Anne of Avonlea

For Paul Irving, his Rock People serve as stand-ins for his absent father and lack of friends, much like Katie Maurice did for Anne in Anne of Green Gables. What does it symbolize when Paul stops seeing the Rock People at the shore?

Davy and Dora are certainly two sides of the same coin. Though Dora is the best behaved of the two and gives Marilla and Anne no trouble, why do they seem to love Davy more, even with all his faults? What does Marilla see in him, and what does Anne see in him?

Readers see Anne interact quite a bit with her girlfriends—Diana, Jane, and Priscilla—yet Anne does not seem to share their same ideals and thoughts. How is Anne different from other young women her age?

Consider the following quote from Chapter 13:

“This is where the bad wood elves dwell,” whispered Anne.

“They are impish and malicious but they can’t harm us, because they are not allowed to do evil in the spring. There was one peeping at us around that old twisted fir; and didn’t you see a group of them on that big freckly toadstool we just passed? The good fairies always dwell in the sunshiny places.”

How does this quote describe Anne’s outlook on life, especially the people she meets and her experiences?

How does the novel handle the loss of mothers? The twins, Paul Irving, and Anne all share this similarity. How do the “surrogate mothers” in the novel fill this space?

Anne sees much of herself in the young Paul Irving and immediately recognizes him as a kindred spirit. However, the rest of Avonlea—except for Miss Lavendar—treats Paul as strange because of his vivid imagination. Why is his make-believe world so threatening to the people of Avonlea? Consider his schoolmates as well—young children at the perfect age to dwell on imaginative fantasies. Why do they tend to isolate Paul because of his stories?

Though dear Matthew passed away at the end of Anne of Green Gables, he remains very much alive in Anne’s thoughts. How does Anne, throughout this second novel in the series, pay tribute to Matthew’s impact on her life?

From the middle of the novel onward, casual hints are dropped, through the omniscient narrator, about Gilbert’s devotion and love for Anne. It is so visible to everyone in the town but Anne. Why can she not see Gilbert in a romantic light, and how does the final chapter foreshadow their eventual relationship?