In Anne Moodys novel Coming of Age in Mississippi she examines the hardships of her life growing up in a racially charged society. From the very beginning Anne was scared of people with skin whiter than hers. This was most likely cause by her mothers unwillingness to discuss the subject of race openly with her children. This lack of knowledge set the stage for a very confused child early on, and then later a woman who saw fault in both blacks and whites.The mulatto children at Eds house bewildered and frightened her, though it was not the first time she had seen white people it was her first social interaction with them. The very concept that a white person would aide her in any way did not fit into the world Annes mother had built around her. When she confronted her mother with this her mother explained that the children were only half white. This is all that her mother would say though because race was not a subject Mamma like to talk about.Other incidents early on in childhood shaped Annes activism later in her life. The moment when she went into the movie theater with her other white friends and was chastised by her mother. Anne didnt understand what her mother meant by knowing her place. This leads to her creation of the doctor game. Anne could not see the difference between her and the white children other than color, and that could be a cause because they were allowed to play together. After playing doctor and finding no further differences between herself and the other children she is very confused.This confusion and non-understanding of the difference between black and whit is one of the main sources that drive her to become such an activist later on in her adult life. Learning to dislike both blacks and whites for playing their roles in the social function is what her childhood did for her....
