Marigolds And Jem

Almost everyone has had a tantrum before, so there should be no surprise when it occurs in novels and short stories. Notable characters such as Lizabeth from the short story, “Marigolds”, by Eugenia Collier and Jem in To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee, impulsively burst with rage, unable to control their emotions because after all, they are just children. The fourteen-year-old African-American girl named Lizabeth along with her family struggle financially in an impoverished town during the Great Depression Era. Despite this, Lizabeth and her little brother enjoy childish acts especially annoying Miss Lottie, an elderly neighbor who cultivates Marigolds in her yard. Later in the novel, Lizabeth lets loose her emotions from her impoverishment and her parent’s financial problems out on these flowers by trampling on them. On the contrary, the elderly neighbor, Mrs. Dubose, in To Kill a Mockingbird is the one pestering Jem, Atticus Finch’s thirteen-year-old son, and not the other way around. The fact that Atticus defended a black man accused of rape displeases her; thus, Mrs. Dubose verbally attacks Jem by comparing his father to African-Americans.This is considered an insult during the Great Depression, the time period of the novel, as black people are viewed as lowly human beings. As a result, Jem takes personal offense to this and strikes back at Mrs. Dubose by ruining her camellias. Even though the physical destructions of the flowers are similar, Lizabeth and Jem’s reason behind it, the consequences and the process of maturation are different.

Every day Jem and Scout walk by Mrs. Dubose's house, but she wasn't a very nice lady. One day she called Atticus a negro lover and Jem was furious at her so while she was gone he took action. Scout narrates "he did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every Camellia Bush Mrs. Dubose don't, until the ground was littered with green buds and leaves "(137). This foreshadows the hatred Jim will have later on in the story for white racists because the flowers are white themselves.

The two stories “How to kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee and “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier both have important lessons in them about growing up and harsh circumstances. One of the best themes that both stories have in common is Judging someone unfairly before knowing their intentions and their life conditions, for instance, have you ever been judged unfairly by someone is your life? Imagine a lady sitting in traffic for forty-five minutes and arriving late for an appointment. Her hair is disheveled and she has sweat stains under her arms because the air conditioner in the car died. By this time, she is in a foul mood and not at her best. The prospective employer she is meeting takes one look and forms an impression of her that is not very favorable. This example illustrates why first impressions are often the worst means of judging people.

His sensitive nature makes him more aware of her death and he misses her. When Jem meets Dill he analyses him, like most children and accepts

Dubose. Jem and Scout hated Mrs. Dubose, she was always disrespectful when they passed by her house. She would yell at them about many different things like their behavior, their father, what they would be when they grew up, them walking to town, and them not having their mother around anymore. Most of her comments were about how Atticus was defending a man of color in court. One day Jem went mad, he grabbed Scout’s baton and ran into the front yard and cut the tops off every camellia bush in sight, he didn't begin to calm down until the ground has green buds and leaves everywhere. Once he was finished trashing Mrs. Dubose’ yard he snapped the baton in half, threw it down, when Scout saw she started screaming. Jem pulled her hair, and kicked her down. When Atticus got home he was disappointed that Jem would do something like that, he told him to go to Mrs. Dubose’ house and talk to her. When Jem came back he said he cleaned for her, said sorry, and said that he would help them grow back. Mrs. Dubose told Jem to come to her house everyday after school and on Saturdays and read to her out loud for two hours for a whole month. On the first day they weren't there for a long time because about half way through it was time for Mrs. Dubose’s medicine, Jessie kicked them out because she had to get the

“Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild, With a faery, hand in hand. For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.”(W.B Yeats) Similar to what Yeats talks about in his poem, many people feel a sense of horror as they discover that the world is not the happy place they imagined it was when they were a child. When it becomes time for a child to shed his/her innocence and take on the responsibilities of adulthood, one wishes that he/she could just run away from it all, just like the human child in this quote by Yeats. The world is full of weeping and horrors, but an innocent person can do nothing to help. Innocence cannot see injustice through its closed eyes. That is why it

As a result of Atticus's decision, Jem and Scout get into a number of fights with classmates and their cousin when they taunt them and call Atticus a "nigger lover." Life seems to be full of lesson for Scout and Jem. For example, when a rabid dog chases Scout, she discovers that her father, whom she previously thought too old to do anything, does possess some talents. Atticus turns out be a crack shot, killing the dog in one shot at a great distance. Another time the children learn to be tolerant of people who have problems even though they say mean things. A neighbor, Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose, derides Atticus and spreads lies about him, and screams insults at the children when they pass by. Jem gets very angry at her and cuts off her flowers from her bushes. Instead of siding with Jem, Atticus feels that what he did is wrong and as punishment, Jem has to read out loud to her every day to take her mind off her predicament. Atticus holds this old woman up as an example of true courage as she

