Anastasia Krupnik

“Anastasia sometimes wondered why he kept it in the bookcase if he hated it so much. She thought it must be a little like the feeling she had had when she was eight, when she hated a boy named Michael McGuire so much that she walked past his house every day, just to stick out her tongue.”

Anastasia’s questions about her father’s book of poetry highlights the theme of Coping with Complex Emotions. At the outset of this quotation, Anastasia doesn’t understand why her father keeps the book on the shelf if he hates it. However, much as she does with her green notebook, Anastasia breaks down her father’s response and compares it to something she understands. In doing so, Anastasia shows she has the capacity to confront complex emotions and deal with them, even if she isn’t yet aware she possesses this ability.

“Mrs. Westvessel, she knew, was really a pretty good teacher. At any rate, she had taught Anastasia to remember the difference between minuends and subtrahends, which was not a particularly interesting thing to know; and also how to say ‘I love you’ in both French and German, which was not only very interesting but might come in handy someday.”

Anastasia’s thoughts here are an example of the types of evidence Anastasia presents when deciding to make up her mind. In trying to convince herself Mrs. Westvessel is a good teacher, Anastasia shows her logic abilities by pointing to things Mrs. Westvessel has taught her. In addition, these lines contribute to Anastasia’s character development by highlighting her interests; in keeping with her character, she is less interested in technical things than she is in language and emotions.