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Posted by dymatsuoka on Saturday March 28, 2009 at 2:40 PMAnne's love is Fred Purdy, a young man whom she meets when she first arrives in the gold-mining community of Chicken at the age of nineteen. Fred is a little older than Anne is, dark-skinned, with "thick black hair". Fred is very handy with tools, and helps fix up Anne's quarters and the schoolroom. The two young people find that they are very comfortable with each other almost from the start.
Fred's father is white, and his mother is Eskimo, and as a "half-breed", he is looked down upon by the whites in the community. Because of this, and because he feels he has nothing to offer her, Fred is very reticent about courting Anne, who makes her own feelings for him comparatively clear. When she leaves Chicken at the end of the year, Fred tells Anne, "if I could give you a home, if I had money enough to take care of you, I'd ask you to marry me right now". Anne, realizing that she cannot change his mind about what he feels he needs in order to be worthy of her, promises that she will wait for him, until he is ready (Chapter 25).
Ten long years pass, but Fred Purdy and Anne Hobbs do finally get married. Fred dies after the two have been married for twenty-eight "grand" years, and in looking back, Anne remembers those years as being the most wonderful years of her life.
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collin777 Student
High School - 9th GradePosted by collin777 on Saturday May 2, 2009 at 8:28 PMFred Purdy
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blowpop18 Student
College - FreshmanPosted by blowpop18 on Thursday September 17, 2009 at 6:50 AM
