preview

Coming of Age in Mississippi Essay

Decent Essays
Open Document

As if growing up wasn't turbulent enough, Anne Moody grew up during a crucial time in American History. It was during this time that race and civil rights took center stage in her home state of Mississippi. Young women face many physical and emotional changes during their teenage years, regardless of when and where they grew up. However, for Anne Moody, and other young black women, there was the instability in race relations to deal with as well.

During her younger childhood years, Anne was never exposed to the reality of how blacks and whites truly got along. Fortunately for her, she was never the victim of a racially motivated attack. Therefore she never truly knew how bad it was. She was always surrounded with white people who saw …show more content…

Anne had always maintained a close relationship with her mother. She respected her work ethic and her determination to raise her family the best she could. Yet most young women face a time in their lives when their relationship with their mother is strained. This somewhat natural occurrence took place, but was intensified by Anne's own discovery of how the world really worked, in terms of race relations. I think that Anne always found her mother's lack of communication, regarding the race situation, as a weakness. This created more distrust for her mother at an already vulnerable time in her life.

Anne was curious about why murders, lynching and mysterious fires were taking place in and around her community. Every time she went to her mother for advice or discussion on race relations, she was immediately redirected to a subject less controversial. If Anne wanted to figure any of these issues out, she was going to have to do it on her own.

At this point, Anne found herself searching for answers. Not only about racial tensions but about her developing body. She was entering a new phase in her life, where

1 Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi(New York: Laurel, 1968), her body was gaining a lot of attention. This left Anne feeling uncomfortable about the changes that were taking place within her. "I looked so good that it became somewhat of a problem. Whenever I was in town white men would stare me into the ground."2 Anne was

Get Access