The Innocence Of Childhood In Lizabeth's Marigolds (2024)

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When people lose hope and fall into despair, their emotions take over and lead to decisions that can change one’s life. In the short story “Marigolds”, written by Eugenia Collier, 14-year-old Lizabeth lives during the Great Depression in a black community in Maryland. She loses hope after hearing about her family's struggles and ragingly destroys Miss Lottie’s marigolds. Though, she realizes what deep meaning they have and empathizes with Miss Lottie. Collier emphazises that the loss of hope doesn’t mean it’s all destructiveness, yet feeling empathy for others who have had similar experiences through symbols and conflicts.

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Actions provoked by fear and desperation nurture perturbed emotions, particularly in adolescence. The impenetrable will of hopelessness is dissected and empathized in Eugenia Collier’s short fiction story, Marigolds. The study sync excerpt revolves around a young impoverished teen, Lizabeth, who seeks hope in a bundle of rage, sorrow, and uncertainty. She, a person of color during The Great Depression, sought entertainment/joy by meddling with an elderly woman in her neighborhood, Miss Lottie. However, the supposed “meddling” would lead Lizabeth into a (dire or empathetic) reality which The Great Depression proposed for all.

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However, when Lizabeth demolished the flowers, she simultaneously destroyed a symbol of hope in Miss Lottie’s life. At the end of the story, Lizabeth releases the symbol of hope and determination the flowers portrayed. She now understands and relates to Miss Lottie at a deeper level. “Now at the end of her life she had nothing except a falling down hut, a wrecked body, and John Burke, the mindless son of her passion” (Collier 5).

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”(222). This quote is an example of how Lizabeth was “neither child nor woman”. Because she had gone crazy, she had begun a journey that will make a mark in her life for eternity. Times like these can lead to learning vital messages that will affect how you do things, think, and

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The way they treat her is very disrespectful; throwing stones at her, and screaming old lady witch. But once, Lizabeth attacks the marigolds, and her innocence was lost, she changes her opinion towards Miss. Lottie by having the feeling that “one does not have to be ignorant and poor to find that his life is a barren as the dusty yards of the town. And [she] too [had] planted marigolds” (Collier 7). At the beginning of the short story Lizabeth says that Miss. Lottie was evil and her marigolds were stupid, but then after she had lost her innocence, Lizabeth did exactly what Miss.

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Marigolds by Eugenia W. Collier and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee are very similar in their settings and moods. 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. Another example is, the mood in Marigolds is very depressing, you get this mood because the narrator says things like, “I suppose the futile waiting was the sorrowful background music of our impoverished little community.” The mood is like this in To Kill a Mockingbird as well.

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In “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier the coming of age short story where a now grown up Lizabeth reminisce her childhood especially going into Ms.Lottie’s garden. Ms. Lottie, who did not like children but treated her precious marigolds gets them destroyed by Lizabeth. After destroying them, Lizabeth realizes her errors believing she became a women in that moment. This short story has several literary device that are used in it to help deepen the meaning. The use of imagery, symbolism and metaphors in “Marigolds” helps the reader that it is important to not lose

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After witnessing her father break down because of his inability to provide for his family, Lizabeth, in a mess of emotions, destroys the marigolds, marking the

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It is a coming of age story that shows how Lizabeth evolves as a person and as a character. Like any other child, Lizabeth has a definite wild side. In the story, she and her friends circle around Miss Lottie, chanting taunts at her. Lizabeth tells the reader " Then I lost my head entirely, mad with the power of inciting such rage, and ran out of the bushes in the storm of pebbles, straight toward Miss Lottie, chanting madly, "Old witch fell in a ditch, picked up a penny and though she was rich," (3).

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Ahmed AhmedDeb Branson Language artsMarch 3/10 2023 Marigolds analysis The story illustrates the main character's thoughts and feelings. conflicts are also internal and external. In the story of Marigold by author Eugenia Collier, she communicates the themes of poverty, maturity, innocence, and compassion through literary analysis.

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Through her use of symbolism the author shows how much the marigolds mean to Miss Lottie. Through her use of point of view readers have a clear view of the look and atmosphere of the old town and the how the marigolds were the only beautiful thing

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In this excerpt from “The Beet Queen”, by Louise Erdrich, Mary and Karl Adare give the impression as diverse characters. The passage explores their retorts to their surroundings in the environment and of their perspectives around them during the time of depression. Erdrich uses literary devices such as tone, imagery combined with juxtaposition, selection of detail, and point of view to convey the impact from the environment. Erdrich expresses, “And then, either to protect himself or to seize the blooms, Karl reached out and tore a branch from the tree.”

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In Rita Dove’s “Daystar”, there are several phrases and words that lead the reader of the poem to a profound understanding of the struggles that the main character of this poem experiences. According to the context of the poem, the main character appears to be a mother and wife in distress. Throughout the poem, she is presented as having a dreary, lethargic, and disconnected outlook of her current situation. The main question that must be asked is what the narrator tried to convey by stating that “she was nothing, pure nothing, in the middle of the day” (21-22). There are many possible answers strung across the poem that suggest why this mother describes her state of being in this way, such as the words that were being used to express how

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Although it is a short story, it has lot of elements making it a successful story. Chopin’s story has many prevalent themes that are showcased. The idea of forbidden happiness was one major theme present. When Brently Mallard dies, Mrs. Mallard comes to the realization that she is now an independent woman. Although she has to keep this joy private, she tries her best to hide this contentment, Her resistance to her true feelings show how forbidden her emotions are and that society would never accept Louise’s true emotions.

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When Richard’s heard the news of her husband’s death, he assumed Mrs. Mallard would be devastated. While everyone knew Mrs. Mallard was “afflicted with heart trouble” (57), him and her sister, Josephine, wanted to give her the news with “great care” (57). Josephine broke the news to Mrs. Mallard in “broken sentences”