Anne of Green Gables Book Analysis (Essay Sample)

Never having a place to call home can be a transformative experience in someone’s life. For the protagonist in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s novel Anne of Green Gables, Anne Shirley lived in many different homes. Without being able to settle down, she never thought that she could be loved. One day Matthew and Marilla Cubert had accidentally adopted Anne. They were looking for a boy to help do work on the farm and around the house. Even though she wasn’t exactly what they were looking for, the two of them quickly fell in love with Anne and transformed her life. In Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery uses imagination, emotions, and mistakes in order to show how relationships can help people mature. 

Imagination plays a big role in eleven-year-old Anne’s life to help her develop herself and other relationships. Anne’s relationship with Matthew grows through the use of originality. From the beginning of the novel, Matthew and Anne were the first relationships that were introduced. They meet at the train station to ride to Green Gables. Straight away Anne starts using her inventiveness to think about what Avonlea is going to be like. “Isn’t it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive - it’s such an interesting world. It wouldn’t be half so interesting if we know all about everything, would it? There’d be no scope for imagination then, would there? But am I talking too much? People are always telling me I do” (Montgomery 9). With this being one of the first things that Anne says, this quote shows how optimistic she is. From this conversation, Matthew finds Anne full of preoccupation. She wants to find out more about the world and doesn’t think about any obstacles that could be in the way. Matthew, yet annoyed is still fascinated at how such a young girl who has lived a challenging life can have so many dreams and aspirations. 

Imagination and beauty allow Anne to transform the reality of her surroundings. As Vanderweirde pointed out, “We learn early on that Anne has an imagination that never quits”. When we meet Anne she starts talking about the orphanage. She mentions fascination multiple times to describe the others who were with her, and what the orphanage felt like to her. From the moment Anne stepped foot on Green Gables, she was mesmerized. She could not believe that this wonderland was possibly her new home. Taking in her new surroundings she was lost to everything but the loveliness around her. Anne usually uses her mind as a coping mechanism, but here she can finally take in the beauty of her real-world that she has always pictures. “Anne’s beauty-loving eyes lingered on it all, taking everything greedily in; she had looked on so many unlovely places in her life, poor child; but this was as lovely as anything she has ever dreamed” (Montgomery 31). As Anne starts to spend more time at Green Gables she becomes more comfortable with the people surrounding her. She becomes more of a central figure for the community. This causes her thoughts to become more purified. Makrancy pointed out, “Anne’s imaginative space is an elsewhere location from which she can see herself as the center, even when she is a marginal figure in society”.  Green Gables is one of the best places Anne has been to. Although she knows that it is going to take time for her to adapt, Anne is ready for the new opportunities. Anne’s dream of being in an oversized beautiful house has come true. Now she needs to click with those around her to feel loved. 

Controlling her imagination helps Anne make fewer mistakes in her relationships. Part of what keeps Anne so optimistic is her creative mind. Her active vision causes her to daydream multiple times. Daydreaming can help you appreciate little things in life, but in this situation, Anne uses daydreaming to get out of the “real world”. Daydreams help Anne with her reality which causes her distress. The article “Anne’s Bringing-up Is Begun” states, “... Anne was smart and obedient, willing to work and quick to learn; her most serious shortcoming seemed to be a tendency to fall into daydreams in the middle of a task and forget all about it until such as she was sharply recalled to earth by a reprimand or a catastrophe”. From Marilla’s perspective, this quote shows that she can tell Anne has a rich curiosity. Knowing that she is an orphan and has never had a place to call home causes Marilla to think that Anne uses it to escape from her orphanage life. It helps Anne not have to deal with the emotional trauma that it was enduring. This shows us that Anne is a resilient young girl. 

