Category: Coming of Age

Introduction

The early life of Anne Moody forms the basis of the book, ‘Coming of Age in Mississippi’. This book covers her life from the time she was four up to when she was twenty-four years of age. During this period of her life, she witnessed the extremes of racism between the black and white Americans in Mississippi.

Essie Mae, the main character of the book, is in real sense Anne Moody. The book records her struggles with racism in the small town, Centerville, which is in Mississippi. This essay involves a close look of the actions or rather deeds of Anne Moody in different stages of her life as expressed in the book that help in answering the question, Was Anne Moody a radical?

Anne Moody’s Childhood

Anne came from an impoverished family. She watched her parents struggle to cater for the needs of the family. They used to spend six days of the week working in a nuclear waste plant. Despite their everyday work, they were not able to fulfil the needs of their children satisfactorily. Anne was unable to watch this and just sit back. At the age of nine, Moody started working for the whites where she was able to get six dollars a week.

This helped her mother in providing for the needs of the family so that they could not feed on the same type of food everyday. This strongly showed that Anne was not comfortable with her family’s poor state and had to do something to solve the problem. She opted to work as a junior. At the age of fifteen, while living with her uncle, Anne got a job at a café in an attempt to help her mother to bring up her siblings.

Her high school life

It was during her high school education that she realised that racism between the blacks and whites had really taken roots in their society. This was after she witnessed the murder of a fourteen-year-old boy, Emmet Till. The whites killed Emmet for allegedly winking at a white woman. At that time, Anne had many questions regarding the death of the boy but she could not easily find their answers. This is because many blacks were afraid of talking against the whites.

This is evident in the instance where her own mother could not tell her anything about the boy’s murder. She also refused to tell her the meaning of NAACP (National Association of the Advancement of Coloured People). Fortunately, Mrs. Rice was able to tell her the whole truth including the relationship between the whites and blacks in South America at that time. This triggered Anne’s desire to know more about the NAACP movement.

In this incident, Moody demonstrated her discomfort about the social state between the whites and the blacks. Her curiosity to know more about the death of the boy and the meaning of radical portrays her as a potential radical person. However, the book does not show any efforts of Moody trying to rescue the boy from the murder. In her college life, she revealed more of her desire to change the social situation of the people of Mississippi.

College life

Anne Moody went to Natchez College. It was during her second year that she was able to go against the rules and regulations of an already established institution. Moody helped to organize a boycott of the campus cafeteria after a student found a maggot in her plate during one of the meals.

In another occasion during her college life, Moody together with a fellow student decided to go into the “Whites Only” section of the railways bus depot. This acted as a way of sending a message to the whites that it was time for them to put to an end to their social segregation since all people require the same treatment irrespective of their skin colour.

By going to the “whites only” section, Moody demonstrated her courage to bring equality to the two races. The single antiracism act that she did not plan or even get support from black masses clearly presented Moody as a radical person who was ready to bring a social change to the society. Though the people that gathered around them at the railways bus depot threatened violence to the two women, this did not stop Moody’s antiracism deeds.

The movement

After the experiencing the cruelty of the whites to the blacks in Mississippi, Moody’s determination to fight for freedom from racism increased tremendously. Moody became a staunch member of the civil rights movement. In one occasion, Moody accompanied by three other civil right workers went to Woolworth’s lunch counter. After they took their seats, no one served them. Later on, high school students harassed the four.

Moody posits, “They smeared them with ketchup, mustard, sugar, pies and everything on the counter… The abuse continued for almost three hours until Dr. Beittel, the president of Tougaloo College who arrived after receiving information about the violence, rescued them” (1998, p.226).

The book records that ninety white police officers stood and watched the ordeal that lasted for almost three hours. To some extend this killed Moody’s morale to bring change to the social situation in Mississippi. This experience helped Moody “understand how sick Mississippi whites were and how incurable their disease was which could prompt them even to kill to preserve the segregated Southern way of life” (1998, p.267).

In this case, Moody thought that racism was incurable which portrayed her as one who had started loosing hope in the reforms that she wanted to bring to the society. Owing to this, Moody is not fully radical because her thoughts did not rhyme with her actions. As the story closes, Moody boards a bus ferrying civil rights activists on their way to Washington D.C.; surprisingly, Moody did not participate in the singing of the civil rights movement’s anthem (Moody, 1998, p.384).

