39 pages • 1 hour read
Anne MoodyComing Of Age In Mississippi
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1968A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Coming of Age in a White Dominant Society
In this coming-of-age memoir, Moody narrates her physical, spiritual, educational, and psychological growth from the age of 4 to when she is a young woman in her 20s working for voter registration in Mississippi. Coming of Age in Mississippi is nonfiction, but Moody’s autobiography is similar to a type of fiction called a Bildungsroman, a coming-of-age novel. In the Bildungsroman, the main character begins a quest, usually in response to loss, and the novels ends with main character coming into maturity. The chronological sequence of Moody’s narrative mirrors the Bildungsroman. A coming-of-age novel often highlights education, and Coming of Age gives a detailed account of Moody’s experience from first grade to college graduation. Education is also important to Moody because she is the first person in her family to graduate from college—an accomplishment she has done mostly without help from her family.
Whereas coming-of-age novels in the European tradition usually end in the main character accepting societal values, Coming of Age in Mississippi does not. Moody’s particular quest involves trying to understand why white society regards her and other Negroes as less than equal and even less than human. She deliberately works against the predominant white society, which creates difficulties in her personal life as well as in the larger system of racial inequality and segregation. As a teenager, for example, Moody resists Mrs. Burke’s attempts to subdue her, and Mama cannot understand why Moody will not be deferential to Mrs. Burke. Moody protests segregation at a sit-in, which angers white men in Jackson. Moody’s refusal to accept white societal values and practices creates a conflict throughout the book that she never resolves.
Coming of Age ends on a note of simultaneous hope and despair. Moody’s journey to adulthood is triumphant in her persistence and personal sacrifice for equal rights, but that journey is sad in the recognition that her efforts may simply not be enough without systemic change—and that the ultimate goal of systemic change is uncertain and ongoing. The maturity that characterizes the ending of a Bildungsroman may be Moody’s realization that systemic change is difficult and cannot be brought about simply by the force of her own will and anger.
Racial Inequality in Mid-Century Rural Mississippi
Coming of Age in Mississippi is steeped in racial equality, starting from the introductory lines: “I am still haunted by dreams of the time we lived on Mr. Carter’s plantation” (31). The book also closes with the song “We Shall Overcome” and Moody musing, “I wonder” (384). Racial inequality shapes everything about Moody’s life. The inequality also affects her economically. She is born to a poor, black sharecropping family living on white plantation in Mississippi, and her family lives on land owned by white people until Raymond builds them a house. Even then, Moody works for white people to support herself and her family. When Moody finds out that black people own land in Madison County, she learns that the county decides which farmers get land allotments. The white farmers get most of the allotments. Black farmers receive fewer allotments, which renders them unable to compete economically. The system keeps them poor.
Racial inequality also affects Moody socially. She cannot sit with her white playmates in the movie theatre, and she attends segregated schools. Moody appreciates a friendship with Wayne Burke, but she cannot fully enjoy it because Mrs. Burke feels threatened by the possibility of interracial romance. The consequences of the friendship become dangerous. When Moody arrives at Mrs. Burke’s house to help Wayne with algebra and finds no one there, she walks home and worries about retaliation: “I trembled with fear every time a car drove past” (154).
Inequality also affects the way that black people treat each other. Because Raymond’s family members are light-skinned and Mama’s skin is dark, Miss Pearl treats Mama with disdain and even takes away one of Mama’s children, presumably for economic reasons. Moody is at first frightened of going to Tougaloo College because a friend tells her, “Baby, you’re too black. You gotta be high yellow with a rich-ass daddy” (239). When Moody meets one of her new roommates, a “white-looking girl” (241), Moody does not feel welcomed.
Consequences of Civil Rights Activism in the 1960s
Although Moody becomes involved in the civil rights movement at Tougaloo College, her willingness to work for change and justice begins in earnest at Natchez College. When the cook serves the students grits with maggots, Moody leads a student boycott of the cafeteria and demands a new cook. She also advocates for herself when Miss Adams punishes her unfairly for having a guest in her room during the study hour. In both instances, Moody receives some measure of redress. Moody’s determination prepares her well for her activism with NAACP, SNCC, and CORE during her time at Tougaloo, including a sit-in at the Woolworth’s lunch counter. The activism gives her a sense of purpose: “I had found something outside myself that gave meaning to my life” (263).
However, Moody’s activism makes her a target. The police harass her and her fellow workers, and a particular policeman follows Moody and takes photos. Eventually her name and photo appear on a Klan blacklist. Moody’s activist work results in grandmother Winnie refusing to let Moody into her house. It also means that all mail addressed to Mama is opened at the local post office. Some family members ask Moody not to write to them for fear of their own safety. One of Moody’s uncles is beaten up, and another is shot.
Some Negroes do not appreciate the activism that Moody and others engage in on their behalf. Many of the older generation are not interested in activist work; the teenagers seem to be the most engaged, and Moody often finds life and hope when working with the teens. Other Negroes do not want to be involved in the Movement because they cannot afford to be fired or evicted. At times, they resent Moody and her friends because of the repercussions of the activist work. After the church bombing in Birmingham, Moody feels anger from Negroes in the street. Many seem to say, “Get out of here. You’ll get us killed” (319). Often Moody feels just as angry with Negroes as she does with white people.
