1. Meena's obsession with fame and drama

“Once I heard about Dada’s film ban, I became obsessed with what I had missed out on, being the daughter of a famous film hero”

Meena seems to have an obsession with fame, glamour and wealth. It provides relief from the banality of her quotidian. Her overactive imagination and her innocence add humour to her narration, as everything is expressed in absolute and hyperbolic terms.

2. Meena's growth

“Maybe me and Anita Rutter were murders”

As the novel progresses, we can witness Meena growing up and maturing. At first, she thinks growing up means being like Sam and his friends “I always had to watch Sam’s gang and their girls. They looked so complete, in on a secret I might never discover”. She wishes that her mother would stand up for her and be rude to the other parents “But mama wasn’t a Yard mama, so I learned early on there were some things I would have to do for myself”.

However, she realises that, in fact, being grown up means enduring hardship with courage and stoicism and remaining calm and composed through even the most difficult of times. “I was a grown up now, I had seen my parents swallow down anger and grief a million times, for our sakes, for the sake of others watching, for the sake of their own sanity”.

We also see Meena’s sense of morality developing throughout the book. At the beginning, the reader gets a sense that Meena knows what she should or shouldn’t do, but doesn’t truly understand why. For example, she cites phrases she has heard at Christian Sunday School as reasons for confessing her wrongdoing to her father, “I knew I should tell Papa everything now, Confess said the Lord, and Ye Shall Be Saved”, even though she is a Sikh, not a Christian. On the other hand, in the final chapter, Meena goes with Tracey to help Anita, risking both her exam results and her parents’ good favour for a girl who has done nothing except insult her family and her culture. She does this because she knows deep down it is the right thing to do.

3. Meena's connection to her culture

“The songs made me realise that there was a corner of me that would be forever not England”

Despite the racism that seems to be a constant in her life, Meena still seems to be proud of her Indian ancestry. She feels great admiration for her Indian Aunties and Uncles in their unashamedly Indian lives and ways. She has the feeling that no matter how hard she tries to fit in with the English culture which surrounds her, she will never stop being Punjabi.

4. Meena's caring side

Meena is caring and finds it difficult to be mean to the only person who she has ever acknowledged as a friend. “She needed me more than I needed her. There is a fine line between love and pity and I had just stepped over it” . Meena suddenly sees just how toxic Anita’s home environment is. She realises that Anita’s aggressive confidence is simply a front to hide her vulnerability and unhappiness.

Anita and Me Characters