Coming of Age in Mississippi
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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
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