Analysis of The Flowers by Alice Walker

"She skipped lightly from hen house to pigpen". This shows how happy Myop is in this setting, we know she feels safe here, "She felt light and good in the warm sun" Her innocence produces an excitement to the reader as it gives the character and the text somewhere to go. We learn that

Everyone both young and old knows that the years of childhood can be difficult to all. However, in some works, the message of growing up isn't always clear. Symbolism is often used in fiction, such as in the story "Marigolds". The story is centered around the idea of growing up and finding yourself within the years of one's youth. The entire piece of literature tells the story of Lizabeth.

The symbol the author talked mainly about is the Glass Castle, it represented so much in this book and got them through many years especially for Jeanette it stand for hope and for the better though there father rex walls couldn't physically build the glass house. I really didn't think the kids really cared about the house the dad had in mind not only because they lost faith in the fact that the dad been saying that for far too long but because it always stand for something more family, love and represent what the family went through and pain they went through for the better life they have now living. This imaginary glass home was there all along they may not have seen it but it was right in front of them the whole time it was there family, as long as they were together there glass (huge, fancy, stone house) remained it was where ever they were together. The castle shows by using a physical object to represent an idea or emotion the power of family and love the strength of it can get you through any blocking or stopping things of life. We are like the glass huge, fancy, stone house we are delicate and breakable we break easily and time is very valuable/very dearly loved before we fall into pieces and slip but we fall together and together we are not alone we will pick up the pieces together and it won't matter how long it takes because we'll get through together because no one gets left behind.

Symbolism is the practice or art of using an object or a word to represent an abstract idea. When an author wants to suggest a certain mood or emotion, they can use symbolism to hint at what they are trying to say rather than just saying it. There are many things that symbolize something, even in our everyday life. For example, a dove is a symbol of peace, a red rose or red color stands for love or romance, and the color black is a symbol of evil or death. This literary technique helps the reader understand a deeper meaning of the central message that the author is trying to portray. In this case, Eudora Welty uses symbolism like a powerful tool. A manifold of symbolic connotations can be made in “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty.

Due to her innocence, Myop is oblvious to her current home life, yet as she strays from home and adventures into the woods, her innocence is lost.. Myop starts out as a very young and innocent little girl. Her name is very ironic because “Myopia” is the medical name for nearsightedness, which is symbolic of her inability to see past the surface of her surroundings(dictionary.com).

Added to this, the writer’s use of symbolism strengthens this idea of attractiveness and inexperience, Myop’s name being the main symbol. Myop is short for Myopia. The name given to short-sightedness. This is used as a metaphor as Myop’s naivety, then as the story goes on Myop opens her eyes to see what the real world is like and the author mentions her name less. Another symbol used in paragraph 2 is the “warm sun”. This symbolises the light and life of the world. It is a time when people are supposed to be awake and no body should be sleeping but this is later contrasted further on in the story. All the setting and scenery described gives an image of the Garden of Eden- paradise – a place everyone wants to be, where nothing bad can happen up until one critical moment when Eve eats the apple and everything forever changes. This gives the reader an insight in to the rest of the story but still leaves them wondering what could happen next.

When you think of the term “Flowers”, you usually think about its color, liveliness, and beauty until after it’s picked and begins to wither. At the time, people of color were treated poorly, so the story tries to get the readers to understand how the world worked at that particular time. In the beginning of the story, Walker uses diction to create an atmosphere of how joyful and innocent childhood could be. Ten-year-old Myop creates her own world in which nothing exists but her song and the stick she had clutched in her hand (Pg.1). Later on, in the story as she continues her journey she stumbles across flowers. The reason for flowers was to represent Myops innocence and then her loss of innocence. Wild flowers of different colors are being picked by Myop. The flowers represent innocence and the beauty of life. When the author states “An armful of strange, blue flowers with velvety ridges” the blue represented different as opposed to the regular things that Myop was accustomed to seeing, and the velvety symbolizing softness. When Myop picks the pink flower, this represents when she lost her