Throughout her emotions, Anne shows them in positive and negative ways. Moving from home to home never knowing if you’re going to stay has been tough on Anne and her affinities. Going to Green Gables was such an exhilarating start for Anne. She went in with an optimistic attitude thinking that this was for sure going to be her forever home. Once she got there she was discouraged by the news that she heard. “You would cry, too, if you were an orphan and had come to a place you thought was going to be home and found that they didn’t want you because you weren’t a boy. Oh, this is the most tragic thing that ever happened to me” (Montgomery 24). Matthew and Marilla wanted a boy orphan instead of a girl. They wanted a boy to help Matthew on a farm. Marilla thought that a girl would be no use to them. Because of the unfortunate news to Anne, Matthew and Marilla did not want to send her back to the orphanage. Her reaction showed how much she loves Green Gables and would like to stay. This caused Matthew and Marilla to accept her and start building an affinity with her.

Despite her emotions getting the best of her, Anne starts to adapt to the expectations she has to live up to. Going through different situations in life “Anne is put in relation to the people surrounding her and her behavior and development is scrutinized” said Stennson. Moving to Green Gables Anne was to start school. Previously having little to no school to do this was a big jump for her. Taking pride in her intelligence helps Anne strive to do good. Diana, one of Anne’s friends, lets her know about a classmate named Gilbert. Gilbert is the smartest and most handsome boy there. With her pride, Anne acts unphased by the news. “Determined not to be outdone in any class by Gilbert Blythe” said Montgomery to explain Anne’s dedication (136). At first, Anne let her sentiments come out positively, but she eventually let them take the best of her and came out negatively. Later on, in the school year, Gilbert reached over to Anne and pulled her hair. Anne, being her demented self smashed a slate over his head. This was a big fallacy that Anne had made, and Marilla realized it was time for retribution. 

Anne’s mistakes are important for her development with herself and others. Anne’s mistakes are the result of her indulging originality. With each mistake that Anne makes comes a lesson. One day after school Anne and Diana went home for some tea. Anne has accidentally got Diana drunk on wine instead of raspberry cordial. In Anne of Green Gables, Montgomery said, “Ever since I came to Green Gables I’ve been making mistakes, and each mistake has helped to cure me of some great shortcoming” (227). Never learning, another error had happened with a cake. Anne and Marilla were preparing for the new minister, Mr. Bentley, and his wife Mrs. Allan to come over for a sociable dinner, and some tea. Marilla worked for days to prepare a wide variety of food for him. Anne insisted to chime in, so Marilla allows her to bake a cake. Without notice, Anne had accidentally used anodyne liniment instead of vanilla. Mr. and Mrs. Allan can hardly swallow the cake. Not owning up to her mistake, Anne runs up the stairs mortified by her situation. 

The mistakes that Anne has helped her gain resilience, which helps Anne make mature decisions about her future. The greatest test of Anne’s maturity from her mistakes comes after Matthew dies, and Marilla’s eyesight starts to fail. Knowing how much those two sacrificed for her, Anne decides to postpone her dream of college. Through all of the mistakes she has made in her life she knew that this couldn’t be one of them. Knowing that her mistakes help her be creative, Rothman says, “Anne’s guiltiness has been created in her mind because of society’s demands”. Anne refers to this decision as her duty. All of the sacrifices that Marilla and Matthew have had for her boosts her desire to help. By giving up her scholarship to stay in Avonlea, Anne is making the ultimate decision. Anne is changing her future for someone else’s sake. By doing this, she presents how she has matured over the years spent at Green Gables. Although Marilla knew it was going to be hard, she raised Anne to be one of her own.

Montgomery uses curiosity, feelings, and errors in Anne of Green Gables to show how connections can help people grow. Growing up in an orphanage shifting from house to house isn’t easy for anyone. The new changes make it harder to adapt once you find a place you feel is home. In this novel, Anne uses these qualities to help build her relationships with those around her. People should focus more on their relationships and cherish the new ones just how Anne created ones with Matthew and Marilla as she found her new and forever home to become the Anne of Green Gables.