Coming of Age in Mississippi

Key Facts

full title ·  Coming of Age in Mississippi

author · Anne Moody

type of work · Nonfiction

genre · Autobiography

language · English

time and place written · Early 1960s, New York

date of first publication · 1968

narrator · Moody

point of view · First person, subjective

tone · Serious

tense · Past

setting (time) · Mid-1940s–early 1960s

setting (place) · Mississippi, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge

protagonist · Moody

major conflict · Struggle to overcome racial inequality

rising action · Because this is an autobiography, there is no single rising action

climax · Because this is an autobiography, there is no single climax

falling action · There is no single falling action

themes · The ultimate absurdity of racial distinctions; the evil of disunity among blacks in the face of white oppression; the destructive power of prejudice

motifs · Food; skin color; prejudice

symbols · Anne’s personal growth; the twelve-year-old boy; clothing

foreshadowing · The memoir does not use foreshadowing