Emotions are a part of life and they come in handy when an author writes a book. In the case of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, he used emotions to bring his characters to life. Even though an array of emotions and feelings were used, the two most prominent were frustration and fear. The first emotion, frustration, played a key role in the novel as the main character, Christopher Boone, was a “special” boy who experienced many behavioral issues: some of which were caused by frustration - or even fear. Specifically, he lists a few of his abundant behavioral issues which includes “screaming… smashing things… groaning” when he is either “angry or confused”. (Pg. 45-47) Continuing on in Haddon’s - or Christopher's - novel, Christopher had evoked anger and frustration in his father by talking to strangers and “[getting] involved in other people’s business.” (Pg. 49) As a result of his anger, Christopher’s father was able to get him to promise not go around meddling in other people’s lives. Finally, one last example of frustration in this novel is the moment Christopher’s father tells him that he had killed Wellington. His father recalled what had caused him to kill the poor poodle.

Dubose said earlier about Atticus. Scout tells us that, gHe did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose owned, until the ground was littered with green buds and leaves. He bent my baton against his kneech (103). This quote shows that Jem was feeling very hurt by what Mrs. Dubose had said about his father. To Jem, Atticus seems feeble and old, so, when threatened, Jem feels it is his responsibility to protect him. In the book, when Mrs. Dubose talks about Atticus, Jem just ignores her and walks away, but finally he decides to get revenge. He does this by, glittering the ground with green buds and leaves.h Jem tries to hurt something Mrs. Dubose loves like she attacked Atticus. Mrs. Dubosefs harsh words make Jem feel that it is his job to defend Atticus.

Jem learns from visiting Mrs. Dubose that not everything is how it seems at first glance. He also learns the value of courage and how it will later affect him as he matures into an adult. From what is described, the readers can draw a conclusion that Mrs. Dubose is impolite and bitter towards the children and is not afraid to speak her thoughts about Atticus defending Tom Robinson. As a result, Jem carries out his anger by destroying her flowers. He is later punished by Atticus by having to read to Mrs. Dubose certain days of the week for a period of time and work on her flowers. Through this process Jem is able to control his impulses and show kindness to those around him even if he does necessarily want to. This shows that Jem is becoming more of a young adult rather than a child. He also realizes that Mrs. Dubose is actually a woman of

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main characters Jem and Scout are were walking to town when they walk by Mrs. Dubose's house. Mrs. Dubose says some very hurtful things towards them, which prompts Jem to cut out her flowers. This situation is misleading because it shows that Mrs Dubose was a bad person, but in actuality she was a thoughtful lady.

Jem and Esperanza lose their innocence through various experiences, which ultimately leads them towards adulthood. However, Jem’s specific development results from his realization of his community’s true colors and his gaining of a greater sense of empathy towards others. His acquirement and understanding of sympathy results from his encounters

In the story “Marigolds”, by Eugenia Collier, the theme consists of accepting who you are- because if you put it off, you may do something you may regret. The main character, Lizabeth, is on a path to adulthood, which is greatly treacherous and is a journey full of many challenges. Lizabeth quotes in many parts of the story that she feels conflicted in whatever she does, making her very emotionally frustrated. “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 we led.” (Collier 124). Lizabeth’s statement proves that she feels very split on what to do, because of the emotions interfering with her. Her statement proves that the path to adulthood is not as easy

Dubose flower bed because he was mad at her for saying mean things to him. When Atticus found out what Jem had done he was furious. Atticus made him apologize to Mrs. Dubose. Mrs. Dubose asked Jem to read to her for the month. When Jem returned and told Atticus her request he said, “then you’ll do it for a month” (Lee 105). Jem really did not want to because he didn’t want to read to her for a month, it did not sound like a good time. He thought it was unfair. This shows just another of the many different ways life doesn’t always seem fair.

One of the first aspects of growth and maturity is responsibility. To be responsible for someone causes a loss of innocence because the characters, Jem and Jerry, can no longer just hope for someone else to help them when they need to take care of someone else. This early maturity is characterized in both of these characters through one shared trait: the lack of a parent. “Through the Tunnel” mentions that Jerry’s mother is a widow, and Jerry constantly looks out for her and feels the need to protect her; when he is at the rocky bay, he looks for his mother: “There she was, a speck of yellow under an umbrella that looked like a slice of orange peel. He swam back to shore, relieved at being sure she was there…” (2, Lessing). Jem, on the other hand, lacks a mother; because of that and his relatively detached father, Jem is responsible for his little sister, Scout. He tries to do this at one point by imposing certain values onto her, which doesn’t necessarily work. These responsibilities set on the two characters because of their familial situations set