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overall notes based on our class discussions 

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overall notes based on our class discussions 

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This entire culture raises children in a harsher way. The punishments are much harsher at home and whenever a student fails to comply with the school's expectations, the student is seen as a complete disappointment. In schools, there is constant competition with the others students. Having total competition in school and then going home to a family dynamic that is not nurturing might form personalities based on stress. Annie's mother does not want her to play with marbles because she thinks that playing with marbles is seen as unladylike and others might frown upon it. These norms in the town might be able to connect to Darien as many people in Darien focus on social norms and if it appears to be immoral or incorrect then it is strongly frowned upon. This idea of following what is expected connects to when Annie's mother called her a slut because she was horrified at the fact the Annie might not be ladylike. The ocean is mentioned many times and connects to Annie feeling like she is being swallowing up by it. Because Annie's mother-daughter relationship is not thriving, it is creating   shadows in her mother that could relate to the shadows from the very beginning of the novel. Mortality and change are being described because death and rebirth are the patterns of existence. Death from the beginning could be connected to the circle of life, not truly dying but having a time in your life come to an end, death, and then being reborn in a new chapter of your life. - grace

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School is very much like an institution where the teachers (who have the names of English Kings) are trying to instill the “dominant” English culture into the Antiguan kids, such as when the teacher harshly bears down on Annie John for writing something against Columbus.

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Even though Annie John obviously is set in a different place in a different time, I still found that the methods of education and child rearing were a bit extreme. On page 43 Annie say she couldn’t find her mother anymore. Since she turned 12, Annie’s mother has adopted this isolationist, conditional love type approach. In school, there is a very specific set of rules that couldn’t possibly be deviated from in the most minute manner. Ultimately there seems to be a lot more pressure to excel at external accomplishments as well as conform to rigid rules.

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I most definitely believe that it is important that we discuss the relationship between Annie and her mother. In numerous instances involving the two of them, there is a lot of discussion about death. We read about the story of Annie in the water, her mother “leaving her for dead’ or on page 89, where Annie’s mysterious dream had her say “My mother would kill me if she got the chance. I would kill my mother if I had the courage.” We also see something similar to this on page 106 when she outright says, “That moment, I missed my mother more than I had ever imagined possible and wanted only to live somewhere quiet and beautiful with her alone, but also at that moment I wanted only to see her lying dead, all withered and in a coffin at my feet.”

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Annie John is finding the reassurance she does not get from her mother in other places, specifically from the Red Girl. On this page she gets pinched till she cries, then gets kissed in all the places she got hurt. I think this is symbolic to how Annie John feels her mother hurts her in all these various places but does not feel remorse or try to comfort her after the fact. It might be refreshing to for Annie John to be hurt but finally be able to heal from it quickly instead of holding onto the angst in her black cobweb ball where she holds all the 'hatred' for her mother.
Eliza

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On page 53 we see Annie John's mom going back to her old ways as she hugs Annie in an attempt to comfort her after school. Annie states that she no longer loves her mom.

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“My unhappiness was something deep inside me, and when I close my eyes I could see it… It took the shape of a small black ball.”

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A topic worthy of discussion in the novel is when the reader is introduced to Miss Edwards. Miss Edwards is supposed to be a terrible person in the eyes of AJ and the reader, but she also represents the authority figures in AJ’s life. Are these authority figures like Miss Edwards all terrible people that hate AJ for being a naughty girl, or are they really doing their best to prepare AJ for her adult life where she will become a “proper lady”?

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I agree with others when they say that we should focus on the Red Girl. The Red Girl is described as dirty and is frowned upon by her mother. At the surface it seems that Annie might be with the Red Girl to make her mother disapprove however, I believe that it is more than that. I would like to discuss the fact the Annie speaks highly of the Red Girl even though she is raised in a completely opposite way. I agree with Meggie when she says that the Red Girl might only be a figure of Annie's imagination as she might be a way of childlike rebellion for Annie. - Grace

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Because the narration is coming from the young character of Annie John, the reader sees her parents as evil or inconsiderate of AJ's emotions and experiences. When Annie is forced to eat outside next to the tree, I thought that the parenting ideals from when the book was written to now have changed. (playing with marbles and other un-ladylike things) Annie's perception of her parents and school makes her seem like she feels trapped within her mother's expectations and the school's hopes for her. In the school, some things are harsher, such as the competitive environment with the dunce cap and becoming the best in the class.

