Sherrie Character Analysis in Anita and Me

The farmer’s daughter is one of Anita’s two best friends at the beginning of the novel. Meena finds Sherrie pretty and sometimes wishes she looked like her. When Sherrie receives a horse, Anita begins to spend most of her time with her at her farm. Although Sherrie does not have a clearly defined personality, she proves most willing to follow Anita’s decisions, for example making fun of the nuns at Fat Sally’s school and listening to Anita’s boasts about beating up the Indian bank manager. Sherrie’s family moves out of Tollington by the end of the novel, after her father is compensated for the invasion of the motorway on part of his farm.

Sherrie Quotes in Anita and Me

The Anita and Me quotes below are all either spoken by Sherrie or refer to Sherrie. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Family Discipline and Guidance Theme Icon

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Oberon Books edition of Anita and Me published in 1996.

Sherrie did not even know that her parents were thinking of moving, Sherrie and Anita did not know what I suddenly realised now, that Deirdre had no intention, ever, of buying Anita a horse. Sorrow flooded me until it rose up to my eyes and made them sting. Anita, the same skinny harpy who had just narrowly missed gouging out another girl’s eyes, was now whispering lover’s endearments into a fat pony’s ears. She needed me maybe more than I needed her. There is a fine line between love and pity and I had just stepped over it.

Related Characters: (speaker), , ,

Page Number and Citation: 242

Explanation and Analysis:

Sherrie Character Timeline in Anita and Me

The timeline below shows where the character Sherrie appears in Anita and Me. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...Meena reach Mr. Ormerod’s shop, Meena recalls speaking to Anita Rutter and her closest friends, Sherrie and Fat Sally, a few days earlier. That day, Anita told Meena that the sailor... (full context)

...her most regular friends are Fat Sally, a shy girl from an upper-class background, and Sherrie, the farmer’s daughter. When Anita and Meena reach one of the alleyways (called “entries”) leading... (full context)

...a pony for Christmas and that she will later live in a shared apartment with Sherrie in London, which makes Meena feel jealous. (full context)

...must lead, as they move constantly from one place to the next. They run into Sherrie and Fat Sally, who have a lot of make-up on their faces and are wearing... (full context)

...Anita invites the other girls over, Dave “The Poet” has put his arm around her. Sherrie chooses to stand by a boy called Tonio, which leaves Fat Sally and the last... (full context)

Meena then walks toward Sherrie and Tonio. She sees a bruise on Sherrie’s neck and does not understand why Sherrie... (full context)

...Meena wonders if Roberto discovered what happened with the Poet. When Meena asks Anita about Sherrie and Fat Sally, Anita angrily replies that Fat Sally’s mother does not allow her to... (full context)

...realizes that all the girls in the magazine are pretty and look like Anita or Sherrie. (full context)

...seductive, and understands why people might be drawn to her. The girls then run into Sherrie and, after discussing wearing a bra—which Meena knows Anita doesn’t, despite her claims—Anita asks Sherrie... (full context)

...Sally take a detour by her house to show her that they are walking to Sherrie’s farm. Meena, however, is surprised to note that she does not care about their behavior.... (full context)

...She goes to Anita’s house, where Tracey answers the door, saying that Anita is at Sherrie’s farm. Noticing how much Tracey has grown, and that her facial features express both gentleness... (full context)

When the two girls reach Sherrie’s farm, Meena chats with Sherrie’s father for a few moments. He tells her that he... (full context)

Sherrie tells the girls to tie the dog up so that it doesn’t scare the horses,... (full context)

...After the fight, with bald patches on her head, Anita calmly stands up to ride Sherrie’s horse Trixie. When she does so, Meena is awed by Anita’s horseback riding talent. She... (full context)

After Sherrie comments that it will be wonderful for Anita to have a horse so that they... (full context)

...and prepares to throw a rock at her dog’s head. However, both Hairy Neddy and Sherrie prevent her from doing so. After releasing the rock, Anita goes limp. (full context)

...meantime, during the summer, everyone seems to be enjoying a carefree life. Meena goes to Sherrie’s farm almost every day, where she spends time with Anita. However, although Meena learns to... (full context)

One day at Sherrie’s farm, Anita and Sherrie begin sharing information about their respective bras. Meena does not want... (full context)

Sherrie then asks Anita if she is seeing someone, but Anita refuses to say anything, although... (full context)

By the spring, when Sherrie’s family has moved out and there are plans to turn the old school into a... (full context)