Moody’s failure to join in singing the anthem of the other civil right movement is a sign of loss of interest in the fight against racism which is evident in the last two sentences of the autobiography, ‘‘I WONDER. I really WONDER’’ (Moody, 1998, p.384). Moody’s passion to fight against racism had died down and she was wondering if it would ever succeed.

Conclusion

Moody was not able to bring freedom to the blacks in Mississippi. Nevertheless, she was able to set a good example to those who wanted the vice to end not only in Mississippi but also to the rest of the world. Moody was a young black who pioneered the fight against racism but she did not bring the change she wanted to the Mississippi community. This is the reason as to why one might think of Anne Moody as being radical and not so radical.

Reference

Moody, A. (1968). Coming Of Age in Mississippi. New York: Dial Press.

Introduction

The word radical is used in connection with the way a person actually tends to solve a problem or provide a solution to a complex situation. The word is often used to refer to the use of extreme measures, which often lead to violent actions against those with differing views.

In her autobiographical book, coming of age in Mississippi, Anne Moody is depicted as a person with multiple characters and therefore makes it hard for one to actually describe her using one character trait. Therefore, the question of whether Moody was radical or not so radical does not have a straight forward answer. Such a matter can only be extensively tackled through an elaborate analysis of different events and actions that are reflected in her memoir.

Radical Traits

Coming of age in Mississippi is an autobiographical book by Anne Moody. The book tries to highlight the lives of black American in the state of Mississippi, and in particular the day-to-day life of a girl child and women in general through the mind of a child. The book is in addition reflects the struggles of blacks in the state of Mississippi, during and after the civil right movements. Moreover, the book brings out clearly and demonstrates the great effort and victories associated with the movement.

The first section of the book highlights Anne’s childhood life, where she is depicted as a child from a very poor family. Similarly, the book clearly illustrates the hardships the girl is undergoing, from poverty to social tribulations such as the break-up of her parent’s marriage. The book has however a brighter side of Anne’s childhood life, where she is portrayed as a “bright, competitive and hardworking student” (Moody 16).

In addition, Anne Moody is demonstrated as a responsible girl who regardless of her tender age, is involved in domestic chore, often is found working as a house cleaner in whites’ families, in order to supplement her family’s meager earning, and eventually places something to eat on the table. According to the writer, Moody lived well with her employers. This was evidenced in the fact that she was always “invited to eat with them on the dinning table”. (Moody 17)

On other front, however, Anne’s character traits are questionable, and one may be tempted to refer to her as radical. The first instance of radicalism is portrayed in her college life, where she had been awarded a basketball scholarship for being an excellent student in class and equally a brilliant player.

Contrary to her childhood life, while in college, Anne was now more aware of the suffering of the blacks through brutal murder and discrimination (Moody 25). In addition, Moody (25) notes that the gap between the white and the blacks was widening every now and then, and that blacks were becoming poorer every other day. According to the author, “Anne was fed up with the racial segregation and the college life as well”.

It was at college when Anne started having issues with some teachers and within no time, the tension between her and teachers was overboard. Anne was opposed to the quality of food provided by the college and ultimately led the other students in demonstrating against the food. Putting this action into consideration, it may be in order to suggest that Anne behaved violently by taking such drastic measures. This is the first time her radical character traits are clearly reflected.

When Anne relocates to Tougaloo College to complete her final two years of college, she becomes aware of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) (Moody 58). It is during her last two years at Tougaloo that she decided to join the Association, and eventually became very active in its activities.

This did not auger well with the administration and the local Sheriff warned her mother, that Anne’s actions were bound to bring problems to the family (Moody 145). Despite her mother’s, pleas, Anne was adamant to continue with the Association’s activities.

In this regard, one is likely to qualify Anne’s behaviors as those of a radical person. Owing to the fact that Anne did not give heed to either her mother or the local police sheriff, means that she did not mind the repercussions her actions were to cause to her family. This was a very radical action and in normal circumstances, one would have thought that Anne was to give her family the first priority and that jeopardizing their lives was not a matter of discussion.

While she was still involved with the activities of NAACP, the author remarks that Anne started contemplating how the “racial inequalities could be overthrown” (Moody, 167). This was equally a very irrational idea, because by all means, it meant that Anne was to be more involved in the Association’s activities. She engages in this new campaign, notwithstanding the fact that the Association had been prohibited in the area.

