Anne Moody Coming of Age in Mississippi Quotes

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COMING OF AGE IN MISSISSIPPI
The Coming of Age in Mississippi is a memoir of Ann Moody who gives her experiences as a black in Mississippi. The book elaborates about the way racism had dominated the country to extents of going to extremes of committing murder by the whites. In addition, the book narrates Moody’s experiences, the trouble she went through as a child, starting to take on responsibilities at the age of nine years due to abandonment by their father (Moody, 3). This happens after earlier struggles of poverty that they had gone through since her parents could not even put daily meal on the table. Moody’s interests and involvement for politics commence at her years of teenage, specifically at high school where she starts noticing discrimination of the blacks, through to college and up to her full scale involvement in fighting for civil rights. Moody’s gender shaped her experiences both in racism and in her activism. Various incidents also prove that racism and sexism equally created double hardship for Moody.
Moody’s gender enabled her to shape her experiences in her growing up. Being a woman subjected her in racism from a tender age. This is from the time she started working for the whites at the age of nine. Moody got her share of mistreatment during her domestic service to the whites as well as through other encounters. In her cultural background, women were really discriminated and were not believed to engage in politics, as they were considered incapable. When at a very tender age, Moody would be beaten mercilessly by her parents even though they could not provide enough food for the family. She had to start doing domestic chores for the whites at the age of nine years. This shows how responsible she had to become as a young woman who was concerned about her family’s welfare (Moody, 8). In the black community, men were known to mistreat women, as the book indicates the abandonment of their father after things toughen. This must have given Moody a stronger will to stand out as a woman in fighting for what she believed in, since she continued being responsible when at the age of fourteen, she would work while still going to school. The entire scenario of sexism among the community and the activists, pushed Moody to a greater determination and strong will to protest against it, as well as fight for the civil rights.
In her activism experience, Moody was determined to go against all odds in defining what she stands for. Regardless of the criticism from the fellow activists, Moody was willing to go extra miles to challenge their lack of confidence in her, which demonstrated her boldness as well as her capability. The book elaborates on how on the many times that Moody was shut when she enquired to know several things regarding the black’s discrimination. This was at the beginning of her engagement in political activities, especially when a black boy who had visited Mississippi from Chicago was killed after whistling at a white woman. In addition, Moody finds confidence in her fellow woman, Mrs. Rice who would tell her everything that she needed to know. Mrs. Rice participates a great deal in Moody’s political maturity and understanding. She offers Moody with all the queries that other blacks could not answer regarding the death of t...