Meet Samantha - Book Discussion

Hi everyone! I hope you all were able to read Meet Samantha so we can discuss it today. If you don't have copies of these books going forward at home, you can check to see if a local library has them, and if no libraries have them, you can make an account at the Library of Congress's Internet Archive and check them out there.

Meet Samantha is an introduction to Samantha Parkington's world in 1904 New York. She is a privileged orphan living in a mansion with her Grandmary, who is more of an outspoken tomboy and doesn't appreciate the life her Grandmary has for her as a "proper young lady". Her life changes when her annoying next-door neighbor's family gets a new servant, a girl Samantha's age named Nellie, and they befriend each other, go on an adventure, and learn more about each other's lives and caring for others.

When I was rereading this book, several things came to mind about the themes within, and both their historical context and what it means to be a girl in 2025. I don't want these posts to be too long, so I'll list my thoughts, and let you discuss these topics as well in the comments!

1. Early on in the book, Samantha wants a certain expensive doll, but later in the book, she ends up giving the doll to Nellie, who hasn't been able to play with toys. What does that say about Samantha's character, and how does that apply to today?

   I think it says a lot about Samantha that she was able to give up the doll she wanted so badly and give it to Nellie, who never was able to have a doll of her own because she is a servant and can't afford wants like toys. Samantha's character arc in this book is going from a girl that is pretty sheltered, only thinking that her life is everyone's life and not aware of the suffering that is going on around her, to being empathetic once learning the truth about Nellie and the servants, and wanting to do something to help.

   In today's world, class divisions are pretty stark. While there are some people with millions, if not billions, of dollars, it is hard for a lot of people to get jobs, and many people are struggling to get by. Kids in these households don't have a lot of toys, and might not even be able to ever have an American Girl doll of their own. While some richer kids might assume that their life is the status quo, others may be like Samantha and be able to give back to those who don't have as much.

2. When Samantha and Nellie go to Jessie's neighborhood to find her, they discover that her neighborhood is segregated because Jessie is African American. What do you think this means for how race relations were in 1904, and how does this still apply today?

   In 1904, the Civil Rights Act, which officially outlawed segregation between races, was still 60 years away from happening. While New York was a Northern state, where slavery was outlawed quicker than the Southern states, not having a longer history of slavery didn't mean discrimination didn't exist. African Americans could only live in certain neighborhoods, were discriminated against in hiring and other services, and weren't able to have as much money as white families because they didn't have as much generational wealth thanks to slavery.

   While we are now 60 years past the Civil Rights Act, the effects of state-sponsored discrimination against African Americans and Black people are still wide-reaching. Families are still experiencing the effects of lack of generational wealth, cities and towns in America are still racially segregated in practice due to the money gap, schools with majority-Black populations often have less money than schools with majority-White populations, and so on and so forth. While things are better for African Americans now than they were in 1904, there is still much more progress to go for people like Jessie.

3. Samantha is given a degree of innocence that Nellie doesn't have because Samantha is rich and Nellie is not. How do you think both girl's worldviews are different because of their different experiences?

   Samantha and Nellie both have different views of the world at first, and I believe it's because at first, Samantha was sheltered from the real world. Her days are filled with servants serving her every whim, making art and playing piano with her wealthy grandmother, and the most dangerous thing she could do is play outside. Meanwhile, Nellie has a history of factory work, working for other families, attending for their every need, and didn't have much of a childhood. She was separated from her family, and because the world wasn't as kind to her as it was to Samantha, has a much different outlook on the world.

4. Throughout the book, it is shown that while Grandmary is a traditionalist and doesn't believe women should have expanded rights, Uncle Gard's friend Cornelia believes women should be doing more than making samplers and playing piano. What were women expected to be like in 1904, and what areas do women still need to advance in 2025?

   Meet Samantha shows that in 1904, traditional society expected women to be "proper young ladies". Wealthy women were expected to keep their mouths shut, do gendered work, and live in high society without having to do much. In 1904, women were discriminated against in hiring. They couldn't vote, weren't expected to have much opinions, and "wife" and "mother" seemed to be the end goal that was expected of them.

   In 2025, things are much better, but the effects of sexism have still stained society. Women aren't expected to be leaders. Women aren't expected to achieve big things. Women still get paid less than men. There are more men named John as CEOs of companies than there are women of any name. Our country still has never had a woman leader. More young boys now believe that women are supposed to not achieve things and are supposed to be their devoted girlfriends and wives.

   And this is why American Girl is important - to keep empowering girls to be their very best.