Similarly, Anne can be termed as a radical person when one puts into consideration some decisions she made in the course of her service to the Association. Although one can argue that, she was affected by her youthful age and the rebellious tendencies associated with many youths, it is equally important to note that some decision she made were so sensitive for one to completely make them alone and mostly at such a tender age.

Moody (167), remarks that Anne went to the extent of changing her name from Essie Mae to Anne Mae, simply because she felt that Essie Mae sounded more of “barnyard animal’s” name.

Her radical actions do not stop there as she at the same time walked out on her family; because her mother’s lover was not fair on her and that, he had started showing signs of sexual advances on her. This resulted in Anne moving with her father and eventually abandoning her mother and other siblings.

Not-so-Radical Traits

It is in her service to the ‘Coalition for the Organization of Racial Equality (CORE)’, that once again her character turns from radical to not so radical or somehow moderate. Though Jackson, Mississippi was a place well known for violence due to black rebellion and white supremacy, Anne is not at a single event involved in any radical measure or action.

While confronted with the task of mobilizing Negroes in order to take part in freedom voting, Anne is composed and rarely loses her temper. She is rational in most of her decision, including the idea of trying to allure voters through providing them with food and clothing. Though most of these Negro voters are ignorant of their right and always want something for nothing, Anne is categorical to them in all her approach to enlighten them.

Another incident that shows her not- so- radical character is when she is subjected to surveillance by an armed police officer. Though she had the support of many high school young men, she never took the advantage of it to harass the police officer.

Once again, when her friend and work mate Doris proposed they start carrying guns, Anne is initially against the idea, and only concurs to it once she is convinced that the arms will typically be used for hunting and not for any violent action. In addition, Anne was always sober in her decisions regardless of the fact that she is on the wanted list of the white supremacists, which means that she could be killed at any time.

Conclusion

Although the author has portrayed Anne as a person with mixed character traits, one can comfortably settle for the fact that Anne acted in a radical manner more in her early teenage years than in her later years. From her life in high school all through to college and finally in her working period, Moody is reflected as a person who has finally come of age and who can comfortably handle and contain her emotions.

Work Cited

Moody, Anne. Coming of age in Mississippi. New York: Delta Trade Paperbacks, 2004.

The book, “Coming of Age in Mississippi,” is Moody’s autobiography about the life she underwent while she was growing up in the times of Jim Crow and her involvement in civil rights associations in Mississippi. The book provides a truly appealing sight at what was happening in Mississippi in the era before the formation of civil rights association.

The book also portrays uphill struggle, suffering, and insufficient opportunities which African Americans were facing and even though Moody emphasizes her life history completely on herself, people are able to distinguish the differences between her generation and the generation of her mother.

All what Moody faced while in college and work, together with observing the terror and activities of her own mother, made Moody to turn into a woman of charge with the aim of making change happen within the African American community.

In many parts, colorism can be observed beginning to appear and it was an exciting historical outlook to the subject and its several roots. Moody herself is not invulnerable from what was happening in the past, she talked about several occasions of hatred which African Americans had.

Before gradually recognizing that many people did not have opportunities in many occasions, they had to protect their work, if not their families would go hungry.

It is interesting that she was truthful in the book, putting across her personal work which she began when still young and it actually underlined the awful situations which domestic employees at times experienced. Domestic job, like the way we have encounter throughout this mission, was often the last option which everyone was interested in pursuing and the pay was unfavorable.

Besides coping with long hours, uphill struggle, and inadequate recompense, domestic aid usually had to cover their actual thoughts and education as Moody was required to. “I was sick of pretending, sick of selling my feelings for a dollar a day” (Moody 226)

Change happened gradually in Mississippi since Black generations observed political activism from two distinct viewpoints. For Elnire, her child activism’s behaviors were risky and out of step with the traditions where Blacks had endured the unkind truths of Mississippi prior to the disordered 1960s.

Moody’s mother, born in 1920s, faced the Great Depression and the appearance of Ku Klux Klan as she grew up. She was there when African Americans self-depended and have only option of taking certain jobs, which was mainly manual works or working for the whites.

They often receive minimal pay and Elnire survived her whole life in horror of whites and that horror provoked all her choices. Blacks and whites where provided with rules of conduct and death were offered to people who break the rules.

