Diction In The Flowers By Alice Walker

In the short story "The Flowers," there are examples of diction, symbolism, and setting that prepare the reader for the ending. The example of diction throughout the story is the narrator's word choice, which prepares the reader for shifts in mood. The example of symbols in the story are the flowers, which represent innocence and youth. The setting that changes from light and cheerful to dark bring forth the grotesque ending. Despite all the example differing, they all foreshadow the ending to the short story. In the beginning of the story, Walker uses diction to create an atmosphere that is happy and innocent:
"It seemed to Myop as she skipped lightly from hen house to pigpen to smokehouse that the days had never been as beautiful as these" (Walker).
As the story goes forth, there is a shift in the mood between paragraph four and five. The diction in paragraphs 1-4 was care-free and happy, on the other hand, language in paragraphs 5-9 are negative and dreadful. Myop describes the "strangeness of the land" and how it was "not as pleasant" as her usual
Also, the setting shifting from "sunny" to "gloomy" shows a dark ending. Myop is surrounded with nature and death itself. The harvest and "warm sun" make the reader feel calm and care-free. The family's sharecropper cabin mentioned in the story tell you Myop and her family are African American. The "fallen leaves" and familiar woods explored before put the reader at ease, but when the setting shifts to "strange and "silent" the reader automatically feels negative. The body she found changes the setting to sympathetic knowing his head was laying beside him the remains of a noose near by. The bones and green buckles on the over alls show how long he has been there under " an over hanging limb of a great spreading oak." The setting gives the details needed to feel as if the reader was there with Myop on her adventure to adult