What Is The Theme Of Innocence In The Marigolds

Eugenia Collier, the author of the short story Marigolds makes great use of literary devices such as imagery, diction, flashback, and juxtaposition in a way that creates a voice for the narrator that conveys both the regret over, and possibly the longing for her childhood. The diction, that is, the vocabulary choice is expertly combined with imagery, or the unique descriptions and sensory details, in order to allow the reader to formulate the experiences and the surroundings of the narrator's childhood in their imaginations. Flashback is used to allow the narrator to not only explain how she viewed the events of her past as a child, but to compare these views with her adult feelings of the same events. Juxtaposition aids in further explaining the connection between the setting and emotions of the main character, creating a better picture of the narrator’s life. These elements all combine to construct a narrative that effectively conveys the coming of age theme.

The text “Marigolds” states, “That violent, crazy act was the lack of childhood. For as I gazed at the immobile face with sad, weary eyes, I gazed upon a kind of reality that is hidden to childhood.” This suggests that Lizabeth notices her attitude and that she was

From this, Lizabeth feels ashamed of why she had chosen to tear apart Miss Lottie’s marigolds

A child holds innocence from a young age and does not understand the importance of having compassion. As a child's innocence gradually fade away due to maturity, he or she transforms into a compassionate person. In a coming of age short story, “Marigolds,” Eugenia Collier writes about a series of events where a young girl, named Lizabeth, develops into a compassionate person. Lizabeth narrates these events in a flashback that involve the marigolds of her neighbor, Miss Lottie. Miss Lottie's marigolds were the essence of hope in the midst of the town filled with dust and dirt. The effect of economic struggles that the townspeople go through causes Lizabeth to destroy Miss Lottie's marigolds. Throughout the short story, “Marigolds,” the characterization

She can’t fully comprehend why she detests these flowers, and so all she knows is that they “did not make sense to her.” The child in her only has insight into her own world, and not into the worlds of others around her. Despite the marigolds being too troublesome for her to understand, she remains ignorant and does not try to seek any further meaning behind them. With Lizabeth in this naïve state, she has not yet felt the conflict between the child and the woman in her; she’s too ignorant at this point to attempt to develop an understanding for Miss Lottie and her flowers. After Lizabeth and the other kids launch the first attack on the marigolds, invoking great rage in Miss Lottie, Lizabeth feels a sudden urge to antagonize the old woman even further. Chanting vicious phrases at her, Lizabeth feels that she, “lost [her] head entirely, mad with the power of inciting such rage [in Miss Lottie].” Lizabeth has been taken over by a childish sense of pride after provoking Miss Lottie, showing her selfishness and lack of compassion. Being the child that she is, Lizabeth decides to further irritate Miss Lottie, only thinking about herself and how to ease her boredom. She is only concerned about her own little world. This sudden act of cruelty to Miss Lottie reveals

The concept of the innocence of children contains the conventional association of Satire/Irony. According to literature, children are perceived to be innocent until exposed to the harsh realities of the world, where their maturity develops and the loss of innocence is achieved. The children in this story, however, appear as regular children in the beginning, with the normal intentions of playtime and fun. Jackson even describes Bobby Martin, a child of the village, stuffing his pocket full of stones with other boys following his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest ones (875).

The character Lizabeth in “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier changes the course of the story. This is evident on page 219 when Lizbeth and her friends ruin some of Miss Lottie's Marigolds by throwing pebbles at them and taking the heads of the flower. This shows her being irresponsible and childish. When the others run, however, she feels ashamed by what she had done. Lizabeth also changes when she hears her father crying. She is confused and scared because she is not sure of what had been happening. She is further confused when her mother begins to comfort her husband as he is acting weak (page 221-222). Further, Lizabeth’s transformation is notable on page 222 when she decides to leave the house with her younger brother, being both responsible

The transformations in people are caused by a variety of circumstances. Within the variety of these circumstances, stress is the most influential one. In Eugenia Collier’s short story Marigolds, it tells the narrative of a young African-American girl living in rural Maryland. Due to her frustration with life, she destroys Miss Lottie’s marigolds. In the story Marigolds, the author uses the narrator’s transformation and characterization to convey that identity is only found in times of crisis.

John Steinbeck’s short story, “The Chrysanthemums” features many themes: themes of gender suppression, love, passion, and betrayal. This short story revolves around the character Elisa Allen who has a strong love and a great passion for her flowers, for her beloved chrysanthemums. However, when a mysterious man arrives towards the end of the text Elisa’s love and passion for the chrysanthemums weakens and she feels betrayed by one of the things she loves most. Steinbeck uses the unlikely encounter between the Tinker and Elisa, as well as, the encounter between Elisa and her husband as a way to express the theme of love and betrayal.

“The Flowers” by Alice Walker is a short story written in the 1970’s. The story focuses on Myop, a ten year old African American girl who loves to explore the land in which she lives. Carefree and naïve, Myop decides to travel further away from her ‘Sharecropper cabin’ and travels deep inside the woods to unfamiliar land where she discovers the decomposed body of an African American man. It is then Myop quickly grows up and suddenly becomes aware of the world in which she lives. The story relies on setting and symbolism to convey the theme of departing innocence.

The story “Marigolds” was about a girl named Lizabeth who lived in a run-down town. There was an old lady named Miss Lottie and she grew marigolds. Lizabeth was going puberty and hard times at home. She then smashed all of the marigolds then she saw how sad Miss Lottie was. When Lizabeth grew up she planted marigolds like Miss Lottie to make her life beautiful.

The setting of Alice Walkers short story” The Flowers” is important for us, the readers to obtain a perspective of how life was like growing up for a 10 year old African American girl by the name of Myop. The title of the story is “The Flowers.” When you think about flowers, you instantly compare them to being beautiful, pure, and innocent. The title of the “The Flowers” is a symbolism that correlates to Myop who is the protagonist of the story. Myop is just like a flower in the beginning of the story. She’s a pure and innocent child but that pure innocence changes when she discovers something that’ll change her life forever.

In this “Autumn” chapter, Claudia MacTeer uses flower imagery to describe how she and Frieda respond to their environment. This metaphor calls attention to the importance of nurture and environment for these young children, especially during these formative years of childhood. Like flowers, we depend on our environment for sustenance, so in turn, Pecola Breedlove, Soaphead Church, and Louis, Jr., inherit the legacy of self-loathing and Claudia and Frieda MacTeer inherit the legacy of self-worth.

Most of the time there is a moment in life where one realizes they have lost all innocence and gained some compassion.  “Marigolds” shows how one young girl transferred from a child to young adult through her life experiences.  Throughout this story another young, but at the same time old in her prime, lady’s experiences are revealed:  the author’s.  In this short story, “Marigolds,” Eugenia Collier’s subconscious is unmasked through symbolism, diction, and Lizabeth’s actions.

Throughout the story, Eugenia Collier uses the actions and words of young Lizabeth to highlight the confusion of adolescence before and after destroying Mrs. Lottie’s marigolds. Lizabeth's bewilderment is first revealed when the young children decide to pester Miss Lottie. Lizabeth is reluctant to "gather pebbles from the dusty ground," but Joey's taunting convinces her to put aside her newfound maturity and to descend into childishness (Collier 111). Collier is showing the reader how the young often respond to confusion by acting out. Lizabeth doesn't know what to do, so she acts immaturely. In addition, Collier reveals adolescence to be mysterious. After the taunting incident, Lizabeth becomes moody and is caught between two worlds.