Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Overview… a spelling genius with a truancy problem. Despite her poor class attendance record, 11-year-old Akeelah Anderson never makes mistakes on her spelling tests. With the encouragement of her school principal, Mr. Welch, and Dr. Joshua Larabee, a visiting English professor, she is thrust into the cutthroat world of spelling bees. Now Akeelah must face the ridicule of her peers, some tough competition, and worst of all, the word xanthosis.
Personality... clever and willful, but a little self-conscious. Akeelah’s aptitude for words makes her the school nerd and, unfortunately, a target for bullies. As result, she is reluctant to embrace her status as Crenshaw Middle School’s spelling champion. Mr. Welch thinks she has what it takes to make it all the way to nationals, but Akeelah isn’t sure she even wants to try.
Get to Know her in...
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Eleven year-old Akeelah Anderson's life is not easy: her father is dead, her mom ignores her, her brother runs with the local gangbangers. She's smart, but her environment threatens to strangle her aspirations. Responding to a threat by her school's principal, Akeelah participates in a spelling bee to avoid detention for her many absences. Much to her surprise and embarrassment, she wins. Her principal asks her to seek coaching from an English professor named Dr. Larabee for the more prestigious regional bee. As the possibility of making it all the way to the Scripps National Spelling Bee looms, Akeelah could provide her community with someone to rally around and be proud of—but only if she can overcome her insecurities and her distracting home life. She also must get past Dr. Larabee's demons, and a field of more experienced and privileged fellow spellers.
