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what is the story marigolds theme

by Alexandrea Gerhold Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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"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.

Full Answer

What is the theme of marigolds by Eugenia Collier?

Both the short story “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier and the poem “Hard on the Gas,” by Janet S. Wong relate to the theme that “the road to growing up and maturing isn’t always smooth”. “Marigolds is the story of an adolescent who is growing up in the Great Depression.

What is the message of the story Marigolds?

Instead of wanting to continue to express wrath at her, she feels compassion for this older woman. Learning to view others with empathy is an important theme the story illustrates: compassion, to Collier, is the essence of adulthood. The main theme or message in the story " Marigolds " is the importance of empathy and compassion.

What is the theme of marigolds by Anne Frank?

She destroys them and realizes that Ms. Lottie saw her do it. The first theme introduced in Marigolds is that of poverty. Lizabeth's parents are overworked, constantly worried about providing for the family. She hears her father crying about his feelings of inadequacy. He fears he can't feed the family.

What is the climax of the poem marigolds?

Though “Marigolds” culminates in an encounter between Lizabeth and Miss Lottie, the catalyst for this climax is what’s going on inside Lizabeth herself. Caught between childhood and womanhood at “fourteen-going-on-fifteen,” Lizabeth is straddling two worlds simultaneously, and she struggles to make sense of these two conflicting sets...

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What is the theme or message in Marigolds?

The main themes in "Marigolds" are coming of age, poverty and oppression, and memory and context. Coming of age: The story centers around the moment when Lizabeth moves from the innocence and thoughtlessness of childhood to the responsibility and compassion of adulthood.

What is the lesson learned in Marigolds?

The Theme Of Innocence And Innocence In Marigolds By Eugenia Collier. 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.

What is the meaning of the story Marigolds?

Marigolds Theme The story touches on themes of compassion, love, and hope associated with adulthood, but also the pain and defeat that comes with it. It shows the innocence and wonder of being a child, but also the fierce and intense emotions of adolescent. 1069 Words.

What was the most important lesson Lizabeth learned in Marigolds?

Although Lizabeth's adolescence affects her actions when she would disrespect Miss Lottie and her garden, her adult perspective in the story reveals that she learned that one can't have both compassion and innocence.

What is the theme of Marigolds quizlet?

The theme of this story is the ability to understand and see other people fully human as the beginning of maturity into adulthood. When Lizabeth expressed her rage upon the marigolds and looked at Miss Lottie, she suddenly felt ashamed, realizing she had victimized not a "witch" but a real human being like herself.

What do Marigolds symbolize for Lizabeth?

Marigolds. Marigolds take a lifetime to grow and so, they symbolize Lizabeth's growth from a child to a young woman. “Warm and passionate and sun-golden… we could not understand;” (Collier 144).

Which statement best explains how Lizabeth develops the theme in Marigolds?

Which statement best explains how Lizabeth develops the theme in "Marigolds" that compassion comes from experiencing similar suffering? Lizabeth recognizes that she shares Miss Lottie's longing for a better life when she realizes the marigolds brought beauty into Miss Lottie's harsh existence.

What do the Marigolds symbolize in the story how does it contribute to the theme?

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.

What are the themes of Marigolds?

T he main themes in "Marigolds" are coming of age, poverty and oppression, and memory and context. Coming of age: The story centers around the moment when Lizabeth moves from the innocence and thoughtlessness of childhood to the responsibility and compassion of adulthood. Poverty and oppression: Lizabeth's family and community struggle ...

What is the narrator's story in Marigolds?

In “Marigolds,” narrator Lizabeth—now a grown woman—recounts a difficult anecdote from her adolescence. She begins her story by musing on the nature and utility of memories themselves. Memories are, she posits, an “abstract painting” of sorts, representing the way things feel rather than the way they are.

What happens when Lizabeth overhears her parents having a difficult conversation?

When Lizabeth overhears her parents having a difficult conversation, her fear and uncertainty coalesce into a violent tantrum. Wracked with remorse and guilt after violently destroying Miss Lottie’s garden, she comes to realize that this moment represents the end of her childhood. She can no longer operate without consequences as a child would. In adulthood, guilt, remorse, shame, and compassion are integral consequences of one’s actions and experiences.

