Meet Addy

Author: Connie Porter

In my on going mission to reread all the American Girl “Meet” books, we have finally reached Addy.

The Addy Controversy

Addy was Pleasent Company’s first non-white character and I know some people object to Addy’s story being set in the civil war. Some argue that Pleasent Company couldn’t think of any other story to tell with a black girl. According to the American Girl Wiki, it was an intentional choice by the advisory committee to tackle the most painful part of American history head on. I don’t know if that is true, what I do know is Connie Porter wrote an amazing story!

I still have a lot of American Girls to “Meet” and we are rapidly approaching the end of characters I remember from my childhood, but I remember being moved by Addy’s story in a way that the other girls just didn’t emotionally impact me.

Addy’s Personally

All the American Girls are introduced doing something timeless in a setting that grounds us in there time period. Kirsten is playing dolls, on the deck of the ship taking her to America. Felicity is running an errand for her mother. Addy is listening to her parents talking at night.

We are told that Addy feels safe surrounded by her family, and this sence of safety gets ripped away.

Addy is highly intelligent, and that leads to her ability to adapt to her surroundings.

Throughout the book, Addy develops an internal locus of control, or as Papa puts it “freedom in your head.” This allows Addy to adapt a new sence of safety as the story progresses.

Symbols in Addy’s story

There are a lot of references to bugs in Addy’s story. Addy hears crickets at the beginning of the story. She is famously force-fed worms by the overseer on the plantation. Addy even pulls a leech off of her skin after crossing a river.

In the last chapter, once Addy and Mama are safe, the references to bugs stop. I think the bugs are there as a visceral representation of slavery itself. It’s an age appropriate means of touching on the cruelty and violence inflicted on people in slavery. The series isn’t going to show Addy having the overseer’s “worm” forced down her throat, but it can and does show him forceing real worms down her throat.

Addy Doll

I have avoided talking about the dolls or tie-in merchandise because I want to focus on the stories, but I want to point it out with Addy because of how well written it is.

All the American Girl dolls had a “Meet Accessories” bundle you could buy that included a hat, a bag, handkerchief, a piece of jewelry, and money from the time period. (Kirsten didn’t need money on the prairie so she got a spoon)

Everything in Addy’s meet collection is used in this story. If you aren’t paying attention to the ONE refrance in the book to Felicity’s amber necklace you can be forgiven for not noticing it on the doll… or knowing it’s actually a coral necklace. But Addy’s shell necklace is a family heirloom that gives her courage, her coin is a symbol of the price she must pay for freedom. The handkerchief and water jug are the survival tools she and Mama use in their escape. I don’t think Kirsten’s spoon even gets a mention in the text!

Addy is a according to the Straus-Howe Generational Theory, Addy is a member of the Progressive Generation (along with Kirsten’s baby sister and Samantha’s Grandmother.) This generation was defined by rebuilding America in the wake of the Civil War, and they adapted to the needs around them. We definitely see this adaptability with Addy.

Future Theory

I aways liked the idea that the American Girls all co-exist in the same universe. Like if Addy’s family had gone to Minnesota instead of Pennsylvania they might have met the Larsons. The woman who helped Mama and Addy get to Philadelphia is named Caroline, and assuming she’s about 60… let’s just remember Miss Caroline when we get to Meet Caroline.

But that won’t be for a while, next up I am reading Meet Josefina.