Anne of Green Gables: Chapter 3 – “Anne’s History” Study Guide
This study guide will help you understand the key elements of Chapter 3, focusing on themes, vocabulary, and important quotes.
Themes / Big Ideas
The Power of Imagination: This chapter heavily emphasizes Anne’s reliance on her imagination to cope with a difficult life. She creates romanticized versions of events and places, finding joy where others might see only hardship. This is a central theme throughout the novel.
Loneliness and Belonging: Anne’s history is marked by constant displacement and a lack of stable affection. She desperately craves a home and family, and fears rejection. The chapter explores the emotional toll of being unwanted.
The Importance of Names & Identity: Anne believes names hold significance and reflect a person’s worth. Her concern over her parents' names, and her musings about being called a "thistle," highlight her desire for a positive self-image.
Resilience & Coping Mechanisms: Despite her hardships, Anne maintains a cheerful disposition and develops coping strategies (like "burying hopes" or focusing on the positive) to navigate her challenges.
Perception vs. Reality: Anne’s idealized view of her past contrasts with the likely harsh realities revealed through Marilla's subtle observations. This highlights how our perceptions shape our experiences.
The Search for Acceptance: Anne's constant need to explain and justify her experiences reveals a deep-seated desire for acceptance and understanding.
Vocabulary List
| Word | Part of Speech | Definition |
|---------------|----------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Confidentially | Adverb | In a private or trusting manner |
| Asylum | Noun | A hospital for people with mental illnesses |
| Mercilessly | Adverb | Without pity or compassion; cruelly |
| Graveyard | Noun | A place of burial for the dead; figuratively, a place where hopes are lost |
| Romantic | Adjective | Characterized by idealized or exaggerated emotions and settings |
| Bent on | Phrase | Determined to do something |
| Abstractedly | Adverb | Lost in thought; preoccupied |
| Inculcate | Verb | To teach or impress (a belief) by repetition |
| Weeny-teeny | Adjective | Extremely small; diminutive |
| Muslin | Noun | A loosely woven cotton fabric |
| Scrawny | Adjective | Thin and weak; meager |
| Orphan | Noun | A child whose parents have died |
| At their wits’ end | Idiom | Having exhausted all resources or ideas; desperate |
| Neglect | Noun | Failure to care for properly |
| Drudgery | Noun | Hard, monotonous work |
| Ladylike | Adjective | Having the qualities considered appropriate for a woman of good breeding |
| Pondered | Verb | Thought about something carefully |
| Shrewd | Adjective | Having or showing sharp powers of judgment |
| Divine | Verb | Discover (something) by intuition or insight |
| Abstractedly | Adverb | Lost in thought; preoccupied |
| Pinions | Noun | A feather or feathers of a bird's wing |
| Season | Noun | A period of the year characterized by particular conditions or activities |
Quotes to Look For
“‘I’ve made up my mind to enjoy this drive. It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will. Of course, you must make it up firmly.’ ” – This quote establishes Anne’s core coping mechanism and optimistic outlook.
“‘My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes.’ That’s a sentence I read in a book once, and I say it over to comfort myself whenever I’m disappointed in anything.” – Reveals Anne's romanticized view of her hardships and her reliance on literature for emotional solace.
“I don’t believe a rose would be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk cabbage.” – Highlights Anne’s belief in the importance of names and their connection to identity.
“No wonder she had been so delighted at the prospect of a real home. It was a pity she had to be sent back.” – This quote shows Marilla beginning to feel sympathy for Anne and recognize her need for a stable home.
“What a starved, unloved life she had had—a life of drudgery and poverty and neglect.” – Marilla’s internal assessment of Anne's past, revealing the likely harsh realities behind her stories.
“She’s got too much to say, but she might be trained out of that. And there’s nothing rude or slangy in what she does say. She’s ladylike.” – Marilla's pragmatic assessment of Anne, weighing her flaws against her positive qualities.
“‘O-o-o-h,’ faltered Anne.” – This shows Anne's vulnerability and sensitivity when discussing her past experiences.
“‘Somehow, it will seem like the end of everything.’ ” – Demonstrates Anne’s fear of further rejection and her desperate desire for a home.
This study guide should help you analyze the key themes, vocabulary, and important moments in Chapter 3 of Anne of Green Gables. Pay attention to how Anne’s personality is revealed through her words and actions, and consider the implications of her history for her future at Green Gables.