In Danzy Senna’s novel, Caucasia, the notion of racial identity is prevalent. It is especially apparent in the character of Birdie Lee. She seems to think of blackness as looking and acting like her father. Since her sister is more visibly similar to their father, Birdie doesn’t feel as connected to him. She notes that she inherited his asthma and his logical way of thinking, but since she doesn’t look like him, she doesn’t relate to him as well as Cole does.

Birdie’s idea of race is probably influenced by the reactions of people around her. For example, when she first arrives at Nkrumah, the other students harass her because she looks white. In order to fit in, she starts to “act” black and really study the other students’ mannerisms and appearances and compares them to her own. Then, once she has become Jesse Goldman and enters the public school in New Hampshire, she is influenced by the other students, and starts to “act” white in order to fit in. It seems that she can pass as white or black, and this makes her more susceptible to the forces around her. Since she can change her identity to fit her surroundings, her racial pride and identity are weak, and this affects her actions and thoughts throughout the book.