Anastasia Krupnik

By beginning the book with an introduction of Anastasia and her parents, Lowry highlights the importance family plays in Anastasia’s life, as well as how family will influence her emotional journey through the many situations she encounters. Lowry also introduces Anastasia’s green notebook as the place where she works through these emotions, symbolizing the major theme of Coping with Complex Emotions. This is seen through Anastasia’s exploration of her feelings toward Mrs. Westvessel. At first, Anastasia doesn’t hesitate to write down reasons she dislikes her teacher, but as she thinks about these reasons, she realizes they aren’t quite true, making the notebook a physical manifestation of Anastasia’s logical thought process. Finally, Anastasia concludes her dislike is based in her own inability to conform to how other people think (since her classmates like Mrs. Westvessel), and this represents Anastasia’s struggle to define who she is apart from her family and friends, introducing another major theme, The Difficulty of Forming an Identity. This is further explored through the poetry assignment where Anastasia writes a unique poem she can be proud of. Mrs. Westvessel criticizing the poem because it’s different from the others makes Anastasia again question her abilities and lack of ability to fit in. As a result, she decides to hate the poem until her father points out how good it is. Since her father is a professional poet, Anastasia believes him, which helps to restore her belief in her identity as a poet.

Anastasia’s experiences with her grandmother and with her parents having a baby also explore the theme of coping with complex emotions. In Chapter 1, thinking of Mrs. Westvessel as “old” makes Anastasia uncomfortable because she fears the nursing home where her “old” grandmother lives, which highlights how Anastasia’s concept of age triggers emotions she doesn’t quite understand. Throughout the book, Anastasia feels conflicted whenever she thinks about or sees her grandmother, which further makes her feel guilty for experiencing such emotions about a member of her family she’s supposed to love. Anastasia’s experience with these emotions highlights the complex nature of such feelings during childhood, as well as how it is acceptable to feel conflicted and, subsequently, work through that conflict as Anastasia does. 

The announcement of the baby further this theme, filling Anastasia with complicated emotions she doesn’t know how to deal with. She initially deals with this  in negative ways, by taking dramatic measure, such as running away from home. However, as Anastasia begins to understand the reality of leaving home, her family, and her belongings, the decision starts to feel like a mistake. The deal she makes with her father to name the baby offers Anastasia a way to back out of her decision. She no longer has to deal with the dangers of running away, and she can accept that she overreacted. Altogether, this sequence introduces a third major theme, The Pressure to Act in the Face of Uncertainty, by showing Anastasia’s belief that things are happening too quickly and that she must react immediately.

Anastasia’s journey through her decision to become, and then not become, Catholic also highlights the pressure to act in the face of uncertainty. Anastasia makes the decision to become Catholic based on factors that are important to her, such as choosing a middle name, but that are not based in any kind of understanding about the Catholic faith. The discussion between Anastasia and Jennifer highlights the childhood understanding both girls have about complex concepts like religion. Jennifer’s insistence Anastasia is too old to become Catholic shows Jennifer’s limited experience with Catholicism. She has only ever seen kids make their first communion at age seven, and thus, she believes this is a mandatory process for joining the religion. In reality, a person can convert to Catholicism at any age. Similarly, neither girl quite understands the concept of “dispensation,” a process in which an authority figure like a priest or bishop grants an exemption from a Catholic law. While Jennifer uses the term correctly, no dispensation is required for Anastasia to become Catholic at age 10, and dispensations are not a physical thing to be carried in a shopping bag. Anastasia’s ultimate choice not to become Catholic shows Anastasia still has room to grow. She is not yet mature enough to feel truly sorry for the mean things she’s said and done, and the idea of having to do so is enough for her to change her mind about becoming Catholic. It also shows that she has a stronger sense of identity than she believes she does.