Anita And Me Key Quotations edexcel 2-Post-1914-Literature

Key Quotations

Remember the assessment objectives explicitly state that you should be able to “use textual references, including quotations”. This means summarising, paraphrasing, referencing single words and the referencing of plot events are all as valid as quotations in demonstrating that you understand Anita and Me. It is important that you remember that you can evidence your knowledge of the text in these two equally valid ways: both through references to it and direct quotations from it. 

Overall, you should aim to secure a strong knowledge of the text, rather than rehearsed quotations, as this will enable you to respond to any question you may be set. It is the quality of your knowledge of Syal’s novel that will enable you to select references effectively.

If you are going to revise quotations, the best way is to group them by character, or theme. Below you will find definitions and analysis of the best quotations, arranged by the following themes:

• Family relationships 

• Friendship

• Cultural identity 

• Violence and abuse

Family relationships

The novel illustrates the importance of family in a young person’s development through the intimate narrations of the child protagonist, Meena, who relates her evolving attitude to her family as a result of her experiences with other families she encounters. Syal’s Bildungsroman illustrates the significance of family support as both Meena and her friend, Anita, grow up in very different families. 

Paired quotations

“My tender papa, my flying papa, the papa with hope and infinite variety” – Meena, Chapter 4

“…the lines around his warm, hopeful eyes, lurking in the furrows of his brow, shadowing the soft curves of his mouth” – Meena, Chapter 5

Meaning and context

• The first quotation shows Meena’s strong admiration and love for her father:

  • She describes him as gentle and hopeful, as well as complex

• Later, her reflections shift to consider her father in a deeper way, as an individual:

  • She sees that past hardships have left a darkness in his face

  • Although she still describes him as “hopeful” she also recognises shadows “lurking” on a furrowed (worried) brow

Analysis

• A triple describes both the characterisation of Meena’s father and the protagonist’s feelings towards him:

  • Meena appreciates his gentle, optimistic and exuberant personality 

• The possessive pronoun and colloquial term of address in “my flying papa” conveys close family bonds:

  • This shows Meena’s earlier, more innocent perceptions of her father

• However, later, an oxymoronic description of her father portrays Meena’s growing realisations about her family:

  • This shows Meena’s growing awareness as she gains knowledge about her family’s heritage 

Paired quotations

“I rarely rebelled openly against this communal policing, firstly because it somehow made me feel safe and wanted” – Meena, Chapter 2

“Life isn’t all ha-ha-hee-hee with your friends. They will leave you when times get bad, and then all you will have left is your family, Meena. Remember that” – Shyam, Chapter 6

Meaning and context

• Meena refers to the network of close South Asian friends who are referred to as aunts and uncles

• Here, Meena expresses her mixed attitude towards the many members of her “family”

• Later, Mr Kumar, Meena’s father, describes family love as unconditional and long-lasting

• Syal shows how Meena’s family try to guide her to taking more responsibility:

  • However, this also shows the challenges Meena faces choosing between the fun her friends offer and the disciplined life her family wants for her

Analysis

• Syal uses contrasting language to convey Meena’s attitude towards her family at the start of her journey:

  • The phrase “communal policing” implies an omnipresent disciplinary force

  • Whereas she also describes this with emotive language connoting to the security this brings (“safe and wanted”)

• In Chapter 6, Meena’s father reminds Meena of the value of family when she gets into trouble again

• This line foreshadows the conflicts Meena encounters with her friends

• It is worth noting Syal’s use of the phrase “Life isn’t all ha ha hee hee”:

  • Meena’s comedic and hyperbolic narration of events point to her early immaturity

  • Her father appears to criticise her immaturity here

“If Anita’s father, Roberto, had delivered a speech like that to her, she would have flicked her hair and said Bog Off! The words sat poised on the tip of my tongue all the way home. I did not have the courage to free them” – Meena, Chapter 6

Meaning and context

• Meena complains about her father’s lectures and harsh discipline

• She compares her father with Anita’s father, implying she would prefer more lax parenting herself

Analysis

• Syal begins to draw comparisons between the different families in the town:

  • She implies Anita’s upbringing has not taught her respect for her parents

  • This line is ironic as the child protagonist is unwittingly praising Anita Rutter’s neglectful and abusive parents 

• This line also portrays the good values Meena’s family attempt to pass on to her:

  • The fact she does not behave like Anita implies the respect she has for her family

• Meena’s strong desire to rebel from her family is implied in her animation of Anita’s imagined response (she would have “flicked her hair”) 

• Meena’s words hint at her belief that she feels weak and stifled in her family:

  • She says she does not have the “courage” to “free” her words

Friendship

Syal’s novel is titled Anita and Me, which implies the significance of the theme of friendship in the novel. Syal presents various relationships in Meena’s life that alter her definition of friendship. 

Paired quotations

“Anita made me laugh like no one else; she gave voice to all the wicked things I had often thought but kept zipped up inside my good girl’s winter coat” – Meena, Chapter 6

“I had fought for this friendship, worried over it, made sacrifices for it, measured myself against it, lost myself inside it, had little to show for it but this bewildered sense of betrayal” – Meena, Chapter 11

Meaning and context

• In the rising action of the story, Meena expresses her fascination with Anita:

  • She believes they share a similar need for rebellion and are both misunderstood

  • She admires Anita for her confidence and ability to say what she likes

• Later, though, Meena realises that Anita was not a true friend and recognises how much attention she has given the doomed friendship 

Analysis

• Meena’s metaphorical language describes her feelings of being stifled:

  • The onomatopoeic “zipped up” draws attention to the way she hides aspects of her identity and puts on a façade (in a “good girl’s coat”)

• By Chapter 11, Meena realises the true nature of her relationship with Anita:

  • The long list presents her overwhelmed emotions 

  • Alliteration in “bewildered” and “betrayal” emphasise the painful realisation