What is the catalyst for the climax of Marigolds?

Though “Marigolds ” culminates in an encounter between Lizabeth and Miss Lottie, the catalyst for this climax is what’s going on inside Lizabeth herself. Caught between childhood and womanhood at “fourteen-going-on-fifteen,” Lizabeth is straddling two worlds simultaneously, and she struggles to make sense of these two conflicting sets of expectations.

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What was Lizabeth's family's struggle?

Poverty and oppression: Lizabeth's family and community struggle economically, a result of both the Great Depression and ongoing trends of racial discrimination.

What does Lizabeth say about poverty?

From her present-day vantage point, Lizabeth notes that she and the other children had no sense of the extent of their poverty. In the absence of access to radios, magazines, and newspapers, the children see only those who looked like themselves.

What is the theme of Marigolds?

The theme or message of the short story “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier is that it is not possible to have both innocence and compassion. Though Lizabeth's behavior towards Miss Lottie is thoroughly unpleasant, it comes from her inability to discern right and wrong. It is only in later years, as an adult, that Lizabeth is finally able ...

Why do children hate marigolds?

For some perverse 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.

What did Lizabeth say to the old lady?

In fact, Lizabeth and her friends always used to yell, "Witch!". at the old lady. On that particular day, Lizabeth first took the leading role in yelling furiously at her, repeatedly calling her a witch. Later that day, she returned to her house and tore the marigolds out of the ground.

What does Lizabeth feel about Miss Lottie?

Lizabeth feels a sense of affront that, amid all the squalor and ugliness in which they live, Miss Lottie would dare to grow beautiful flowers. In tormenting Miss Lottie and ripping up what she tried to create, Lizabeth expresses some of her own internalized rage.

What is Lizabeth's story about?

In the story, Lizabeth is reflecting on a crossroads in her life, an incident that marked the change from child to woman. She is apparently honest with readers in telling us how brutal and hostile she was on the day she attacked Miss Lottie verbally and then attacked her property.

What was Miss Lottie's marigold?

Miss Lottie's marigolds were perhaps the strangest part of the picture. Certainly they did not fit in with the crumbling decay of the rest of her yeard. Beyond the dusty brown yard, in front of the sorry gray house, rose suddenly and shockingly a dazzling strip of bright blossoms, clumped together in enormous mounds, warm and passionate and sun-golden.

What is the narrator puzzled by in Miss Lottie's house?

The narrator is clearly puzzled by the marigolds, especially given the nature of Miss Lottie's home: Miss Lottie's marigolds were perhaps the strangest part of the picture. Certainly they did not fit in with the crumbling decay of the rest of her yeard.

What is the theme of the story "Marigolds"?

Wong relate to the theme that “the road to growing up and maturing isn’t always smooth”. “Marigolds is the story of an adolescent who is growing up in the Great Depression. Through hard experiences and tumultuous emotions, the narrator learns that growing up is full of ups and downs. “Hard on the Gas” is a poem about a grandchild driving with his or her grandfather. The grandchild realizes that the road isn’t always perfect and that there will be bumps along the way. The theme “the road growing up and maturing isn’t always smooth” is conveyed in both of these selection.

What is the marigolds story about?

story called, “Marigolds,” the author Eugenia Collier writes about a series of events about a young girl, named Lizabeth, develops into a compassionate person. Lizabeth narrates these events in a flashback that involves the marigolds of her neighbor, Miss Lottie. Miss Lottie's marigolds represented the essence of hope in the midst of the town, filled with dust and dirt. Despite the dirt and dusty roads that were accompanied by the house, Miss Lottie decided to plant her marigolds. The effect of economic

What is a marigold?

Have you seen a marigolds? Well do u know what its? A marigolds is a flower a really beautify flower that is red,orange,yellow . This boo.k is written by eugenia collier the book is entertain you about the wonders of the flowers. The tittle of the book is Marigolds. The main thing about the book is the the flowers and how the girl thought ms lottie was evil cause she had beautify flowers. The 1st and most imporant theme in the story was when the kids went to pick on ms.lottie cause she stayed in

What is the message of Marigolds?

