Anne Shirley's Resilience

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Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables is a beloved character from children’s literature, characterized by her spirited nature, chatterbox personality and vivid imagination. Despite her rampant optimism, however, Anne had a difficult childhood, growing up as an orphan without a home, passed from place to place throughout her youth. Although her past was not an easy one, Anne showed incredible resilience and upon her arrival to Green Gables, she was not beaten down by hardship, but remained lively, bright spirit full of life. A significant contributing factor to Anne’s resiliency was her impressive imagination, which she used to escape reality and image a different life. This is highlighted in the first half of the novel, as Anne discussed …show more content…

When Anne arrived in Green Gables she asked Marilla to refer to her as Cordelia because she wanted to be seen as somebody other than herself. Anne wanted to reinvent who she was as a person both in name and looks, as she also strongly desired long dark hair instead of her own shade of red. However, once she was told that she will be staying at Green Gables permanently, Anne began to accept who she was and exhibits an understanding that she did not need to imagine a new version of herself anymore. This is clearly illustrated in a scene in which Anne was in her bedroom imagining changing the room with improvements such as new walls, new furniture and a new mirror. She imagined herself in this mirror and began to dream that she was somebody different: “I am tall and regal, clad in a gown of trailing white lace, with a pearl cross on my breast and pearl is my hair. My hair is of midnight darkness and my skin is a clear ivory pallor. My name is the Lady Cordelia Fitzgerald” (Montgomery, 1987, p. 60). This was the same fantasy Anne described in early portions of the book, wishing she was somebody more glamorous and with a different past, however this time she was unable to carry through with the fantasy: “No, [my name] isn’t - I can’t make that seem real” (Montgomery, 1987, p. 60). She had accepted who she is and no longer needed to change herself or change the reality in which she inhabited. “You’re only Anne of Green Gables, and I see you, just as you are looking now, wherever I try to imagine I’m the Lady Cordelia. But it’s a million times nicer to be Anne of Green Gables than Anne of nowhere in particular, isn’t it?” (Montgomery, 1987, p. 60). Anne needed a place to call home and after finding one in Green Gables, she was satisfied with who and where she was and no longer needed her imagination to dream up better

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