Coming of Age in Mississippi

To overcome her family's impoverished living conditions, Anne begins working at a very young age. In Chapter 9, this is the reason Anne decides to work for Mrs. Burke after Linda Mae moves away. Anne does not want to work for the racist Mrs. Burke, but she cannot afford to leave work (even for a week) and Mrs. Burke is offering her a job to start immediately. This shows her desire and dedication to refine her and her family situation. She works cleaning houses to support her family's income and most of her employers are fairly easy to get along with. Getting along with these whites was considerably symbolic of overcoming the struggles that oppressed blacks have faced for centuries. This is a significant way to defy segreagtion because it helps to erase the lines that are serparating whites from blacks. Merely working for these in racial harmony helped to helped prove to Anne that equality was not only possible but could one day prove segregation obsolete. The people that Toosweet and Raymond worked for in the past (as most whites in Mississippi) have prejudicial attitues toward blacks, but it was necessary to put up with the injustices and inequalities so that they were able to provide for the family.

Not working would mean risking starvation. Even when she does work to provide for her family, her diet is not sufficient. Food is very important to Anne and her family. In this case, it represents Anne's constant struggle to survive, along with the difficult circumstances survival requires.