Lucy Maud Montgomery

She was born in Clifton, Prince Edward Island, Canada, in November 1874. Her mother died when Montgomery was almost two years old. Her father remarried, and Montgomery spent her childhood with her grandparents in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island.

As a child, Montgomery read as much as she could. At that time, novels were considered inappropriate reading material for children, and they only kept a few of them in her grandparents' house. However, she had unrestricted access to poetry; this early immersion in poetry likely influenced Montgomery’s writing style, which is poetic and descriptive.

She kept a notebook in which she wrote down plots as they occurred to her, and while looking through this notebook, she found the following idea: “Elderly couple apply to orphan asylum for a boy. By mistake a girl is sent them.” From these fragments, Montgomery created her first novel, Anne of Green Gables, which was published in 1908.

Anne of Green Gables marked the beginning of Montgomery’s prolific writing career as the first book in a succession of novels centered on young, adventurous female protagonists. After the success of Anne of Green Gables, Montgomery went on to write seven more novels about Anne, following the protagonist through adulthood and motherhood. Several novels in the Anne series have been adapted and made into a successful television miniseries. Montgomery’s work has been translated into several languages, and Montgomery museums, plays, and houses on Prince Edward Island draw international visitors.

Setting

The ancestral farm, Green Gables, in the quiet town of Avonlea in Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Plot

Exposition

In the city of Avonlea, something out of the ordinary happened: Matthew Cuthbert left Green Gables (his home) wearing his best clothes; this made his neighbor curious of what was happening so she asked his sister who told her that they adopted a boy, so Matthew was going to pick him up.

Rising action

This book is divided in episodes, and each episode has its own conflict; I will adress the conflicts that I deemed as the most important ones.

First Conflict

When Matthew retuned home, he came back with something -more like someone- unexpected: a girl. Marilla pointed out the mix up as soon as she saw Anne, which made her terribly sad. Later on, the siblings decide to keep her.

Second Conflict

After she invited her best friend, Diana, to a tea party and accidentally gave her red wine instead of raspberry juice and got her drunk, Diana's mother forbid the girls to speak to each other. This situation changes when Anne saves Diana's sibling from a lethal disease.

Third Conflict

The first class Gilbert and Anne shared, Gilbert made fun of Anne's hair by pulling it and calling her braids 'carrots', she is very self concious about her hair colour so she hit him with a slate for mocking her and held a grudge against him. This rivalry makes her push herself when it comes to studying, as they are bith the top students in their classroom. Their relationship becomes closer later on when they attend Queens Academy.

Climax

While Anne was studying at Queens Academy, she earned a prestigoius scholarship, that would allow her to attend a four year college program. She had dedicated all her time towards that goal, and earning it made her realise how far she had come.

Falling action

Anne returned to Avonlea after having graduated from Queens Academy, but shortly after Matthew died and Anne discovered that Marilla was going blind and that she might have to sell Green Gables; to be able to pay the debts and take care of Marilla, Anne decided to refuse the scholarship and take on a job as a teacher in Avonlea.

Resolution

When Gilbert heard of Anne's decision, he gave up his post as a teacher in Avonlea's School, and offered it to Anne as it was the closest, job as a teacher, to Green Gables. Anne take son the job, happy to be able to help Marilla, who has supperted her for a long time.

Characters

Anne Shirley

The Orphan that was sent to the Cuthberts, in stead of the boy they asked due to a mistake on Mrs. Spencer's part. She has an out going personality, and a broad vocabulary. She doesn't like her ginger hair nor her freckled skin.

Matthew Cuthbert

One of the owners of Green Gables, He , along with Marilla (his sister), wanted to adopt an orphan boy that could help them with the the farm's hardwork; He isn't married and is very timid. He is afraid of all women, except for Marilla, neighbour and Anne.

Marilla Cuthbert

One of the owners of Green Gables, She, along with matthew( her brother), wanted to adopt an orphan boy that could help them with the the farm's hardwork; she isn't married and is very strict, but, her character softens as the book progresses thanks to Anne's personality.