Annie's 'Coming Of Age In Annie John'

Annie John
In the book Annie john, by Jamaica Kincaid, Annie John lives in a childhood paradise with her mother and herself until one moment causes it to come crashing to an end. When Annie's mother no longer allows Annie and herself to buy matching dresses because of Annie’s coming of age, Annie's world of paradise is lost. Annie's mother and Annie begin to grow apart causing Annie to lose her strong reliance on her mother and realize her coming of age. Throughout the book, Annie struggles to let go of her childhood and perfect relationship with her mother. The moment most responsible for Annie's coming of age is when Annie and her mother buy new dresses because this was Annie’s first realization of her coming of age and her lost reliance
For example, Annie's mother says "you cannot go around the rest of your life looking like a little me" (26 Kincaid). This shows how Annie tries to be exactly like her mother, and relies on her mother to show her how to act, and compose herself, which causes her to not be able act correctly without her mother’s guidance. Annie’s inability to act correctly causes this moment to be most responsible for Annie’s coming of age because it forces Annie to suddenly decide for herself how she should act without her mother’s guidance. Another example of Annie’s lost reliance is when Annie's mother says, "oh, no. you’re getting too old for that. Its time you had your own clothes."(26 Kincaid). This illustrates how Annie can no longer have the same identity as her mother, causing Annie to separate from her mother and create her own identity as a young girl. This demonstrates how Annie's coming of age causes her to lose the identity that connect her to her mother and cause Annie to come of age because of her new identity. Annie’s lost attachment to her mother causes the experience of learning that her she could no longer buy matching dresses to be the most responsible for Annie’s coming of age because or her lost guidance and new