Senna achieves the purpose of construction a whole new definition of racial identity through the character of Birdie who is half white and half black but can easily pass for a white person since she takes after her white mother. The novel thus focuses on the development of a racial identity that goes well beyond the strict boundaries of whiteness and blackness. This is because unlike many novels based on construction and reconstruction of race which normally have characters from early 20th century or from during the Civil War, Caucasia has its characters set in the late 20th century and that is why they are not only believable to a modern reader but also quite differently in their approach to race issues. Chapter 2 provides a background of the relevant literature, ad Chapter 3 analyzes data within the text through sociolinguistic methodology, and Chapter 4 offers a discussion of the analysis, in addition to a conclusion.Danzy Senna's debut novel Caucasia was published in 1988 and that in itself is a critical part of the character of Birdie. Chapter 1 introduces the rationale behind the current project. The current thesis is composed of four chapters. The current research project asks two primary questions: 1) How is language variation is Caucasia (Senna, 1998) motivated by the race of both speaker and the audience and 2) How do mixed race and self-defining monoracial audiences evaluate language variation in Caucasia (Senna, 1998)? The overarching research objective is the exploration of mixed race identity. The current research project is one such study, examining character dialogue of self-defining monoracial and black-white mixed race interlocutors in Danzy Senna’s contemporary interracial novel, Caucasia. To date, there are few, if any, studies which apply sociolinguistic theories of language variation to discourse in interracial literature. The current study seeks to bridge a connection between sociolinguistics and literature. Additionally, previous studies examining mixed race identity in interracial literature use traditional literary or historical methodologies. Previous studies examining sociolinguistic language variation, race, and identity focus primarily on self-defining monoracial audiences. Language variation, audience design, and racial identity: an analysis of discourse in Danzy Senna's "Caucasia"
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