Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody

Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody

Introduction

Anne Moody's autobiography 'Coming of Age in Mississippi' is an account of the struggle that led her to become an active civil rights activist. The 1968 book relates the way she and many Blacks like her are subjected to racially discriminative practices in the state of Mississippi. The whole book is replete with events and moments that portrayed the hatred existing in the society of the Whites for the Blacks. These events eventually shape her struggle for the rights of the Blacks and in making her realize the gravity of the issue and the extent to which there was a need for work in this direction. The struggle in the twenty three years of her life makes her stand as a courageous women in a community that lacked courage to speak up for their rights.

Discussion

The Book is divided into four sections. Starting from her childhood years to her formally joining as a social activist, the story is a transition of Anne Moody from being part of a problem to becoming a part of the solution. It begins with the early experiences of her childhood when her family were living a miserable life on a plantation where only the white owner of the farm has the facility of electricity. After her father leaves them to marry another woman, life becomes more difficult for them. They have to move to different places and Anne has to do domestic work in white people's homes after school in order to provide food and clothes to her siblings. This part of her life is spent in extreme poverty.

It is when she enters high school that she begins to realize the discriminatory practices that exist in the society around her. The killing ...