Coming of Age in Mississippi

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   chloemink Student
   

   In part one of Coming of Age in Mississippi, Essie Mae has a vivid nightmare about dying of heatstroke under the summer sun while out picking cotton. Her dream comes to fruition when she ends up fainting on the first day she’s in the fields with her family. She briefly enjoys the work—observing that some of her family members are tied to the land. Eventually, however, the crops fail and the family returns to poverty.

   While Moody doesn’t analyze the dream for the reader, the dream provides a hint that the author is aware she must move beyond the difficult farm work that has never adequately fed or sustained her family. She notes that her mother and Raymond are tied to the land and that her mother may wish for her to follow in the family’s agrarian tradition. Unspoken but implied in this dream is her observation that following in her family’s footsteps will only perpetuate their poverty.

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   http://www.enotes.com/coming-age/summary-analysis-part-on...

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   Posted by chloemink on Thursday June 19, 2008 at 1:19 PM
   
   

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