Paper 4 Rough Draft

Anne Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi depicts the author’s life in Mississippi from her childhood before the Second Reconstruction through the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. However, Moody’s honest story allows a reader to understand the reality of a Black woman’s life in the South. From the beginning, Moody not only dealt with racism coming from White Southerners, but also battled older Black people, whom she was surrounded. Their views were drastically different from that of the Moody’s generation. Being a central character of the story, Anne Moody represents one of the many thousands of those young African-Americans of the movement. From her story, one can see the Civil Rights movement was as successful as it was because of younger generation’s views versus the views of the older generation.


I. Moody’s mother’s constant battering and not allowing Moody as a child to understand the reality around her.
Contributes to Moody’s experience interacting with lighter-colored African-Americans and her mother’s experience and how this stems directly from the racism from the Whites onto Black people.
II. Moody’s naturally defiant characteristic is representative of the many thousands of young African-Americans who would soon be involved with the movement later on in the story.
a. Where Moody came from she was one of the very well educated young black girls. But when she went to junior and senior college she saw there were many successful and educated African-Americans.
III. How Moody felt towards the murders occurring versus those older than her.
IV. The political views of the older versus younger generation in terms of segregation and voting.
V. Her family’s reaction to her involvement in the movement.
a. NAACP, SNCC
b. Sit-ins
VI. At the time where the story ended. Moody is quite pessimistic of the movement, while what has changed so far may be good enough for those of the older generation.
a. Moody seeks lack of leadership in those heading the groups of the movement.


Right now it's a bit weak in terms of it seems like a descriptive argument. I am however trying to connect it to the theme of either bodies or solidarity.