Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Coming of Age in Mississippi, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Intersection of Racism and Poverty
Loss of Innocence
The Importance of Community
Gender and Racism
Religion and Hypocrisy
Summary
Analysis
Having returned to Centreville with her updated appearance, Anne begins to receive unwanted male attention, especially from white men. Her basketball and gymnastics coach, Mr. Hicks, also takes an interest in her. Mama hopes that Anne will marry him. However, when the other girls on the basketball team get jealous and begin fighting with Anne, Mr. Hicks adjusts his behavior, and Anne begins to “respect him again.”
Anne also begins to receive unwanted attention from Raymond, who looks at her suggestively. Anne becomes afraid of him and dresses more conservatively. Raymond’s feelings toward Anne come out in the form of anger, and this creates tension at home. Anne knows that if things get worse with Raymond, she will have to leave Centreville.
Anne’s discomfort at Raymond’s unwanted attention reflect the increasing tension in her home dynamic. Her decision to dress more conservatively highlights the unfair lengths that women had to go to at the time to take responsibility in preserving their own safety. Overall, this dynamic prevents Anne from expressing herself in her home.
Themes
One day, a Black man named Samuel O’Quinn is murdered. Anne remembers all the other violence against Black people that she has lived through. She reflects that “I hated myself and every Negro in Centreville for not putting a stop to the killings or at least putting up a fight.” On her way to church that Sunday, she sees Samuel O’Quinn’s blood stained on the sidewalk. She learns that Samuel had just come from up North, where he had been working with the NAACP and had planned to organize the Black community back at home. Anne hears that her principal, Principal Willis, is the one who betrayed Samuel and begins to have dreams about killing him.
Samuel O’Quinn’s murder deepens Anne’s disappointment with Centreville and, ultimately, her distrust in members of her community. Anne’s dreams of violence and hateful feelings illustrate the psychological toll that systemic racism and violence can have in a society where hope is followed by despair.
Themes
In the wake of Samuel O’Quinn’s murder, Anne starts to isolate herself. At home, she stays in her room to avoid Raymond. She plans to leave Centreville at the end of the semester. After a huge fight with Raymond, Anne expresses her feelings about Raymond to Mama, and a loud fight ensues. After this, Anne runs away from home to her Aunt, Miss Clara, and her husband, Leon.
The emotional turmoil of violence increasingly takes a toll on Anne. The fight with Raymond is the climax of her anger and Raymond's inappropriate behavior. Her decision to leave is a crucial point in her process of taking control of her own life.
Themes
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Miss Clara and Leon take Anne to Sheriff Ed Cassidy’s house, where she asks him to drive her to get her clothes. She tells Mama, “if I ever see you again, it won’t be here.” Adline cries as Anne moves out. Miss Clara and Leon then take Anne to Daddy’s house in Woodville so that she can live with him and his wife Emma. Anne is angry to see that Emma looks a lot like Florence—she has lighter skin and straight hair. Anne is surprised at how nice Daddy and Emma’s apartment is and how stable their relationship seems. She decides to live with them when the semester is over and live in Centreville with her Aunt Alberta in the meantime. Mama writes her letters begging her to come home, and Anne moves to Daddy’s and Emma’s early.
Though Anne’s decision to leave upsets her family, she prioritizes her own mental health. Upon arriving at Daddy’s house, her initial anger at seeing that Emma has lighter skin, like Florence, highlights the resentment that Anne still holds from Daddy’s treatment of the family and the colorism that she and Mama have experienced. However, the stability and comfort of Daddy and Emma’s home causes her to stay.
Themes
Daddy is visibly happy to have Anne around. Because Daddy makes good money, Anne does not have to get a job while living with them and receives an allowance. Emma takes Anne to buy furniture for her room. When Emma buys Anne the bedroom set that she wants rather than the one that Anne wants, Anne feels that Emma is using her as an excuse to get more money from Daddy.
Anne’s relationship with Emma is complex. Though Anne is more financially comfortable at Daddy’s house, Emma’s insistence on using the furniture money to get the furniture that she herself wants indicates tension in the household.
Themes
The next day, Emma takes Anne and Daddy to visit her family. Anne assumes that, because Emma is light-skinned, her family will treat Anne like Raymond’s family did. However, Anne is amazed at the way they welcome her and with the fun they have together as a family. She starts to respect Emma more, viewing her as a positive influence on her own family.
The kindness of Emma’s family changes Anne’s perspective on relationships between Black people with lighter skin and those with darker skin (a perspective previously shaped by Florence and Miss Pearl). Emma’s family dynamic also shows Anne new possibilities for family dynamics.
Themes
