Annie John By Jamaica Kincaid

Written in 1843, by Jamaica Kincaid, Annie John is a coming of age story told in third person by the narrator. In the book Annie John, the genre Bildungsroman applies. I chose to read this book because I love to read books that I can similarly relate to. As Annie does in the story, I am going through this same type of coming of age journey. Being able to relate to her makes me want to read more and more about what her life is like. Jamaica Kincaid was born in the Caribbean's (Antigua specifically) and grew up in relative poverty. She was also used to be close to her mother as a young child and then suddenly felt alienated by her as she grew up. This is definitely probably contributed to the writing of this story. Annie goes through a transformation from

The main one being her firmly believing her mother was against her. Her hate for her mother grew throughout the story. Annie first felt this when her mom bought different clothing, whereas Annie was accustomed to wearing the same thing as her mom. She also later on called her mom a hore. This is very regrettable because all in all Annie misjudged her mom as she was only trying to do what was best for her daughter. Secondly, Annie was very conceited making her think she was bigger than she really was. Annie at school said she was the best one in her class, really describing how she was better than everyone else. Another time, saying she was the best at playing marbles. This really could mislead someone, and as time passed this mentality took a toll on her. Finally, a big issue was her glorification of Gwen. For a time, that would be the only person she would talk to or think about. All Annie would do was focus her life on that. One example could be where Annie tells Gwen that she will love her forever. Later on when Gwen tells her to marry her brother, Annie really felt hurt and never spoke to her again. That could have played a major part in Annie’s