The Underlying Message Hidden Within Marigolds In Eugenia Collier’s short story, Marigolds, Lizabeth learns the hard truth of growing up from losing her temper which blurred her morals. At a turning point in a girl’s life, she will painfully transition from childhood to womanhood. Collier masterfully conveys this theme by her use of literary device foreshadowing, metaphors, and symbolism several times in the narrative. At the very beginning of the story, Lizabeth, looking back on her youthful days

Why do the characters transform in Marigolds?

In both “Marigolds” by Eugenia W. Collier and “Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield, the characters transform majorly due to their feelings of isolation. Marigolds is about a woman called Lizabeth recalling her coming of age experience and Miss Brill is about a lonely woman living in a fantasy life that she has created for herself. The theme of alienation and a definitive transformation is evident in both stories. In Marigolds, the theme of alienation is not as noticeable

Why does Eugenia Collier ruin marigolds?

away. The main character in Marigolds by Eugenia Collier ruins an elderly woman's beautiful marigolds because of her own issues. The main character in The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst leaves his handicapped brother alone in the woods and comes back to find that he’s dead. Lastly, the main character in The Cat’s In The Cradle never takes part in his son’s childhood and comes to realize his boy is just like him when he gets older. These three pieces all show a coexisting theme of how guilt sticks around

What symbolism does Collier use?

Collier uses symbols such as a potted geranium and marigolds to reveal the theme that, when a person is at the crossroads between childhood and adulthood, one must be able to

What does the marigold symbolize in the story?

In the short story “Marigolds”, by Eugenia W. Collier, the marigolds, which symbolize hope, con vey the theme that everything isn’t always easy but don’t give up hope and keep trying. The setting of the story takes place in a poor Maryland city during the Great Depression. Lizabeth is trying to find out who she is when her parents have a loud conversation about their problems, causing Lizabeth to go destroy Miss Lottie’s marrigolds. In the beginning, Lizabeth says how she feels about the marrigolds: “For some peverse reason, we children hated those marigolds. They interfered with the perfect ugliness of the place; they were too beautiful; they did not make sense.” This portrays the idea that everything was awful during this time, and she didn’t

What is theme in a book?

Theme, theme, theme! What is a theme? A theme is a written message or a taught lesson about a story or person. The book “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier, is about an elderly lady, Miss Lottie and some children. They lived in a dry, unjoyful world. The perverse reasons started when Miss Lottie started growing MARIGOLDS in the arid late summer. The children disliked the fact that the world was so dry and Miss Lottie’s marigolds stood out and made the only garden patch look beautiful. The child, Lizabeth, was jealous of the only thing that Miss Lottie payed attention to. The main genre of this is to entertain the readers on the characters situation. The theme of this passage is mostly about seeking beauty. To begin with, theme is a message.

Why did Mayella go to school?

She only went to school for a few years because she had to take care of her family, so Mayella’s opportunity to learn the proper ways of a woman vanished. She never learned moral values like telling the truth, and was never treated with respect. When she was being called “ma’am” in court, she accused Atticus of making fun of her, but if she stayed in school she would have known that is how to properly address others. The flowers in Mayella’s garden symbolize how she needs beauty in her ugly life, and how caring is a positive thing, but sometimes no matter how hard you try hard, the things you care about will still die (like her relationship with Tom Robinson). Mayella grew up with an abusive father, so she never learns how actions can have consequences.

What did Nunkie flirt with in the Everglades?

A little chunky girl began to pick a play out of Tea Cake in the fields and in the quarters (Hurston)”. Jealousy was something Janie had never felt before in her life. There was no reason for her to be jealous with either Logan or Joe. In the Everglades though, a girl named Nunkie changed that. Nunkie would flirt with Tea Cake even if she knew Janie was watching.

What does the color white mean in The Great Gatsby?

The color white means freshness and innocence but in the article Symbolic Meanings of Colors in The Great Gatsby, it says something different. It states that the color, “white actually symbolizes empty, vacuity, superficiality, ruthlessness and selfish to a great extent in the novel” (Zhang 1). Daisy is a sweet and innocent on the outside but deep down she has a cold and selfish heart that does not care for love, only the money. She reveals her selfishness when Gatsby dies and she does not show any sadness and leaves to go and travel with her

Why is Maggie a round character?

