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At one point - Annie criticizes the color of her skin for the first time, saying that it is 'too dark'. This stems from racism and colorism - I'm wondering which part of her environment stimulates her insecurity?

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I found it strange that Annie’s mother did not want her to play marbles. Is it explained why she doesn’t want her to or am I missing something?

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Shortly after Annie John befriends the red girl, she seems to look down upon Gwen. After she meets this girl that seems to follow no rules, and lives the life Annie wishes for, Annie begins to associate Gwen more and more with her mother. In this moment, the start of this boredom and growing hatred of Gwen even, shows the reader to the extent of which her mother controls her. Her mother seems to be the root of her rebellion - she progressively moves away from and rejects anything that reminds her of her mother.

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I’m not sure if this was mentioned here but Her school is not based very much of where she is more then it is involved with British idea’s. I think that if I was in this situation I would be confused but also mad that we would be centered around British ideas.

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It’s interesting to compare this novel to Ellen Foster, because both characters endure similar circumstances, but different circumstances (in some way.)

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Annie found out what it felt like not being the smartest and the best student. When she met Gwen and the red haired girl, and also when she played marbles the felt a thrill of not listening to her mother. Annie realized what is felt like to sneak out of the house, play marbles, and not be the perfect smart girl that her mother wanted her to be.

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Annie’s mother loves her and babies her while she is young, but suddenly, she wants Annie to be more mature - like when Annie turns twelve, she feels somewhat upset when her mother makes the comment that Annie is getting too old to wear similar clothes to her mother’s (p. 26).

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I think an important part of the novel for us to discuss is the part where Annie completely ditches the Red Girl after she gets busted by her mother for playing with marbles. She is so fast to jump off the sinking ship and save herself rather than tell her mother about a new friend who she once said was important to her. This also brings up another point that she kept the Red Girl a secret, that she never told anyone they were friends.

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I think that it is interesting how Annie almost tells her mother the locations of her marbles, and I wonder how the story might have been different if she had told her mother where her marbles were.

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It is very competitive and everyone wants to be the best and be the most loved by the teacher.  The girls are all friends with each other and very close. They all follow the ruled and don’t like trouble.

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My reaction to the ideas of school and childrearing was that I was very surprised and sort of felt bad for Annie as she has been sort of forced to only act one way. If I was in AJ's world I would probably be too scared to act like how Annie is, like how she sneaks out to talk to the Red hair girl.

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Starting on pg. 85, Annie John references a “small black ball, all wrapped up in cobwebs…no bigger than a thimble, even though it weighed worlds,” (Kincaid 85). I feel that this is significant to the story since it is mentioned so much and that it might symbolized something.

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Even though she’s matured, Annie is not very independent because her mother has to undress her and feed her and make her bed. Her mother is also very protective of Annie and does not accept her playing useless games (marbles) or other things that “bad” kids would do. Annie is known to be the best student in class and always smart and pays attention, and her mother doens’t want Annie to be anyone other than who is was since she was a kid.

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I think an important moment in the novel may be in the first few pages of the book. Annie shows a huge aversion to death but she still watches the funerals and tries to figure out who died when. My question we might want to consider could be what does death symbolize? How does death foreshadow her future? How does she grow from experiencing death?

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Annie Johns education in school seems very strict on etiquette - obviously there are rules that need to be set into place to keep a classroom organized, but there are lots of expectations of ladylike etiquette and it seems suffocating. Annies mother also seems to abide by these same rules, she wants Annie John to be quiet and respectful, and she gets very angry when she suspects that Annie is playing marbles. Furthermore, the red girl seems to not conform to these ideas of femininity - and she grew up in Anguilla.

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For the majority of the story, Annie mentions mistreating some of her friends because it entertained her. So I wonder why they stayed her friends. She also had an epiphany and showed great character development when the girl she played marbles with started pinching her, and she just let it happen, realizing that she had done the same thing so many times to others.

