Marigolds (2024)

FAQs

What do the marigolds symbolize to Lizabeth evidence? ›

Miss Lottie's marigolds represent the possibility of a happy, beautiful life—even amid the dreariness of poverty. Lizabeth describes the shantytown where she lives as grim, dusty, and colorless. Since she's a child, she's not consciously aware of how poor she is, but she does see how miserable her surroundings are.

"Marigolds" is a 1969 short story by Eugenia Collier. The story draws from Collier's early life in rural Maryland during the Great Depression. Its themes include poverty, maturity and the relationship between innocence and compassion.

The marigolds symbolized her childhood and innocence, which were deeply treasured. Once Lizabeth destroyed the marigolds, she was no longer a child. In lines 134-137, she remarked, “For as I gazed at the immobile face with the sad, weary eyes, I gazed upon a kind of reality that is hidden to childhood.

A third technique the author uses is situational irony. For example, at the end of the story, the narrator says, “And I too have planted marigolds” (84). This shows the theme because it shows the author has gained compassion and learned to love the marigolds that she originally hated, which is situationally ironic.

Overwhelmed, Lizabeth leaves home in the middle of the night and destroys Miss Lottie's marigolds. When Miss Lottie comes out to find her flowers in ruins, Lizabeth realizes their shared humanity in the face of struggle.

After being caught in the act, Lizabeth realizes, “This was the beginning of compassion, and one cannot have both compassion and innocence” (Collier). She has compassion because she sees Miss Lottie for the first time. She sees how desperate her life is and that she really had nothing beautiful beyond the flowers.

The main conflict in Collier's "Marigolds" is Lizabeth's immature and malicious actions towards Ms. Lottie, an elderly woman living in her neighborhood. Along with her friends, Lizabeth regularly harasses and throws stones at Ms. Lottie.

That violent, crazy act was the last act of childhood.” (Collier, page 84) Lizabeth had finally grown up enough to realize that her act of ripping out the marigolds was wrong. She had become a woman, in mind and in spirit. Her action had forced her to act and think like a woman, she was no longer a young girl.

"The Flowers" short story is mainly one of loss of innocence for the main character, Myop. She experiences the beauty of summer and enjoys her days at her family's cabin. Her world is described as bright and warm, but upon discovering the lynched man in the woods, her innocence is erased.

During the Victorian Era, marigolds were strongly associated with grief or cruelty in the language of flowers.

What is the conclusion of marigolds? ›

After hearing what her parents had to say in their conversation, she comes to the conclusion that if her life is not fair, then the life of others should not be fair either. The conclusion that Lizabeth comes to indirectly characterizes her as depressed as she feels as if her life is empty.

Answer and Explanation: The climax occurs when Lizabeth destroys Miss Lottie's marigolds, and then realizes from Miss Lottie's reaction the disproportionate impact this has had.

“Yes,” said the marigolds, “the boys are good to us too. They dig the ground so well!” 2022-23 Page 5 “We love the little children,” said a tiny bird. They are kind and they bring bread for us.” All the flowers said, We must work hard to make our dresses very pretty, for the children will be here soon.”

Miss Lottie is the town's most impoverished resident. She's an old woman who lives at the edge of town in a ramshackle building with her disabled son, John Burke. While the circ*mstances of Miss Lottie's life seem particularly challenging, she still makes time to grow and nurture her dazzling marigolds.

For example, in Marigolds the narrator indicates that all she can remember from her hometown is dust and poverty, which shows this was during the Great Depression. This is similar to, To Kill a Mockingbird, because it also takes place during the Great Depression, this displays they have similar settings.

What does the narrator do that she later regrets? She destroys Miss Lottie's marigolds.

The internal conflict is Lizabeth versus herself emotionally with innocence, compassion, growing up, and accepting responsibility. The external conflict involves Lizabeth and the poverty and rough times while growing up.

Lizabeth is feeling guilty and upset so she returns to Miss Lottie's. These feelings provoke her actions because she was feeling upset, confused, and hurt so she can't control her rage. She feels this because she is in poverty, her mom is not comforting him, her father is crying, and she is still a child.

What is the main conflict problem of the story? ›

The main conflict in a story may be external (between characters and other characters or characters and their environment) or internal (a struggle within) or may combine external and internal elements. This primary conflict is typically what drives action towards the story's climax.

What Is Rising Action? The rising action is the second of six essential plot elements, which comes right after the opening of a story, otherwise known as the exposition. It is usually made up of a series of events that lay down breadcrumbs, ask questions, and set roadblocks and conflicts that must be overcome.

Conflict in a story creates and drives the plot forward. External conflict refers to the obstacles a character faces in the external world. Internal conflict refers to a character's internal or emotional obstacles.

Miss Lottie seemed to be at least a hundred years old. Her big frame still held traces of the tall, powerful woman she must have been in youth, although it was now bent and drawn.

Lizabeth is clueless to her surrounding of the world that she was living in causing her to make terrible decision that was actually causing harm for others. Even though, Lizabeth thought it was all for fun and a joke, Miss Lottie did not think it was, making Lizabeth feel ashamed.

Poverty defines Lizabeth's early life, even though she is only vaguely aware of its depth because she is a child. She describes her family perspective destitution as ever-present "sorrowful background music".

What Does a Flower Symbolize? With their colorful and beautiful blooms, flowers are often seen as symbols of joy and pleasure. However, different types and colors of flowers bring unique meanings. Some flowers are seen as symbols of friendship and purity, while others are tied to forgiveness and death.

