In the short story, “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier, Lizabeth, the main character, a victim of poverty, took her anger out on her neighbor’s cherished marigolds without knowing what she was doing. She later realized the marigolds symbolized hope for her and her poverty struck community. This relates to a similar occasion that I experienced with my parents divorce.…
For one does not have to be ignorant and poor to find that one’s life is barren as the dusty yards of one's town. And I too have planted marigolds” (Collier 116) What the author means in these few sentences is that when Lizabeth looks back on her childhood, she remembers the love of marigolds with pain because that is all she had growing up. The last sentence means that she still is fond of marigolds and holds on to those memories. This piece of evidence supports the theme because she developed this love for planting marigolds when she was a child and had…
The combination of diction and imagery used in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier weave a mood of downtrodden hopelessness. Throughout both passages, the authors describe a setting of desolate towns during difficult times, with townsfolk who have forgotten optimism. Such is utilized in To Kill a Mockingbird, as Maycomb is “a tired old town” where “grass gr[ows] on the sidewalks, [and] the courthouse sag[s]”; reading the description evokes an image of a town on the brink of bankruptcy, conveying the despair the inhabitants must feel (Lee). As the diction in the passage is usually equated with the elderly, Lee adds to the picture of a town on its last legs. In contrast, “Marigolds” focuses on the “arid, sterile…
In the short story Marigolds by Eugenia Collier, the narrator, Lizabeth, has chosen to retell a story as an adult reflecting on a significant incident from her childhood. Her voice is that of confused and trying to find her place in life as a young woman. After she overheard her parents conversation, she says, “I had never seen a man cry before” (paragraph 41). This explains how the times are rough as if “depression […] griped the nation” (paragraph 3) and this cannot be easy in addition to her growing up and trying to find her place in the world as a young woman. She knows her mother is the only one providing the income for her family and she knows her father wants so badly to contribute. She witnessed first-hand what her father is going…
and through these choices we can learn about life’s journey. “Marigolds” explains this through its coming of age theme shown within Lizabeth’s battle between innocence and compassion. A…
She remembers her home town, Dusty, During the great depression. The only thing pretty in the town were Miss Lottie’s Marigolds. One Night, she can’t sleep and his enraged with the fact that her father is so upset. She returns to Miss Lotie’s flowers and takes her rage out on the Marigold’s. As she does this Miss Lottie comes out to her and stands over her destroying the Marigolds. She understands then the difference between childhood and maturity. She then realizes that she cannot have both compassion and innocence. This shows that when she did the horrible act of destroying Miss Lottie's Marigolds she lost her innocence and doesn’t deserve…
So first up is “The Bouquet”; I sympathized mainly for the young girl named Sophie. Society’s faults stunted her growth as an individual, and kept her from bonding with those she desired relations. The whole culture surrounding her took away most of the attributes that make oneself human- such as love, happiness, and human connection.…
Some people cry, some get angry , I plant marigolds. John Burke don't understand why, he says the house isn't to nice looking, but I don't see the house. I see those beautiful marigolds that I put all my hard work into. I see something that finally shows the beauty out of all this filth and depression. Those children don't understand.…
The story “Marigolds” is written by Eugenia Collier and is about a young girls childhood. In the depression era, a young girl named Lizabeth expresses her frustration and her fury among a flower bed. When she looks up to see the owner over her she sees with the eyes of adulthood, and she knows that her innocence of her childhood is gone forever. Anna the narrator, tells this story from her childhood. The leader of her group of friends, Lizabeth takes part in throwing some stones at Miss Lottie's flower bed of marigolds. Miss Lottie's seems to be the town's outcast, and frustrating her was a common pastime for the children of the town. Miss Lottie's marigolds are described as one of the only spots with amazing colors.…
How Mrs. Flowers’ actions are like a lifeline to Marguerite is when she invites Marguerite to her home and reads her favorite book and offers her lemonade a tea cookies which makes Marguerite feel special and gives her hope to live on. On quote in the story states, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” Her voice slid in and curved down through and over the words. She was nearly singing.”(P.233) The second textual evidence for the answer is, “All I cared about was that she had made tea cookies for me and read to me from her favorite book. It was enough to prove that she liked me.”(P.233). This explains how Mrs. Flowers was able to shape Marguerite with her poetic voice and her offer to make her feels special by giving lemonade…
“Marigolds” written by Eugenia Collier is a story about a girl who realizes the end of her innocent childhood after a childish action. In The Scream by Edvard Munch, we see a man who seems scared and confused, the world around him seems undefined and confusing as well. In Kiseg’s painting Scared Girl, we see that she looks trapped and scared. All 3 of these pieces there is a common element: scared and confused. In “Marigolds”, the narrator, Lizabeth, is scared on page 319 where she says, “The fear unleashed by my father’s tears.” This shows that she was feeling fear from how upset her father was. Also, in The Scream, we see the fear in the face of the man in the painting, he’s screaming from the terror of something. There are similar themes…
As she grew older she began to resent Nanny for showing her a way of life where what matters is not the emotional but only the economic stability of the person whom she would be spending her life with. A person such as Janie who viewed the world as the blossoming pear tree where she once sat under and questioned her own nature was able to learn not to mourn but to live “To my thinkin’ mourning oughtn’t tuh last no longer’n grief.”(Page 114). Years ago Janie had told herself to wait for her in the looking glass. “The young girl was gone, but a handsome woman had taken her place”(Page 108) the moment where she was able to separate herself from the “weak” animals and children that could not think for themselves. However it was when Nanny had died along with her dream of love that she became…
In Marigolds there is a girl named Lizabeth who experiences the transitions from childhood to adulthood. But it wasn’t that straightforward for her. In her childhood, she was realizing people troubles and emotions even hers. In lines 239-242 the author states “The child in me sulked and said it was all in fun, but the woman in me flinched at the thought of the malicious attack that I had led. The mood lasted all afternoon.”…
I still remember that dreadful night as if it were yesterday, the day my pride, my joy, my everything, my marigolds were destroyed. That morning when I woke up I just knew it was going to be a bad day. I woke up and started doing the thing I've always done, I was taking care of my beautiful marigolds. I was out there for about two hours when a rock came flying at one of my marigolds and beheaded it, “Who out there?” I searched through the bushes trying to find the children who are always trying to get at me. “You better git” I yelled. I looked for a couple more seconds before I cautiously went back to my marigolds, but before I even knew it another rock beheaded another one of my marigolds. Those kids didn't understand my reasoning for planting…
This theme not only relates to this short story but it relates to life. For example, Mother Theresa gave her love for the world, but she was not rich. She had more to give in the way of love. Another example was a family who adopted many children, regardless of their handicaps, and loved them, which was something that money cannot buy. Finally, there are many people who volunteer their time and show their love is worth more than material things.…