15 Canadian things America should trade for to form a pop culture super team

11. Pollyanna for Anne of Green Gables

If you don’t look too carefully, you might think that Anne of Green Gables and Pollyanna are twin characters. Both were created early on in the 20th century, for one. Anne Shirley debuted in 1908 in Anne of Green Gables, written by L.M. Montgomery. Pollyanna also appeared in a book bearing her name only five years later, written by Eleanor H. Porter.

The similarities don’t stop there, however. Both characters are orphans adopted by unlikely spinster characters. Each girl is generally sunny and well-meaning. Both have become cultural touchstones with multiple television and film adaptations to their name.

Look a little closer, though, and you’ll start to see the differences. Anne is prone to bouts of drama. Early on during her time on Prince Edward Island, she finds that even the smallest thing will indulge her flights of fancy. The adults around Anne frequently chide her for being a little too dramatic and imaginative.

Pollyanna, meanwhile, is happiness turned up to eleven. She plays something called “The Glad Game”, which is basically finding something nice in every situation. Pollyanna needs this strategy when she moves in with her initially cold Aunt Polly. Still, the young girl’s intense happiness forcibly transforms many of the inhabitants of her small Vermont town. Aunt Polly herself begins to warm up as the novel progresses.

Even being hit by a car does not diminish Pollyanna’s spirits for long. In face, her buoyancy is so complete and well known that it’s entered common parlance. Someone known as a “Pollyanna” is intensely optimistic. Positivity bias, the concept that the subconscious mind focuses more on happy, positive events, is also known as the ”Pollyanna principle”.