Character Analysis Of Anney Boatwright In Bastard Out Of Carolina

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The Betrayal of Anney Boatwright in Bastard Out of Carolina
Thrust into motherhood at the age of fourteen Anney Boatwright sets out to prove she is a good caring mother. Throughout a Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison, she provides examples of Anney Boatwright as a loving mother of Reese and Bone, but then instances occur that show that might not be true. This essay will show that Anney Boatwright appears to love and care about her family, but fails as a mother because she lacks introspect, puts her daughters at risk, and abandons her family.
Anney Boatwright shows time and time again that she lacks introspect, which repeatedly has a negative impact on her family. She marries Glen Waddell, who appears charming, but has a darker side. His darker side appears when Glen turns Reese’s grandma’s brother Matthew away and refuses to let Anney sign anything without him present. When it’s clear that Glen is wrong in his actions towards the Parsons, Anney is angry at Glen; at first. She then acts as though what he is doing is what’s right for his family. Anney tells Bone “…Glen needs to take care of this, you understand? He needs to do it, and I’ve got to let him.” (Allison 56-57). When Glen shows his anger once again and yells at her to shut up, and he then quickly apologizes, …show more content…

Her grandma tries to warn her when she first meets Glen about the trouble he could be, but she ignores her saying that her granny doesn’t know him like she does. Glen and Anney get married, and Glen becomes quite skilled with hiding what goes on behind closed doors with Bone. He is not afraid to openly abuse her in front of Anney though, who then does nothing short of yelling. Glen grabs Bone drags her into the bathroom, and slams her shoulder into the frame. Anney cries for him to stop, but does nothing to stop him from beating her daughter (Allison