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I would like to discuss Annie’s examination of herself in the mirror on page 27. She describes herself as “bony” and her ribs as “small,” which are adjectives that might be used to discuss how tiny a person is.  However, she uses them in conjunction with saying that she “filled the mirror” and that her “ribs pressed out against [her] skin.”  The odd description might be pointing to the fact that while Annie has grown physically, her emotional self has not yet matured enough to fit her body, hence her disproportionate features. Another example is how large her nose is compared ot her face, which she says greatly contrasts her old small nose that fit her face well.

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AJ's relationships with her friends and their sexuality

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AJ's relationships with her friends and their sexuality

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The relationship AJ has with her friends is very sweet but probably very surprising to most. AJ's sexuality is shocking to those who did not experience the joy of having a group of girlfriends who understand you and your troubles. What AJ and her friends are exploring isn't even their sexuality persay- it is not demonized by the author and is expressed as natural. They are just learning about themselves in the world in a safe place. I think the sense of freedom Jamaica Kincaid creates with showing how AJ interacts with her friends is juxtaposed to the expectations her mother and teachers have for her, and could speak to AJ's true character and help understand her sadness she talks about on page 85. AJ feels constricted when the time with her friends in the graveyard is looked down upon by her mother on multiple occasions. Pages 33, 48, 53, 63, and 81 are important.

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I noticed that ideas of school and child rearing are used to juxtapose Annie’s home life with her mother and her life at school with her friends. It seems like Annie is learning more from school than her mother. If I was raised in Annie’s world, I would be held to a high standard, like when Annie misbehaved and was forced to copy 2 books(page 82). Competition can be a good thing, but it can be detrimental to kids like Annie who really care if they aren’t at the top of the class. For instance, when Annie get removed from her position as prefect, she felt miserable about herself and feared the moment that her parents would find out.

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A different focus on what matters for children to learn

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A different focus on what matters for children to learn

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AJ has been forced to focus by her teachers and mother about being polite and having a specific attitude in school, not only with just being inteligent. This is something that AJ has trouble grasping, and she can never seem to meet the social exprectations of her teachers or her mother. An example of AJ not wanting to uphold these standards is her need to escape from the sameness of her life, wheaether is was playing games that she shouldn't ahve been at recess or making friends with "the red girl". As for how I would be different if raised in AJ's world, it's clear that AJ has a lot of trouble upholding social standards, and I think it would all depend on weather or not I had lived my whole life in the same place as AJ or had come with a new perspecive

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I found interesting that the author seems to believe that a child can be a whole different person when they are at school, or out in public. For example the relation ship Annie has with her mother, which is completely different from what the other people in their town believe.
I also found interesting how while the mother and Annie have continuos arguments and problems, the father is left completely unaware. It’s as if Annie and her mother have an unsaid agreement that her father will not know.
If I were raised in AJ’s world, I assume I would be a very different person. I can safely assume that my relationship with my mother would be very similar to hers, and my father would, most likely, have very minimal impact on that. However, I would probably not rebel as much as Annie.

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Something important in the text is when Annie describes the Girl with a humpback and her experience with her. I think A question for this segment is, Is Annie just innocent and doesn't understand death, or is she just a unempathetic person?

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Annie John's school seemed strict and unruly with its teachings. In specific, Annie's teacher Miss Elizabeth seemed to have a very different way of teaching than how we have been taught. One thing that specifically stuck out was the dunce hat. In our school, calling out someone specifically for not being as smart as the rest of the class would be unheard of. Miss Elizabeth saw teaching as more of a way to humiliate kids who weren't as developed as she thought they should be. The chosen prefects showed the opposite of this. The prefects were given approval and praise for being a succeeding student, as one of these students they were expected to know everything perfectly in order to set an example to the rest of the class.

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In the novel it is clear that kids greatly respect and honor their parents. On page 22, Annie John talks about how she would often just stare at her mother in awe while she read to her. She mentions her mothers beauty multiple times and up until she turns twelve, she clearly honors her mother more than anyone else. It seems that her respect from her mom is a result of her upbringing. There are other mentions of little girls staying close to their parents and using them for comfort like the Red Girl that Annie used to play marbles with. As Annie gets older it becomes evident that despite the nurturing relationship with her parents, they also hold really high standards between her manners and her academics. I think that if I were to be raised in the same way I would have a similar reaction to Annie and be frustrated with the abrupt change between the sweet and caring approach until a certain age, and then all of a sudden having to prove myself constantly.

