from an american childhood annie dillard

She does not want Annie to mix with certain boys.

Putting together the strict gender roles expected of Annie and the implied disapproval of ‘rough’ boys, the reader can deduce that Annie’s mother is rather old-fashioned and perhaps somewhat prim and protective of her daughter. Annie reports this in a matter of fact way, without further comment, but the reader can discern an element of social class behind this situation. The author mentions also that her parents approved of some of the local boys but not all of them.

Also, there is an interesting departure from her prescribed gender role since the paragraph ends up with the comment “nothing girls did could compare with it” (Dillard 17). The statement “ome boys taught me to play football” reveals that the child is at a stage of her development when she listens to advice of her peers and not just her mother (Dillard 16). The opening sentence of this extract makes it quite clear that Annie is exploring ideas that do not derive from her own comfortable home environment. Annie’s mother is not a direct part of this narrative, but it is possible to deduce quite a considerable amount of information about her by reading between lines of the text. Sur Supervisor An American Childhood by Annie Dillard The passage from Annie Dillard’s An American Childhood extracted for the analysis depicts a scene in which a seven year old Annie and her friends throw snowballs at a stranger and find themselves being chased by this man for some considerable time.

From an american childhood annie dillard