Mrs Anne Moody Sparknotes

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The memoir of Mrs. Anne Moody is a chilling tale of the oppressive natures that young black women often faced while growing up in the south. In Coming of Age in Mississippi, Moody vividly details her experiences of growing up in Mississippi from childhood through to her mid-twenties. This memoir tells the tale of overcoming adversity, fixed-mindset versus a growth-mindset, and the loss of hope in the face of adversity. While this memoir emphasizes the racial tension and divide, it also focuses on the impact family and community have on an individual, which is essential in understanding the outlook Anne Moody had on the world throughout this book. Anne Moody started facing adversity at birth, she fought to earn a right to education and an improved …show more content…

Optimism may be an essential factor in remaining steadfast in the face of oppressive forces, however, behind the facade of hope lies the truth in fear. With each passing moment and each innocent black man being jailed or killed, the audience reads a small piece of Mrs. Moody’s personality and resolve fade away. “Martin Luther King went on and on talking about his dream. I sat there thinking that in Canton we never have had time to sleep, much less dream.(p. 335)” This is one instance in which despite the positivity, Anne Moody’s attitude slips to one of negativity, causing the entirety of her mentality towards working with the NAACP to a negative light after many failed attempts. With the passing of many men her eventual mental strength dissipates, in the end the sight of C.O. Chinn in the chain gang in prison makes her flee from Canton and search for anywhere to escape the oppression. The final pages in the memoir show you the mental toll that fighting takes on a person, and makes her strength more

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