There is a noticeable shift in tone in The Flowers as Myop becomes exposed to the world outside her home. The initial tone of the short story is carefree and child-like. Although the point of view of the story is third person omniscient, it is still evident that the readers are viewing the story through the perspective of a child. The young protagonist skips “lightly from hen house to pigpen to smokehouse” (Walker) showing that she is happy, excited even, to enjoy the nature that surrounds her. As Myop explores, it becomes evident that her family’s financial situation is less than ideal. Wandering towards the woods, she leaves behind the “rusty boards of her family’s sharecropper cabin” (185). Despite learning very little about the setting of this story, the reader can already picture the scene as well as the time period. Very little is written about the setting outside of the family home and the surrounding woods. This supports the childlike tone of the beginning of the

Which is to initially creates an aura of warmth and happiness then to dramatically shift to a more ominous mood. The aura of warmth and happiness is achieved by describing the beauty of the wilderness by describing the beauty of the wilderness as "flowers with velvety ridges and a sweet suds bush full of the brown,fragrant buds." As well as an air that held "a keenness that made her twitch. " Through these examples of imagery one can imagine young Myop picking flowers and exploring the forest. Even though Walker and establishes forest as a place of inquiry it is not until later in the story where she reveals the vexatious aspects of it.

The flower is half pure and half rippled, so this is showing that nothing is perfect and everything has a twist to it. This further expresses the theme of appearance vs reality. This provides a connection between the two scenes; matters may seem okay and fine, but in most cases it is not. The monster realising about his horrible past and lost friends may not seem like an issue, but from the perspective of the monster, it is equivalent to death and misery. Consequently, this proves that isolation and understanding others is not easy.

In the short story The flowers, by Alice walker. She demonstrates how her background has influenced the story. For example, she provides evidence where it mentions that the character, Myop,“Turning her back on the rusty boards of her family's sharecropper cabin” (20). This shows that she is using related details to her own life. Her ethnicity plays a huge role in this story as well. Myop is said to be an African American, she was described as having, “ dark brown hand”(20). This information was provided by the author to emphasize the time it took place. For example, if a child was to find a dead body today their reaction might have been different. Instead of noticing things around the body the child would gone off to tell someone. But, in the

One of the most important techniques employed by walker to reflect childhood innocence and the loss of it is symbolism. Walker has enriched her piece with symbolism to highlight the innocent days then the sudden maturation of the protagonist. 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. That is because Myopia stands for the inability to see things deeply so it shows her childhood innocence. The story beings showing the setting of it which is the harvesting of corn, cotton, peanuts and squash; therefore, it illustrates that she is on a farm. It is also post-civil war days because “sheer cropper cabin” are a new development during this time-her family are sheer croppers.

The Exposition or Introduction subjugates the first two paragraphs answering the question of where, when and who does the story revolve around. Myop – the main character – is introduced within the first sentence; she is ten years old, lives in the country, she is observant and enthralled by her environment around her. She is lighthearted and bubbly, the physical personification of youthful purity for someone of her age. The background and tone is further developed when Walker states that “the harvesting of the corn . . . made each day a golden surprise that caused excited tremors” (Walker), it is Harvest season and Myop is excited by the beauty and liveliness of the season.

She introduces the motif of childhood innocence with grace, as happy and light to the reader as the morning is to her protagonist. This lighthearted tone is marred contextually by the mention of her family being sharecroppers, though Myop is unconcerned, ignorance being bliss. It is after this though, that we find a shift in the mood. Myop finds her surroundings less pleasant, more “gloomy”. The setting gives the reader a suspenseful feeling as they continue.

A symbol in literature is an object or idea that has a representation beyond the literal meaning of the object. Symbols add meaning and further a point the author is trying to make. In A Raisin in the Sun, Mama’s plant represents her dream. The play is written by Lorraine Hansberry, and it is a drama. It features an African American family from the Southside of Chicago. They live in an apartment with one window. Mama, the mother of the family has a dream of owning her own house. Throughout the entire play, Mama’s plant was mentioned. The plant continued to change as Mama’s dream was affected.