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
Lenora, a girl who was kicked off her father’s plantation, moves into Freedom House. Anne uses the ice cream and cake from her birthday party to throw a party for the high school students in Canton. She bids the students to spread the word about their upcoming clothing drive, which hundreds of people attend. Anne is angry that the people won’t register to vote or work with CORE but will accept clothing from the drive. They refuse to write their names and addresses, fearing that CORE will trick them. After the drive, people continue to come by the office hoping to receive more goods. Still, many refuse to register to vote.
Anne’s use of her birthday cake and ice cream to throw a party for Canton’s teenagers recalls her decision at Natchez College to share her money with her fellow students during the boycott. However, Canton’s residents still show a generational divide in their involvement with the civil rights movement when the adults refuse to vote. Though Anne is understanding of why a Black Canton resident might get clothing but not register to vote, the lack of progress is frustrating for her.
Themes
A few days after the clothing drive, a Black high school girl is raped by the white farmer she works for. Still, the Black population is too desperate for money to stop sending their kids to pick cotton. After the rape, white men start to openly assault Black women more often. The Ku Klux Klan continues to threaten the CORE office and Anne fears that the threats will become a reality.
The fact that Black parents are unable to protect their children due to their economic position reinforces the systemic link between poverty and racism: the poverty, caused by systemic racism, drives Black people to put themselves in danger of experiencing more violent racism. The rape of the Black high school girl also reinforces the gendered dimension of this violence.
Themes
Anne and the other female CORE residents, Lenora and Doris, are continually harassed by the police and other white people of Canton. Both Doris and Lenora buy guns for protection and sleep next to them. Anne, seeing how Doris has changed since they first met, realizes how deeply fear can motivate a person. Anne sometimes distrusts her fellow CORE members, but shoves those thoughts aside, knowing that the white oppressors thrive off disunity within the Black community.
Through the experience of the female CORE workers, Anne continues to reveal the intersection of gender and racism. Anne’s observations about the way that fear has changed Doris highlights the deep psychological toll that racism and violence can take on a person. Anne’s momentary distrust of her colleagues shows that she is not immune to the psychological tricks of the white oppressor.
Themes
A coalition of Mississippi civil rights groups called Council of Federated Organizations COFO comes together and discusses their plans to run a “freedom ballot.” Anne is skeptical about the freedom ballot, thinking that a “false campaign” is a waste of energy. However, most of the activists support the plan, and Anne works to make it happen. Still, older Black people resist voting in the freedom election, and Anne believes that the Movement’s only hope is young people whose “minds are susceptible to change.” When Anne shuts the windows of the CORE offices so the cops cannot see her run a meeting, she begins to be continually harassed by one cop, who has “hating eyes.” At the state fair, the cop traps her on a carnival ride.
Anne’s commitment to the freedom ballot even though she does not believe in its impact shows her commitment to helping her colleagues and the movement at large. Still, her focus remains on mobilizing the young people and forgoing symbolic victories for concrete ones. Though Anne briefly triumphs over the cop, his harassment of her demonstrates that she cannot escape their inherent societal power dynamic.
Themes
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After the carnival and after receiving another letter from Mama begging her to leave Mississippi, Anne wakes up in a panic. She decides to spend some time on Mrs. Chinn’s parents’ (Mr. and Mrs. Dearon) farm. She and Doris head out to the farm carrying guns, which Anne protests. At Mr. and Mrs. Dearons’ farm, Anne and Doris explore the peaceful woods. Mrs. Dearon serves them dinner, and Anne finds herself “flattering her just like one of those Baptist ministers would do.” But with Anne, “it wasn’t routine.” After dinner, Doris suggests that she and Anne do some target practice.
Anne’s decision to spend some time on the farm further illustrates the psychological toll that the movement has taken on her. Anne’s invocation of the Baptist ministers' flattery recalls her recent revelation about the role of religion in her own life. The target practice that she and Doris do underscores the fact that, even when on a farm deep in nature, the two women still must be vigilant about their own safety.
Themes
On their way back to Canton, Anne begins to feel panicked again. She once again begins to wonder about God’s existence, or whether “God changed as the individual changed.” She remarks on the injustice of the fact that most of the Black people in the South that she knows are humble, peaceful, religious people, and yet they are the ones who suffer.
Anne’s continuous reflection on God after her big revelation on her 23rd birthday hints at the idea that it takes a lifetime to grapple with existential questions. Her reflection on the suffering of the Black people reinforces her orientation towards justice.
Themes
Anne visits Jackson, where a friend shows her a Ku Klux Klan leaflet, which features Anne’s photo on a blacklist. Her photo sits alongside those of other civil rights activists, some of whose photos were already marked out to indicate that they’ve been killed. This realization is the biggest scare of Anne’s life. She decides to take a break from the Movement.
Anne’s photo in the Ku Klux Klan leaflet demonstrates her true impact in the civil rights movement. However, though she is doing excellent work that she believes in, her decision to take a break from the Movement is a necessary step for her mental health.
Themes
When the freedom vote takes place, the low turnout disappoints Anne. On the final evening of the vote, she tells her CORE colleagues that she is planning to take a break. They don’t take her seriously, not realizing how deeply frightened Anne has become. However, once her colleagues realize that she is serious about her decision, they try to convince her to stay. When her colleague George does not understand, she reflects on how different his experience is as a man; because of the danger posed to Anne and her fellow female volunteers as women, they were required to stay at home and were not able to let loose. Anne boards a train and leaves Jackson, but she knows that she will never truly leave the Movement.
Anne’s reflection on the gendered differences of her and George’s experiences explains the extra toll that working with the Movement takes on her. George’s lack of understanding for her experience furthers this gender divide. Her commitment to take a break despite the pressures of her colleagues to stay is a testament to her self-knowledge and instinct for self-preservation.
Themes
