time. Opposition to police brutality inspired the founding of the Black Panthers by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, which is why Oakland is an important symbol of the Black Panthers’ activism.
For Delphine, Oakland initially represents a place of repression. She sees Oakland as “poor and back, where lines formed for free breakfasts and men stood around because there were no jobs and too much liquor” (156). However, Delphine's view of Oakland shifts after the Gaither sisters’ excursion to San Francisco. There, they experience many forms of racism. Afterwards, Delphine sees Oakland as a place where “[n]o one stared, unless they were staring because they didn't like your shoes [….] Not because you were black or they thought you were stealing” (165). Delphine eventually views Oakland as a safe place of community for African Americans.
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