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This is not entirely discussable, but I like the interactions between the girls, the uniqueness of their isolated little world, and how much they rely on each other. It’s both relatable and show the slight differences between AJ’s world and ours

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Slavery had an important impact on Antigua as seen through AJ when she discusses how she has nothing to be ashamed of since her ancestors have done nothing wrong. However, Ruth, who is from England, has a lot to be ashamed of since her ancestors were the slave owners. AJ still feels a barrier between the different races although slavery is a thing of the past.

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The school for Annie is very different than here because the best student sat at the front of the room next to the teacher, and even though Annie is in middle school she gets a recess and all subjects in one classroom. The  girls in Annie’s school were worried about their body and how smart they were compared to others, and there was a lot of comparing between each other.

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I think that it is interesting when Annie washes all of the small pictures and ruins them. I think that there is symbolism with her trying to clean them, but ruining them due to her illness. I think that her illness itself is also symbolic as well.

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The societal view of children during AJ’s time was fairly harsh. Girls in her school were assumed to be bad (Headmistress stressed that they NEEDED to behave on the first day). People treated children with less respect, their teacher picked on girls, calling some dunces. Children were also viewed as “preparing adults”, their responsibilities are stressed (AJ’s mom teacher her how to run a household) and growing up is more enforced. I would hate this world, and I understand why this is causing conflict between AJ and her mother, it seems the world is forcing age on these kids who would grow up naturally on their own.

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The moment (around page 79) that Annie’s mother learns about some teachers saying she misbehaves outside of the classroom, and then proceeds to burst into tears is an interesting concept about Annie’s mothers’ expectations.

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I found it interesting how sudden the change was from being raised with love and attention to all of a sudden being told she's too old. She doesn't seem to understand it and gets mad at her mom for it, why doesn't her mom explain why she can't be babied anymore? I also noticed that at the beginning she says her mom always cleaned her trunk and took care of everything she owned. It's clear her mom loves her very much.

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It is possible that the population of Antigua's towns are relatively small, and this is seen through how Annie's mom sort of knows everyone and everything thats goes on.

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Slavery is still evident in Antigua at the time of the novel, and likely to this day. The scars, tombstones left behind, uncover  this dark truth. (ba)

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I think we should look back over symbols especially ones that come up with the red hair girl. We can look at and take about this starting from page 54. My question would be what is her purpose and what does she symbolize.

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Antigua seems like a smaller island that carries some European ideas. Annie mentions Christopher Columbus and says he is the greatest man of all time.

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Annie's parents spend a lot of time and effort doing things specifically for her. She mentions how almost any piece of furniture in her house (including her bed) has been carved by her father, and how all of her clothing has been sewed by her mother.

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Antigua was colonized by the British. They used it as a slave colony. They are taught a lot about Christopher Columbus.

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She says, "When I got home, my mother came toward me, arms outstretched, concern written on her face. My whole mouth filled up with a bitter taste, for I could not understand how she could be so beautiful even though I no longer loved her" (Kincaid 53). Is she mad at her mom for not treating her like a child anymore? Why does she want her mom to baby her, doesn't she want to grow up?

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don't be shy. answer. here vs. repeating what is on others.

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I learned that Antigua was generally pretty dry, and droughts were common. And when they had rain it was usually very little, but occasionally very much.

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It seems that a surprisingly large amount of the characters in Antigua are from England. At the time the story takes place Antigua is likely still an English territory, and this is evident in how Annie leaves for England instead of another Carribean island.

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At the very end of page 84, she analyzes her mom to a crocodile, showing the true fears she has not only of growing up, but also of reality.
How does her imagination compare to reality throughout the novel, with the example being her fond and loving memories of her mother compared to the reality of it. (ba)

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Antigua is a moderately sized island, and it is surrounded with a scattering of smaller island. Antigua was once a slave colony, colonized by the British

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It is clear that slavery played an enormous role in the history of Antigua.

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It has been made clear that Antigua is heavily ingrained with European culture. For one, all of the teachers within Annie’s school are named after notable English kings and places. On another note, Annie references Christopher Columbus as one of the greatest men of all time around page 83.