GCSE Meera Syal | Character Revision in Anita and Me

English Literature Quiz - Anita and Me - Character (Questions)

Explore the main characters in Anita and Me, from Meena’s keen observations to Anita’s influence, so you can write confident, focused answers in your GCSE exam.

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Fascinating Fact:

Anita Rutter is charismatic and unpredictable, a local celebrity to younger children, yet her cruelty exposes deep insecurity.

In GCSE English Literature, you explore how Meera Syal presents characters in Anita and Me. You track Meena’s viewpoint, Anita’s impact on her, and how friendship links to identity, racism, and belonging.

Key Terms

Protagonist: The main character in a story, usually the one whose thoughts and feelings the reader follows most closely.
Foil: A character who contrasts with another to highlight particular qualities, such as Meena’s reflection against Anita’s behaviour.
Characterisation: The methods a writer uses to build a character, including speech, actions, thoughts, and how others react to them.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

Who is the main character in Anita and Me for GCSE?

The main character in Anita and Me is Meena Kumar, a British-Indian girl growing up in a Midlands mining village. The story is told through her first-person viewpoint.

How is Anita Rutter presented as a character?

Anita Rutter is presented as bold, admired, and often cruel. Her sudden mood changes and unkind choices reveal that her power over others hides a troubled, insecure personality.

How do I write about characters in Anita and Me for GCSE?

To write about characters, choose a key relationship or moment, quote briefly, and explain what it shows about attitude, identity, or belonging. Link your points to the novel’s wider themes.

Try These Related Quizzes

What does Meena, as narrator, tell the reader about herself in the "Epigraph"?

[ ]	She found childhood traumatic
[ ]	She found childhood blissful, although relatively uneventful
[ ]	She enjoys making up stories that present the past as more exciting, vivid, or exotic than reality
[ ]	The narrator does not share any information about herself before Chapter One

Which of the following is NOT correct of papa?

[ ]	He never talks to Meena about the work he does
[ ]	He is sensitive to his wife's moods
[ ]	He tends towards depression
[ ]	He has high expectations of his daughter's behaviour

"My mother knew from experience that she would get fewer stares and whispers if she had donned any of the sensible teacher's trouser suits she would wear for school, but for her, looking glamorous in saris and formal Indian suits was part of the English people's education." What does this sentence tell the reader of mama's character?

[ ]	She is courageous
[ ]	She believes that people can change
[ ]	Being able to look glamorous is important to her
[ ]	All of the above

"She was a symbol of something I'd noticed in some of the Tollington women, a stoic muscular resistance which made them ask for nothing and expect less, the same resignation I heard in the voices of my Aunties when they spoke of back home or their children's bad manners or the wearying monotony of their jobs." This quotation describes which character?

[ ]	Mrs Christmas
[ ]	Mrs Worrall
[ ]	Deirdre Rutter
[ ]	Sandy

How do Pinky and Baby respond to Meena's theft of the collection tin from Mr Ormerod?

[ ]	They tell her parents about her theft as soon as they return to her house
[ ]	They tell Auntie Shaila about the theft as soon as they return to her house
[ ]	They tell Mr Ormerod about the theft when he comes to Meena's house to ask her parents about the missing tin
[ ]	They stare silently at Meena, hoping she will confess

Who sometimes provokes a protective response from Meena?

[ ]	Pinky
[ ]	Baby
[ ]	Tracey
[ ]	Sherrie

Which of the following adjectives best describes Sam?

[ ]	Resentful
[ ]	Gentle
[ ]	Reflective
[ ]	Shy

Who understands Meena better than any of her other friends?

[ ]	Anita
[ ]	Sam
[ ]	Tracey
[ ]	Robert

What is Meena's first impression of Nanima?

[ ]	That she is fun
[ ]	That she is strict
[ ]	That she is too different from Meena for the two to have much in common
[ ]	That she is very formal, although friendly

10.

Which of the following does NOT describe Anita?

[ ]	She needs to be admired
[ ]	She is good at listening to her friends and offering them sympathy
[ ]	She needs to be better than her friends
[ ]	She angrily pushes away anyone who dares to feel sorry for her

English Literature Quiz - Anita and Me - Character (Answers)

What does Meena, as narrator, tell the reader about herself in the "Epigraph"?

[ ]	She found childhood traumatic
[ ]	She found childhood blissful, although relatively uneventful
[x]	She enjoys making up stories that present the past as more exciting, vivid, or exotic than reality
[ ]	The narrator does not share any information about herself before Chapter One

The narrator first tells the story of her parents' arrival in Britain as "simple" Punjabis cut off from world events before revealing that this is the version of her past reserved for credulous job interviewers or dates

Which of the following is NOT correct of papa?

[ ]	He never talks to Meena about the work he does
[ ]	He is sensitive to his wife's moods
[x]	He tends towards depression
[ ]	He has high expectations of his daughter's behaviour

When we are first introduced to papa, he is marching Meena to Mr Ormerod's shop to check whether her story that the shopkeeper gave her sweets for free is true. His disappointment in his daughter, after she admits to lying, is overwhelming. He is entertaining and optimistic and devotes his life to his family, never mentioning work and always solicitous of his wife's and daughter's well-being

[ ]	She is courageous
[ ]	She believes that people can change
[ ]	Being able to look glamorous is important to her
[x]	All of the above

While Meena's father wears a suit for going out, her mother wears a sari, despite knowing that people will stare. Rather than changing her behaviour, she believes that she has a duty to educate ill-informed English people and also clearly believes them capable of change (not surprising, considering she is a teacher!)

[ ]	Mrs Christmas
[x]	Mrs Worrall
[ ]	Deirdre Rutter
[ ]	Sandy

Meena is awed to realise how difficult Mrs Worrall's life is, caring for her shell-shocked husband without complaint

How do Pinky and Baby respond to Meena's theft of the collection tin from Mr Ormerod?

[ ]	They tell her parents about her theft as soon as they return to her house
[ ]	They tell Auntie Shaila about the theft as soon as they return to her house
[ ]	They tell Mr Ormerod about the theft when he comes to Meena's house to ask her parents about the missing tin
[x]	They stare silently at Meena, hoping she will confess

Pinky and Baby do not give Meena away; she, on the other hand, does not hesitate to pin the blame on Baby

Who sometimes provokes a protective response from Meena?

[ ]	Pinky
[ ]	Baby
[x]	Tracey
[ ]	Sherrie

Meena often feels sorry for Tracey, at one point reporting: "Tracey was at least six inches taller than when I had last seen her - the day of the Peeing Competition - and the pinched, wan features had rearranged themselves into a compact heart-shaped face of such sweetness and sorrow that I felt like gathering her up from the kitchen lino and feeding her something hot"

Which of the following adjectives best describes Sam?

[x]	Resentful
[ ]	Gentle
[ ]	Reflective
[ ]	Shy

Sam does not know where to direct his anger; his racism partly results from resentment at watching people who have come to Britain from other countries succeed where he only expects failure in life

Who understands Meena better than any of her other friends?

[ ]	Anita
[ ]	Sam
[ ]	Tracey
[x]	Robert

Robert and Meena first communicate through glass, using a combination of signs and written messages. After a short time they are able to complete each other's sentences and respond to questions before they have even been asked