Anne Kellaway Admissions Essay

Set in London, the Kellaway family move from rural Dorset to the tumult of a cramped, unforgiving city. Against the backdrop of a city anxious over the increasingly bloody French Revolution, a surprising bond forms between Jem, the youngest Kellaway boy, and Maggie Butterfield. Their friendship takes a dramatic turn when they become entangled in the life of their neighbor, the printer, poet and radical, William Blake. He is a guiding spirit as Jem and Maggie navigate the unpredictable, exhilarating passage from innocence to experience. The book’s main theme is innocence versus experience as Jem and Maggie progress through the storyline.
The Kellaways are not used to the new setting. Anne Kellaway almost regrets moving from their old cottage. In a way their old home symbolized innocence, and moving into a city symbolizes experience. The French Revolution was at its peak and this new, exciting event was also thrown at the Kellaways. They were forced to accept the world on a higher level, especially as enlightenment thinkers were …show more content…
This was a critical turning point and clearly showed how the world was not all fun and games, but a cold, unforgiving place. Maisie had forever lost her innocence to a cruel human being, and was then left with the pregnancy, acting as a constant reminder of her ordeal.
Lastly, Maggie confesses that she killed a man in self defense. This shows how she is experienced from this act and not as innocent as Jem thought. This was especially surprising because you would never think that Maggie was capable of killing someone, self defense or not. In the beginning of the book it promotes innocence, but towards the end you see the experience side of the story. The characters are forced to grow up in a dangerous world, and they just had to adapt to it. This teaches us that anyone, innocent or not, can change and become