Annie John: The Effect Of Annie Fixating On One Person

Aliya Freeman

Mrs. Berlin

English 8

17 January 2023

The Effect of Annie Fixating on One Person

Often when someone becomes more independent from their parents, it is hard to find friends and people they like and connect with. Annie John is a coming-of-age story about a girl named Annie John who lives in Antigua and how she can find herself after she feels like she is losing her childhood. Throughout Annie John’s life, she tried to find friends she can rely on since her mom was trying to make her grow independent. There were some people she felt she could lean a shoulder on, trust, and someone her mom liked. There was also a person her mom disapproved of, but it was Annie’s way of finding herself in a rebellious way against her mother. When Annie

Growing up, Annie John loved her mother; she often thought her mother was flawless. They would frequently wear matching outfits, bathe, and do nearly everything together; they even shared the same name. When Annie went shopping with her mom she said, “I spent the day following my mother around and observing the way she did everything [...] how important I felt to be with my mother (Kincaid 15). Everything Annie does with her makes her feel important and loved. She finds her mom to be the best and most beautiful person she has ever seen, but as Annie approaches adolescence she begins to feel hatred toward her. It started when Annie was younger and grew more as she got older. She does not want to touch her mother’s hands because her mom bathed and dressed a dead girl with them. Annie’s mother also stops giving her as much attention because she is getting older; as a result, Annie feels betrayed and wishes her mother was dead. Later,

Annie befriends someone referred to as the Red Girl. She does not need to bathe, dress, wear shoes, and attend school every day, a life Annie John was envious of. They met at a guava tree while Annie was trying to knock one of the fruits off with a stone. The Red Girl asks Annie which one she wants. “She climbed up the tree [...] How my eyes did widen and my mouth form an ‘o’ at this. I had never seen a girl do this before [...] but look at the way she climbed that tree: better than any boy” (Kincaid 56). Annie viewed her as such a beautiful person, everything Annie does not have or can not do, she found perfect. After this occurrence, they continue to meet up at the lighthouse Annie’s mother does not approve of this. Even though every time she would climb up the lighthouse, she had to build up the courage to go since she would get dizzy due to the heights. Later, Annie learned the Red Girl loved playing marbles; it was the only game she would play, and she was one of the best. She even gave Annie 3 marbles before they left for the night, a secret she keeps from her mother and how they are even friends. Annie continues to lie and keep secrets even more since she met the Red Girl. She has not told anyone about the Red Girl or the marbles. Another secret Annie has been hiding is that she now devotes all her time to playing marbles, and the number of