Her motivation in the story is wanting to have the same opportunities or lifestyle as her sister. Maggie is a round character because she is affected by her environment. Maggie is jealous of her sister-She thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand , that “no” is a world the world never learned to stay to her.

What does "curley's wife lay with a half-covering of yellow hay" mean?

And the meanness and the plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face. She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young” (Steinbeck, 92-93) Meaning she was after all the sweet and young person. She was judged by the first appearance she made, just to make a friend. Someone who understood her and really cared about her.

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1.What Is the Theme of the Story "Marigolds"?

Url:https://www.reference.com/world-view/theme-story-marigolds-f68a50061c021ce4

5 hours ago When Lizabeth, the narrator of “Marigolds,” thinks back to the summer when she was fourteen, she recalls the devastating moment when she suddenly became more woman than child: she, her brother Joey, and their friends destroyed the beloved marigolds of their elderly neighbor, Miss Lottie. This marked the end of Lizabeth’s childhood, because her compassion for Miss Lottie in …

2.Marigolds Themes - eNotes.com

Url:https://www.enotes.com/topics/marigolds/themes

34 hours ago  · The main theme or message in the story "Marigolds" is the importance of empathy and compassion. In the story, Lizabeth is reflecting on a crossroads in her life, an incident that marked the change...

3.Marigolds Themes | LitCharts

Url:https://www.litcharts.com/lit/marigolds/themes

36 hours ago Although “Marigolds” is the story of how a young, poor black girl feels, it’s relatable for all of us. Life can seem barren regardless of race, gender, educational level and wealth. Lizabeth has learned to focus on the bright spots in life, and we are being urged to do the same. Theme: Poverty. Lizabeth remembers her town as dusty and bleak.

4.What is the theme or message in the short story …

Url:https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-is-the-theme-or-message-in-the-short-story-100399

19 hours ago Marigolds Theme. The story Marigolds, by Eugenia Collier, shows the harsh reality of becoming an adult in the poverty stricken times of the 1930’s. The story follows a girl, Lizabeth, as she makes the tough transition from a innocent child to an adult.

5.Marigolds Theme - 1069 Words | Internet Public Library

Url:https://www.ipl.org/essay/Marigolds-Theme-PCCQVNAGYT

30 hours ago Both the short story “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier and the poem “Hard on the Gas,” by Janet S. Wong relate to the theme that “the road to growing up and maturing isn’t always smooth”. “Marigolds is the story of an adolescent who is growing up in the Great Depression. Through hard experiences and tumultuous emotions, the narrator learns that growing up is full of ups and …

6.Theme Of Marigolds - 873 Words | Bartleby

Url:https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Theme-Of-Marigolds-FK7JF276GA6

5 hours ago The Theme Of Hope In Eugenia W. Collier's Marigolds. In the short story “Marigolds”, by Eugenia W. Collier, the marigolds, which symbolize hope, convey the theme that everything isn’t always easy but don’t give up hope and keep trying. The setting of the story takes place in a poor Maryland city during the Great Depression.

7.Theme Analysis Of Marigolds By Eugenia Collier | ipl.org

Url:https://www.ipl.org/essay/Theme-Analysis-Of-Marigolds-By-Eugenia-Collier-PJ3JSZGRUYT

12 hours ago In the story Marigolds, by Eugenia Collier, the reader discovers the theme is to be innocent is to be a child and in order for one to mature, they must become compassionate. Out of the five clues to theme, the most relevant ones to this text are the conflict and solution, what the main character learns, and the stories symbolism.

8.Theme Of Marigolds By Eugenia Collier - 376 Words | Cram

Url:https://www.cram.com/essay/Theme-Of-Marigolds-By-Eugenia-Collier/PJNYY347XDT

16 hours ago In the story Marigolds, by Eugenia Collier, the reader discovers the theme is to be innocent is to be a child and in order for one to mature, they must become compassionate.

9.Analyzing Themes In The Story 'Marigolds' By Eugenia …

Url:https://www.cram.com/essay/Analyzing-Themes-In-The-Story-Marigolds-By/PCJABXXT3V

21 hours ago

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