AnNiE jOhN by Jamaica Kincaid

I found this novel very easy to read for a couple of reasons. First, because the language used was very common and the print was fairly big. But, the main reason Annie John was such an easy read is because I felt as if I had traveled back through time to when I was 10-17. This novel is so easy to relate to, especially for females, and it's very comforting knowing that someone else went through the same changes and awkwardness that I once did. Annie's John's relationship with her mother reflected my relationship with my mother when i was that age. At the beggining of the novel when Annie was about 10, she absolutely adored her mother and looked up to her. Annie stated "how important she felt to be with her mother" (15). She also said, "When my eyes rested on my mother, she was beautiful" (19). It was clear to the reader that Annie thought her mother was God's gift to the world, an infallible, gorgeous woman. When I was around 10, I also thought my mom was someone without flaws, who I could just admire and look up to. When Annie hit the age of 12, puberty started to kick in and she began to feel bitterness towards the whole world. She said, "I was never able to wear my own dress or see my mother in hers without feeling bitterness and hatred, directed not so much toward my mother as toward, I suppose, life in general"(26). At this point in her life, she was no longer at her mother's side all of the time, instead she was taught all about manners, how to play the piano, etc. Annie started to develop an attitude with her mother and talk back to her, which is something she never would have thought of doing before. I went through this same ordeal with my mother and it seemed as if everything she said I wanted to challenge and contradict. AFter Annie started her period, she almost felt empowered because she was one of the first girls to get it, and it helped her excel in sports. Along with getting her period and growing older, she felt as if she no longer loved her mother, as she stated on pg. 53. She wanted to do everything that her mother did not want her to do. By developing friendships with Gwen and the Red girl and also playing marbles, Annie was acting out against her mother because she did not want to become the person that her mother wanted her to. Annie felt as if her mother was keeping her away from the outside world. It was because of her strong feelings that she needed to escape her mother and her home that she made the decision to go to England and potentially stay there for good. As Annie was in her room for the last time she said, "As I was lying there my heart could have burst open with joy at the thought of never having to see any of it again"(132). I feel that she needed to leave in order to really appreciate her mother and father and her home. I know that Annie John kind of put up a tough front and said that she would not miss her home, in particular her mother, but I would like to believe that after Annie was away for awhile, she realized how important home and family really is, even though the people and the place are not idealistic as they used to be when she was young.

The House on Mango Street

I thought one of the most interesting chapters in The House on Mango Street was the chapter where Esperanza explained her name and where it came from. She was named after her great-grandmother, who was supposedly a free spirit,"a wild horse of a woman," but was forced to marry and be tied down by her great-grandfather. Esperanza says that her great-grandmother never forgave her husband. She said that, "She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women site their sadness on an elbow"(12). Espereranza then goes on to explain that although she has inherited her great-grandmother's name, she does not want to inherit her place by the window. Esperanza recognizes at such a young age what women go through not just in her culture, but everywhere. She sees that women often suppress their own identities in order to conform to what society thinks a woman should be like...submissive to men, meak, and most importantly a good mother and housewife. Esperanza does not want to end up like her great-grandmother and so many other women in the world. The whole book is describing Esperanza's identity-buliding and how she wants to break away from Mango Street and have her own house. She feels that if she gets away from Mango Street, she will not be sucked into the life that her great-grandmother once had. As Esperanza and her friends grow up, Esperanza witnesses first-hand what it is like to be tied down by a man. Sally gets married at such a young age and she is afraid to even go outside without her husband's permission. Seeing this even more in her Mango STreet society, Esperanza pushes harder and harder towards getting away from it.