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
By the time school is back in session, Mrs. Claiborne already has someone else working for her, and Essie Mae must find a new job. Soon, Mama, Essie Mae, and the other children get a job picking up and selling pecans for Mr. Wheeler. They use the money that the earned from the pecans to buy new clothes for the children.
The experience of picking pecans for Mr. Wheeler further highlights Mama’s resilience, creativity, and adaptability in ensuring that her children have the things they need, such as food and clothes.
Themes
Essie Mae gets a job babysitting for Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, who have one child named Donna and a baby on the way. Mrs. Jenkins tells Essie Mae to call her by her first name, Linda Jean. One day, however, Linda Jean’s mother, Mrs. Burke, overhears Essie Mae calling her Linda Jean, and she becomes angry. Linda Jean tells Essie Mae that Mrs. Burke has not been supportive of her marriage in the past. Essie Mae also overhears Mrs. Burke telling Linda Jean that she is overpaying Essie Mae at 12 dollars per week. Though Essie Mae trusts Linda Jean, the next time she gets paid, Linda Jean only hands her six dollars.
When Linda Jean encourages Essie Mae to call her by her first name, she joins the list of white people who have treated Essie Mae more like an equal than Miss Pearl and her family have. However, Essie Mae is disillusioned when Linda Jean succumbs to the social pressure from her mother to pay Essie Mae less. Though Linda Jean had initially shown a hopeful generational progress from the racism of her mother’s generation, the incident reminds Essie Mae and the reader of the pervasiveness of racist economic and social power dynamics in Mississippi in the 1950s.
Themes
Right before having her new baby, Mama and Raymond get married despite Miss Pearl’s disapproval. Though Mama and Raymond had been fighting, they seem happy when they come back from the courthouse. Mama has the baby and names him Raymond Jr. She calls him Jerry for short.
Mama and Raymond’s marriage in spite of Miss Pearl’s disapproval is a symbolic representation of Mama taking control over her own life and taking power within her relationship. The birth of Jerry provides hope for a new era of the family.
Themes
