Coming of Age in Mississippi

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Anne Moody, writes an inspiring and heart touching autobiography of growing in rural area of Mississippi, as a poor black woman. Coming of Age in Mississippi, is not only about the life of Moody, but how Jim Crow laws affected colored folks and the struggle for civil rights. This book is especially eye opening because it shows the variation of Moody's thoughts with her age. Not only is it an autobiography but in some aspects a history book. Moody, coveys the hardships of being black in the south right at the start of the book. Moody is the eldest of two in the beginning. The difficulties of her sharecropper parents is clear as Moody and Adline had to be babysat by her cousin George who sets the house on fire and also treats Moody very badly. Her father leaves them for a fairer skinned woman called Florence, while Toosweet Moody’s mom is pregnant with his baby. This does not only show the difficulties of being black but how hard it was for a black women to survive. The Struggle can be seen when Moody has to take care of Adline and Junior at such a young age. The pain is evident as Toosweet works to hard and barely makes enough money to feed her children. Although this story might not be uncommon it conveyed through eyes of a girl who lived and breathed and experienced this hardships starting at such a young age. As Moody gets older she soon realizes that the friends she had made in Centerville “ all of a sudden they were white, and their whiteness made them better than [her]”(Moody 34) Working life of the black folks in mississippi is also demonstrated in a manner that is heartwrenching. Starting with Moody she starts work at such an early age and it is evident that she does not realize to the extent of an adult, the racial te... ... middle of paper ... ...g of Age in Mississippi, it is not an unusual story for the early days of black history but it offers the unique perspective of a black student and worker. It shows to a personal level the amount of work and hardships the blacks endured. Moody shows the hate for whites “But [She] also hated Negroes. [She] hated them for not standing up and doing something about the murders. In fact, I think I had a stronger resentment toward Negroes for letting the whites kill them than toward whites. Anyways it was at this stage in my life that I began to look upon Negro men as cowards" (Moody 136) It also shows the strength and the inward looking power of a very passionate and dedicated young negro woman. However personal this autobiography may be it shows the history of Civil Rights Movement and the power of an incredible black child who grew into an astonishing black woman.

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