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Something important on page 103 is the character swap between how Annie John thought her mother would feel after she said "like mother, like daughter" and how it compares to how she herself feels about saying such a thing. AJ feels old while her mother looks young to her. How Annie feels greatly contrasts the strength she expected to feel, and she thought her mother would be weakened by her comment, but wasn't. This page yells out expectations versus reality within Annie's thoughts.

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The ideas presented in Annie John about school appear to be that every child at school is in a competition against one another, not against themselves. This competition not only in classes but also for each other or one person's attention. These competitions often drive some to be better but can also leave a dent of insecurity or in Annie John's case, inflate her ego tremendously. For example, the dunce cap (insecurity inducing) and the Red Girl and Gwen fighting for her attention (ego inflating).  Now for the ideas about child rearing it seems to portray that coming of age for daughters means mothers stop expressing their love the same way or expressing their love at all (Annie John's mother saying "I used to love you best" after a conflict.) My reaction to these ideas was that I feel like these are all realities but blown out of proportion to make them more obvious and easier to spot out in our own lives. If I was raised in Annie John's world I would definitely become more mature and hardened by the pressure at school and lack of comfort provided at home but also I could either be very insecure or have a slight superiority complex depending on how well I did at school.
Eliza

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“When my mother would read something like this, she would burst into tears. She had hoped to display, with great flourish, my report card to her friends” School seems to be very important to the society in which Annie lives in. One success in school brings importance and respect to families, while poor grades can be embarrassing.

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I thought that the ideas about school and child rearing were interesting because of how different they are from the ideas we have in Darien. In Darien we do not have boy and girl sections of the school, and we all learn together. Maybe some people think that I’m weird from the way I act, talk, and dress, but it is not commented upon by teachers when I don’t act like a gentlemen in class. We also don’t have school uniforms, which is a big difference for me. As for the ideas of raising a kid, I was raised a lot differently from AJ. I spent time with both my parents when I was little, not just my mom, and my parents did not forcibly push me off of their backs when I began High School like AJ’s mother when she ignored her obvious problems in life and told her to deal with them on page 51.

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I was surprised by the difference in how mothers and fathers treat their kids, compared to how american families do. For example, children are much closer to their mothers. In Annie John, even at the age of 10, she bathes with her mother. This is something I was shocked by, because at the age of 10 I was much more independant and showered in my own shower. If I was raised in Annie Johns world, perhaps I would be more dependent on the love of my mother.

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Children in AJ's world are held to a high standard as both daughters and as students. They are expected to behave at all times and treated very maturely, like adults. AJ's mother expects her to become a housewife and treats her so, teaching her lessons about obedience and house rearing. AJ's teachers award her the title of prefect and give her awards and hold her in high regard as a student in their classrooms. Except for Miss Edward, AJ's teachers treat her as a mature young lady. Today, I don't feel as though children are held to the same standard. Even though AJ had a strained relationship with her mother, I thought that she grew up in a nurturing environment because the adults around her believed she could succeed. If I was treated maturely not just at 14 like I am beginning now to be treated but when I was younger like AJ was, I believe I would be more academically successful because I would take myself more seriously and be more disciplined, and I could interact better with adults because they would take me seriously.

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I think it would be important to discuss Annie John's interest and what she correlates with pain and suffering, although it's mentioned several other times in the book, it's first mentioned on page seven. Annie talks about how she enjoys pinching people and almost thinks of death in a fond way, maybe connecting it with things that ordinarily someone wouldn't.

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Something important in the novel is the character of "The Red Girl" and if she may express something deeper that reflects Annie. We see how she's always dirty and her mother doesn't really force her to go to Sunday school or do anything she doesn't want to do. Since we never actually learn the red girls name, is she a real person or just a reflection of what Annie wants or wishes her life could be like. (Chapter 4, page 58)- Meggie

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Annie speaks about the dream she had of her and the red girl, and some scenes are very similar to her and her mother. This scene can be connected back to when she and her mother were swimming and saw the boats on pg. 43, as well as when she recounts how her mother came to Antigua.

I would like to speak about what this could mean.