Anna openly speaks about the difficulties she goes through with being a third grader. The concept of popularity, having friends, and being made fun of are some of the main ones she faces each day. So, to help her out she picked up yoga. During meditation she says it helps her, "clear up my mind." It has helped her believe to, "try your best, and try harder." Yoga is Anna's escape from the chaotic difficulties little girls go through. It has even helped her understand something that adults still cannot grasp: don't think about what to do so that people can like you; have people that like you for who you are.
Gerty deals with the exact same problems! She struggles in her social class, she lacks in having friends, and she is always being made fun of by people of all ages. "...the poor little thing was told, a dozen times a day, that she was the worst-looking child in the world..." (p. 80). Daily, Gerty had to deal with this pain. She also was bullied around by the children in her neighborhood. They even threw her only pair of shoes into the water, leaving her with none during the cold winter. But Gerty had her wan of meditation, just like Anna. Gerty had the lamplighter; each day she would sit out front of her house and patiently wait for him to bring that small bright light into her world. "There was one thing, and only one, which she found pleasure in...made the whole place seem cheerful, one gleam of joy was shed on a little desolate heart..." (p. 80). The lamplighter is Gerty's yoga. And in the end Gerty understands that she needs and wants to be a follower of God; she tries so hard because she knows it is right. "I mean to try, but I don't think I can" (p. 149).
In the end young girls face the same obstacles today as in the past. Whether it was one hundred year ago, or a thousand, girls always have their doubts, their breakdowns, and their insecurities, but eventually, hopefully, they have something that can help center themselves, just like Anna and Gerty.
I love how you compared Gerty's routine of watching True Flint go about his rounds at night as the lamplighter was her yoga, her relaxing ritual that she always looked forward to. I hadn't thought about it in that way. Thanks for pointing that out!
ReplyDeleteAlessandra,
ReplyDeleteI wanted to point out that I liked how you mentioned that Anna had her own way of meditation, yoga, but so did Gerty. Watching the lamplighter was her way of finding peace. I also noticed that while reading and found that comparison very interesting.
I'm really impressed with the way you constructed your paper; I had a lot of trouble even coming up with what I was going to say about this issue. You made something that was pretty foreign to me very clear. Kudos.
ReplyDeleteGood job on the post! I found a lot more differences when comparing Anna and Gerty. For instance, I don't think their problems are really that similar. Gerty deals with much more serious day to day struggles, whereas Anna only seems to have to worry about yoga, rainbows, and butterflies.
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