Her fear of whites was intensely ingrained within Elnire and within African Americans. Elnire was evenly demoralized by African Americans who had a lighter skin just the same as she was to whites.

Moody was born around a year before World War Two and she was extremely affected by the killings of Emmitt Till who had similar age as her during her death. The murder happened in a county which was very close to her home and it affected her deeply (Moody 5).

The impact developed into a total hatred of whites in areas close to that country and Till, before his death, had been charged, sentenced, and put to death by a white man.

Till’s sentence for breaking the rules with a white woman was a real evidence for Elnire and other African Americans to remain in their location with the whites or experience similar consequences. But for Moody, what she experienced and observed motivated the hatred she had against whites. Hatred was a huge contributor to her involvement in civil rights movement.

The relationship which had established between Moody and the son of Burke is another observation of variations in generation between people who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s and people who were adults at that time.

Since Moody was an excellent learner, she was employed as a teacher for Burke’s son and Moody notes that it appeared to worry Burke that African American girl was clever than her own child. The relationship between her son and Moody surprised Burke and this showed that racism existed in Burke but not within children.

It appeared that the two children were treating the world in a totally different manner than their elders. Children, whether white or black, were confused why some people should not interact with each other, regardless of their external dissimilarities.

All through the book, Moody illustrates the variations between her attitudes and her mother’s attitudes and both are ruled by two contradicting ideas derived from the experiences they had as they grew up in their different eras.

Elnire considered enthusiastically that breaking the rules which have been set by whites were both idiotic and deadly, but Moody thought that remaining within such common policies were also idiotic and deadly.

After she was admitted in Tougaloo College, she considered that if the black society could team up, they could perform what was essential to transform their futures. She believed that it would be possible due to the achievements the youths in 1960s had obtained in the Civil Rights movement.

Moody was often putting more efforts in her attempts to convince other African Americans to participate in voting, but she was actually fighting the extremely deep-rooted terror and beliefs of the generation of her mother.

Apparently, she had no knowledge that their fear was influential just as insightful as she was concerning several aspects of Moody’s life. Moody did not differentiate between fellow African Americans’ fear and what she had faced in her life.

Moody experienced great terror, a type of great fear which can weaken anybody, when Ku Klux Klan appeared searching for her one day due to her involvement in activism. Moody and her fellow blacks stayed still while hiding in bushes in the streets, away from the house where they spent time with her partners up to the time it was secure to leave and go back to the house.

Moody was employed as a scrap in a chicken plant and during this event, the book actually underlines the manner in which efforts to set up did not function. Since every person was very disheartened with very little payments or opportunities, protesting for reasonable wages and this approach did not support them.

Since there were several people who had no money and therefore opposed the strikes so that they can be paid any amount, hence discouraging those trying to fight for wages increase.

It is remarkable that Moody mentioned afterward, when discussing the civil rights movement she engaged in, concerning lack of interest of African Americans and the manner in which they were in agreement to do anything, yet Moody herself destabilized attempts of African Americans attempting to do anything before, but it actually portrayed the developments and transformations which were happening.

Conclusion

From the above discussion, we can conclude that African Americans faced huge racism and discrimination, mostly at their workplaces where they were paid minimal wages. Since they were earning little money, they remained in poverty and were undermined by whites.

Her mother’s generation remained in fear and intimidation and they in part passed on to Moody’s generation. It was essential for the African Americas to participate in civil rights movement so that they can get together and fights for these awful experiences.

The young generation did not see the reason why adult generation practices discrimination and racism among themselves, this was seen from the friendship which Moody and Burke’s son had. Eventually, as seen in the last session of the book, there were demonstrations, protests, organizations, and other actions which African Americans were engaging in.

We observe the efforts and adversity from African Americans and also actual degree of violence and discrimination which African Americans experienced. As stated by Moody, “Before the sit-in I had always hated the whites in Mississippi. Now I knew it was impossible for me to have sickness.

The whites had a disease, an incurable disease in its final stage” (Moody 334). Moody’s book is exiting and educative which can be recommended to everybody since it informs many things concerning the Americans’ history but also regarding the way Americans lived and about civil rights movement.

Works Cited

Moody, Anne. Coming of age in Mississippi. New York: Laurel, 1968. Print.