Lizabeth's Use Of Imagery In Marigolds By Eugenia Collier

“Accept what is, let go of what was and have faith in what will be.” - Anonymous

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. Collier’s use of imagery in the second paragraph shows Lizabeth’s inner growth throughout the years of her becoming a young woman. “Whenever the memory of those marigolds falses across my mind, a strange nostalgia comes with it and remains long after the picture has faded.” (Collier, 2) The author uses imagery by saying the images of marigolds flashes across Lizabeth’s mind. It gives the reader insight of how the flowers are symbolic to her. To Lizabeth, the marigolds bring back the day in her life where she was no longer an innocent child. “One day returns to me with special clarity for some reason, perhaps because it was the beginning of the

The short story is set in the period of The Great Depression, and lower classes especially struggled in this hard time. The Great Depression attacked the nation by society class. The lower levels struggled even more than usual. Lizbeth lived in a small rural town with a few members of her family. Her father and mother worked all day and Lizbeth and her brother, Joey, would hang out with other teenagers in their community to waste the daylight. The community always helped each other out but there was this one woman, Miss Lottie who played an important role in young Lizbeth’s