The theme of the story is maturity. This is because in the beginning of the story, Lizabeth had no sense of compassion for others. Lizabeth’s character had some hardships, and she was beginning to realize that she was growing up, but didn’t know the pace she was growing at. She was living in rural Maryland during the Great Depression as an African American, which can create many problems such as her dad not having any luck finding a job. Lizabeth’s mother had a job and was the breadwinner of the family. This really disturbed Lizabeth’s dad, who seemed to be going through a mid-life crisis and believed that he was worthless to his family and that he had failed them. For the first time, Lizabeth heard her father cry. This made Lizabeth fear because so many things in her life were going wrong, but hearing this …show more content…
She cared for people. She cared for Miss Lottie. At this moment all she wanted to do was apologize. She felt guilty. The guiltiest she has ever felt in her entire life. She single-handedly ruined the one thing Miss Lottie had a hope for in this world. Lizabeth grew up and realized it in one moment. She looked back on this moment, and talked about how after this year. Miss Lottie never grew marigolds again. But Lizabeth looks back at this time in her life, and she embodies Miss Lottie. Lizabeth then realizes you must look at the beauty in your life, and not the despair. “For one does not have to be ignorant and poor to find that his life is as barren as the dusty yards of our town. And I too have planted marigolds” (Collier 148). In a different period of time, Lizabeth gives back to Miss Lottie, even after she has passed, with a peace offering. Her marigolds. Her marigolds that Lizabeth grew now symbolize the hope that Miss Lottie had in the world in the future. Her marigolds were Miss Lottie’s. Even after her death, Lizabeth uses marigolds to make the legend of Miss Lottie live
The quote above pertains to a short story by Eugenia Collier titled, “Marigolds.” In the story, the main character, Lizabeth, faces trials that turn her from an innocent child to a young woman. Collier uses imagery to present the unpredictability of life by showing Lizabeth’s maturity, Americans acceptance of the Depression, and the temporary memories that fill Lizbeth’s past.
Miss Lottie’s garden grows marigolds, which are often mentioned in the story. In the story these marigolds are like a symbol of Lizabeths innocence. In the end of the story Lizabeth destroys the flowers, and after acts very differently. As the story describes it, “… and as I look back upon it, I know that
In the beginning, the author explains how this young girl, Lizabeth, lived in the culturally deprived neighborhood during the depression. Lizabeth is at the age where she is just beginning to become a young woman and is almost ready to give up her childish ways. Through this time period she was confused and could not quite understand what was happening to her. In the end she rips Miss Lottie’s marigolds among the ugly place in which she lived. The marigolds were the only things that make the place a bit beautiful to the eye. In this scene the marigolds represent the only hope the people had for themselves in this time of depression. This could reveal how the author has experienced a loss of hope in times of need. In her explanation of how Lizabeth had torn up the flowers and destroyed all hope in that time of depression, might explain that she has also destroyed hope in a time of pain and grief. Later she writes, “And I too have planted marigolds.” This could mean she has learned from her experiences and that she has finally found hope and always tries to seek the good within the bad and the ugly. On another note, it could mean she just wants to act out on something, but she can’t, so she writes about her...
One of the occurring themes is of bravery. The Walls children face adversity when moving from place to place, dealing with bullies and their father goes into an alcohol induced rage. “Brian, Maureen, Lori and I got into more fights than most kids.” Walls tells the readers on page 164. The kids had to learn to stand up for themselves in a harsh community; they had to be brave. Walls also used the theme of forgiveness to teach about the importance of forgiving those who wronged you. Her parents constantly ignored their children’s needs and mistreated them, but in the end they were forgiven for all of that and they were a regular family. “We raised our glasses. I could almost hear Dad chuckling at Mom’s comment in the way he did when he was truly enjoying something.” (Walls 288). The purpose of this comment is to wrap up the story, but it also shows forgiveness and growth. By the end of the book all was forgiven, the neglect, the stealing, the cheating and the lying, and they were family. These themes in the book are an overarching device that is a great tool to show the moral or lesson of the certain story.
It states that Lizabeth changed from a child to an adult in one instant, as she gazed on the sad, weary eyes of Miss. Lottie. Collier’s message is conveyed through the journey of Lizabeth. If Lizabeth undergoes the difficult journey to reach womanhood, Collier is trying to tell the reader that this is imperative for us to do so as well. One can only escape the blindness of ignorance that is accompanied by childhood best described as a “reality hidden to childhood.” on line 356, by undergoing the same journey that Lizabeth went through. Collier’s theme in “Marigolds” is that growing up is the only way in which to be able to comprehend someone other than yourself and feel compassion. Even though our situations are different the situation Lizabeth was placed in, we can still use what Lizabeth learned to help and improve our own lives.