CONCLUSIONThe flower is the reproductive organ of the plant. Without the flower the plant will notbe able to reproduce. Pollination is the transfer of pollen by pollinators such as insects, wind,or other means.

Myop is forced to see the reality of life beyond her childish pleasure in the flowers. This is the conflict - childhood innocence intruded upon by the harsh and violent realities of life.

In modern western culture, marigolds symbolize positive emotions and energy. They are effective in bringing joy and optimism owing to their vibrant colours, which probably is the reason for their inclusion in festivities in India.

What flower symbolizes death of a loved one? ›

Mums - In certain cultures (some European cultures and Japan and Korea), white chrysanthemums symbolize death and grief, so if the deceased person is one of these ancestries, mums are an appropriate choice for a memorial arrangement.

White is a popular sympathy color since it speaks to hope, peace, and purity. In the west, you can't go wrong sending white flowers for sympathy. Other soft colors including peach and pink are also appropriate options. If you don't know the deceased very well, these traditional colors are an excellent choice.

“Marigolds” takes place in a rural African-American community during the 1930s—a time of racial segregation, poverty, and limited opportunity. This setting offers important clues about the development of the story's theme, or underlying message.

The British called the French Marigold the “Rose-of-the-Indies”. In Spain, the flowers were the favorites to be placed on the altar of the Virgin Mary. Eventually they became known as Mary's Gold and hence, marigold. In India, the plants grew to have religious significance and became known as the Friendship Flower.

Why did the flowers love the little children? Answer: The flowers loved the children because the little children used to take care of them. They used to water their thirsty roots and dig the ground well.

Answer: Nina was worried because there were two baby sparrows in the nest in her room. If all the family members left and locked the house, the papa and mama sparrows would not be able to feed the baby sparrows.

Why is the child in the poem happy? Answer: The child is happy because she can now talk and play with the sky, sun, winds, birds, trees, grass and bees.

Verbal irony: Verbal irony is when a character says something that is different from what they really mean or how they really feel. If the intent of the irony is to mock, it is known as sarcasm.

In an ironic phrase, one thing is said, while another thing is meant. For example, if it were a cold, rainy gray day, you might say, “What a beautiful day!” Or, alternatively, if you were suffering from a bad bout of food poisoning, you might say, “Wow, I feel great today.”

What is the most common irony? ›

The three most common kinds you'll find in literature classrooms are verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony. Verbal irony occurs whenever a speaker or narrator tells us something that differs from what they mean, what they intend, or what the situation requires.

Miss Lottie's marigolds represent the possibility of a happy, beautiful life—even amid the dreariness of poverty. Lizabeth describes the shantytown where she lives as grim, dusty, and colorless. Since she's a child, she's not consciously aware of how poor she is, but she does see how miserable her surroundings are.

Miss Lottie is another example of symbolism in Marigolds, she represents the conflict going on inside Lizabeth.

What is motivating the children to annoy Miss Lottie? The real reason they are motivating to do it because it is fun for them to annoy them. the text states "Our real fun and our real fear lay in Miss Lotty herself." She is a poor old lady, yet they are a little afraid of her, which is exciting to them.

Marigolds were often linked to the powerful strength of the sun and represent power, strength, and light that lives inside of a person. The marigold has also come to symbolize a feeling of despaired love. If someone has lost someone they love, whether it be by death or a broken relationship.

The Marigolds

Claudia and Frieda associate marigolds with the safety and well-being of Pecola's baby. Their ceremonial offering of money and the remaining unsold marigold seeds represents an honest sacrifice on their part. They believe that if the marigolds they have planted grow, then Pecola's baby will be all right.

To a young Lizabeth , the marigolds symbolise beauty in a place that it doesn't belong. These beautiful flowers anger a young Lizabeth because she thinks they didn't belong in the old dusty town she grew up in. To an adult Lizabeth these flowers hold a different meaning, they now represent hope to her.

Marigolds symbolize life, birth, and the natural order in The Bluest Eye. Claudia and Frieda plant marigolds, believing that if the marigolds bloom, Pecola's baby will be born safely. Symbolically, the marigolds represent the continued wellbeing of nature's order, and the possibility of renewal and birth.

Description It flowers from July to September. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both female and male organs). It is frost tender and is hardy to zone 6.

Marigolds are the ultimate deer-resistant plant, with a strong fragrance to the foliage and flowers that repels most invasive, while the roots repel nematodes under the soil.

What is the short story Marigolds about? ›

SUMMARY: The crisis of Marigolds, by Eugenia Collier, is that Lizabeth, a 14 year old African American girl, doesn't know who she is. The conflict of the story involves Lizabeth trying to find out who she is while growing up in a poor Maryland society during the Great Depression.

Even the title of the story is symbolic “The Flowers” stands for the childhood purity and its loss. Throughout the story, Walker uses flowers to depict both innocence and the loss of it. Moreover, she specifically has named the little girl Myop – short for Myopia.

"For some perverse (contrary to/not correct) reason, we children hated those marigolds. They interfered with the perfect ugliness of the place; they were too beautiful; they said too much that we could not understand; they did not make sense."

In the short story, “Marigolds”, Eugenia Collier uses imagery to convey the difficulty of life and uncertainty of many Americans experienced by showing Americans' will to survive, the fragility of the stock market, and their wavering hope even during the darkness.