Anne Moody Coming Of Age

The experiences one faces at an early age affect how they live the rest of their life. Some have positive experiences, other have negative ones. Those who face hardships either do nothing and live a quiet life in desperation or others take action and try to make a change. Younger generations have much more motivation to make change compared to the older generations who have struggled for a while. Anne Moody is the main character in the book Coming of Age, which describes her own experiences during the Civil rights era. Her experiences at home, work and at school taught her about the significance of race in American social life as well as the differences in the lives of white and black people. These differences stem from consumption, leisure

and entertainment and family life at home. Anne Moody’s life in poverty, experience in segregated schools, and intimidation and prejudice in the workplace all prepared her to join the Civil Rights movement.
At home Anne Moody experienced poverty, and a poor relationship with her father. Early in her life, Anne witnessed her father leave the family due to an affair he was involved in. Anne’s mother punched her husband, “but this didn’t stop him from going by Florence’s place.” Now that Anne’s father was gone, the family could no longer survive on her mother’s low wages and they were forced to move into “the best two-room house” they had ever lived in. The Johnson’s were a white family Anne worked for, they owned a large two-story house and the interior was filled with beautiful furniture. For whites, a lavish home was common, whereas Anne was excited that their two-room house had new flooring and a toilet. At the movie theater, Anne went down to the white lobby to meet with her friends from the neighborhood, but this caused a lot of commotion from other moviegoers. The white children stopped playing with Anne and her siblings for weeks. When they finally returned it was not the same for Anne, “...all of a sudden they were white, and their whiteness made them better than me…. everything they owned and everything connected with them was better than what was available to me.” This was a key point in Anne’s life because she came to understand how significant race was in American social life and how different the lives of blacks and whites were. Anne spent the majority of her childhood in poverty, which resulted in a lack of proper nutrition. Anne lived off of beans and bread, she had no knowledge of meat, vegetables or salads. The motif of food is brought up quite often within the book and it marks the distinctions in the status of blacks and whites in America. Anne survived off beans, bread and peanut butter if she was lucky while whites had meats, vegetables, soups and salads. Because of Anne’s new understanding of the significance of race in American social life, she was able to spot the differences in the lives of blacks and whites and realize change is necessary. Her road to making a change would start by becoming a Civil Rights activist.
Anne spent her childhood and teen years attending segregated schools.

She received a quality education, something that was uncommon for African Americans during the civil rights era. She was the second runner up for valedictorian at her school, and she was even smarter than Wayne, the son of Anne’s employer Mrs. Burke, who was white and supposed to be superior in all aspects. During a day at work, Anne engaged in a conversation with Mrs. Burke over the integration of public high schools in the area. Anne was okay with the idea, she believed that there was no difference between her helping Wayne at home and sitting in a classroom with him. Mrs. Burke’s response was not uncommon, “she stormed out of the dining room, her face burning with anger.” Many whites reacted to this decision with anger as seen in the image of the desegregation of Central High School. The image shows fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine, surrounded by an angry white crowd. Southern politicians went as far as trying to reverse the court order in Brown v. Board of Education. They believed the integration of public schools would destroy the public education system in America and they pledged to use all lawful means to reverse the

decision.
These negative experiences Anne faced helped add to her hate for Centreville and her aspiration to get out of the town and make a change.
Anne’s experiences at work were filled with intimidation and prejudice.

After the first few days of work Mrs. Burke immediately brought up the murder of Emmett Till, an African American boy who was savagely beaten by a group of white men because he whistled at a white woman. Mrs. Burke said, “Negroes up North have no respect for people. They think that they can get away with anything.” She was sending Anne a message as if she better watch herself and not get out of hand because of what can happen to African Americans her age. This intimidation bred Anne’s hate for the men who murdered Emmett Till and all the other whites who murdered African Americans, but she also hated African Americans for not standing up and doing something about the murders. Mrs. Burke stereotypes Anne when she is looking for a tutor for her son Wayne. Anne was able to complete Wayne’s algebra problems in no time, which came as a surprise to Mrs. Burke. She assumed that Anne was incapable of completing her white son’s problems. Anne and her brother also face prejudice from Mrs. Burke when she loses her coin purse. Mrs. Burke asks Anne if she has seen it then goes outside to harass Junior, Anne’s brother. Anne watched Mrs. Burke as “she shook him down and turned his pockets inside out.” Mrs. Burke assumed that either Anne or Junior would have stolen her coin purse because of their skin color. After this incident, Anne decides to quit her job, “I am not coming back…we work Mrs. Burke so we won’t have

to steal,” Anne stated. This incident was a stepping stone towards becoming an activist, Anne was pushed around and intimidated by whites, quitting her job was the first step towards making a change in her life.
The intimidation and prejudice at work, her experience in segregated schools and her life in poverty all prepared Anne for becoming a civil rights activist. Anne’s early life helps shape her thought process, her negative experiences inspired her to make a change and not let white people from stepping over her anymore. The younger generations are the most important to these movements as they are the most motivated compared to Anne who was frustrated and tired at the end of the book. The young twelve-year-old boy Anne sees on the bus ride to Washington is symbolic for the hope of the continuing civil rights movement.