She’s considering having an abortion. On the other hand the daughter wants to get merry to her African boyfriend he wants her to move with him to Africa. Momma is very excited to own her first home and they also refuse to take the money from Mr. Linden, they are tired of living in the apartment, momma thinks a house is the best investment. The son is going through some extremely hard times after losing all that money trying to open a liquor store. In the story the son faces more problems the son has the most problems for example he’s in charged of the house after his father die he took over all the responsibility he’s father had. During the 1950s after the father die the son usually took over the family and all its
No matter race, background or time period, every child goes through the drastic change from childhood to adulthood that we know of as “coming of age.” Since the topic of coming of age is so widespread and relatable, it is a very common theme in novels. In fact, many American classics follow the archetype known as loss of innocence, which displays the change in views and values of a child during this time period. Childhood is hard enough how it is, but during certain time periods and in certain locations, it can be exceptionally difficult; an example of this stressed hardship is the Deep South during the times of segregation and The Great Depression. One American classic that follows this archetype is To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee; in this narrative, she shows a dramatic change in Scout and Jem’s understanding of courage and empathy with the help of their father, Atticus, as they mature in the Deep South.
After reading and annotating Marigolds by Eugenia W. Collier, I learned that there are some things we don’t know or realize when we are a child. When we become a woman, we have a different perspective on things. That is what Eugenia learned by the end of the story. Once she ruined all of Miss Lottie’s marigolds, she immediately felt guilty. Miss Lottie stood there with no anger on her face, just disappointment. Eugenia said that was when she saw her childhood fade and womanhood start to begin. Once she began womanhood, she learned that those flowers were precious to Miss Lottie and she was tying to make some beauty out of her shanty house. She viewed Miss Lottie as “… only a broken old woman who had dared to create beauty in the midst of ugliness
The theme of the play has to do with the way that life is an endless cycle. You're born, you have some happy times, you have some bad times, and then you die. As the years pass by, everything seems to change. But all in all there is little change. The sun always rises in the early morning, and sets in the evening. The seasons always rotate like they always have. The birds are always chirping. And there is always somebody that has life a little bit worse than your own.
The entire story was a symbol of Needy’s life. The setting in the story was symbolic to the way Needy was feeling. Needy’s life was diminishing right before his eyes, and he did not realize it. The different changes in the story represented how much Needy’s life had gradually changed over time. By reading the story the reader can tell that Needy was in a state of denial.
She would not have grieved over someone she did not love. Even in the heat of her passion, she thinks about her lost love. She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked safe with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. Her love may not have been the greatest love of all time, but it was still love. Marriage was not kind to Mrs. Mallard, her life was dull and not worth living, her face showed the years of repression.
Flowers’ demeanor is not the only thing that deserves acclaim; her benevolent heart deserves admiration as well. She has the willingness to sacrifice her time and energy to be a mentor for Marguerite. Marguerite contemplates the memories she had Mrs. Flower’s and states, “To be allowed, no, invited to the private lives of strangers, and to share joys and fears, was a chance to exchange the Southern bitter wormwood for a cup of mead with Beowulf or a hot cup of tea and milk with Oliver Twist.” As Marguerite reflects on her past, she is exceedingly grateful for Mr. Flower’s benevolence and lessons. It is exceedingly improbable that a stranger would invite someone to their lives, but Mrs. Flowers had a sincere, kind heart to care, nurture, and guide
The theme to this book is identity, all Esther really wanted to do was fit in. She figured that there was something wrong with her, with others, with society, that she didn’t want what other’s wanted. She didn’t want to get married unlike every other girl that got married because it was the norm. Esther didn’t find it fun nor got the reason why she would have to. The quote connect to identity because Esther wanted to be the same as everyone but she wasn’t she worked hard throughout school and work in order to succeed in life with or without a man. Ester’s identity was being a hard worker, an overachiever, someone who has high ambitions. So when she started to slowly distance from that identity she pretty much ended up in the unknown for her. With the pressures to fit in and be like everyone else with the fact that she was somewhat losing her identity she panicked and tried to go everywhere which eventually took a toll on her mind and body.
The most obvious way that the theme is found in the story is through the characters of the piece. The main character, and the most well-developed, is Madame Mathilde Loisel. Madame Loisel is a simple housewife who is married to a government clerk. A very important aspect of her character is that she idealizes the upper class and longs to be above her current status. She “[felt] herself born for every delicacy and luxury.” Madame Loisel, despite a decent living as a middle class lady, falsely perceives the upper classes as happier, exciting, and more romantic. She despises and looks down upon her own life as less valuable and worthwhile, to the extent that she doesn't visit her own friend who is wealthier than herself. However, within the story, the upper classes are not necessarily better off or happier. Her wealthy friend Madame Forestier, for instance, keeps a fake necklace even though she is wealthy, demonstrating that even the wealthy don't “have it all.” What's more, Madame Loisel's status quo at the beginning of the tale is a life in which she has all of h...
Mrs. Mallard’s repressed married life is a secret that she keeps to herself. She is not open and honest with her sister Josephine who has shown nothing but concern. This is clearly evident in the great care that her sister and husband’s friend Richard show to break the news of her husband’s tragic death as gently as they can. They think that she is so much in love with him that hearing the news of his death would aggravate her poor heart condition and lead to death. Little do they know that she did not love him dearly at all and in fact took the news in a very positive way, opening her arms to welcome a new life without her husband. This can be seen in the fact that when she storms into her room and her focus shifts drastically from that of her husband’s death to nature that is symbolic of new life and possibilities awaiting her. Her senses came to life; they come alive to the beauty in the nature. Her eyes could reach the vastness of the sky; she could smell the delicious breath of rain in the air; and ears became attentive to a song f...