Annie John Exploration Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

Except for me, no one seemed a stranger to anything or anyone. Hearing the way their greeted each other, I couldn't be sure that they hadn't all come out of the same woman's belly, and at the same time, too. (2.2)

Annie is in her characteristic observation mode, taking in the sea of new faces on her first day of school. She feels different from all the others. Interestingly, she relates this to the figure of the mother when she says she can't be sure they "hadn't all come out of the same woman's belly." Annie assumes here that you can learn a lot about a person by knowing their mother.

Quote #2

I didn't exactly tell a lie about the last part. That is just what would have happened in the old days. […] But the real truth was that I couldn't bear to have anyone see how deep in disfavor I was with my mother. (3.14)

When Annie speaks about her invented conclusion to her "autobiographical essay" she wrote on the first day of class, she says she "didn't exactly tell a lie." Annie is, from a young age, exploring the genre of fiction.

Quote #3

I was soon given responsibility for overseeing the class in the teacher's absence. […] I indulged many things, especially if they would end in a laugh or something touching. I would never dillydally with a decision, always making up my mind right away about the thing in front of me. (3.19)

As Annie is finding her way in the world and making new friends at the school, she explores, experiments and "indulges" in a lot. She's a very intelligent class clown, always good at cooking up something either funny or moving.