’Anita and Me’ by Meera Syal
sweet shop. nita is the polar opposite of Meena - she comes from a broken family as opposed to
Meena's stable, loving family; Anita is not studious nor highly literate; and, Anita sees sex as a means
to an end and as a way to cope with her own bleak life. She starts to hand out with Sam more often,
after her mother left the family for a butcher.
Sam Lowbridge is the head of the motorcycle gang. In the novel there is an episode in which Sa mis
verbally abusive of Indian people, which hurts and embarasses Meena. Sam is aware of the fact that,
like many others of his white working-class peers in his village, hei s stranded in the demising
Tollington without a fair chance finding employment. As a social outcast, there is no useful palce for
Sam in the society that has rejected him. Given his racist opinions, he feels betrayed in view of the
opportunities in store for Meena. These feelings are of course augmented by Meena playing with his
annaabi.ee 
