Marigolds Character Analysis

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.

“There’s no such thing as aging, but maturing and knowledge. It’s beautiful, I call that beauty.”- Celine Dion. Lizabeth, the protagonist, experiences a change in her life through emotional hardships as she grows up and starts to understand more about life. Children are innocent, they don’t realize how mean and disrespectful they are at times. Maturation plays a big role while growing up and changes many things. Maturity is a life-long process of learning and experiencing new things, but also brings responsibility and discipline. In “Marigolds” by Euginia W. Collier the experiences of the narrator support the theme that maturity changes the way one perceives life.

Living in poverty and having to face one’s crumbling society is extremely stressful. In Eugenia Collier’s short story, “Marigolds,” the main character, Lizabeth, and the other citizens of the town she lives in, including her parents, her friends, and Miss Lottie, must learn to cope with that stress, and in Lizabeth’s case, learn how to deal with the effects of maturation. The different types of conflict within “Marigolds” are man versus man, man versus society, and man versus self because Lizabeth has to face peer pressure, the living conditions brought by the Great Depression, as well as the development of her own emotions.

There comes a point in one’s life when they must recognize the hardships placed upon them, and instead of being ignorant of those hardships, they must confront them head-on. In “Marigolds”, a short story by Eugenia Collier, the main protagonist, Lizabeth, encounters various struggles that come with living in a poor town in rural Maryland during the Depression, allowing her to learn more about growing up and accepting reality with all its flaws. Lizabeth is a 14-year-old girl who feels a conflict between her inner child and her inner woman, as she is unable to do anything that satisfies both sides of her. She feels too old to be a child, yet too young to be a

In the short story, “Marigolds,” Eugenia Collier tells the story of a young African-American girl, Lizabeth, as she transitions from adolescence to womanhood in Maryland during the Great Depression. Throughout the story, Lizabeth and Miss Lottie, a very poor old woman, experience hope in similar ways. Lizabeth describes her neighbor, “Now at the end of that life [Miss Lottie] had nothing except a falling-down hut, a wrecked body, and John Burke, the mindless son of her passion. Whatever verve there was left in her, whatever was of love and beauty and joy that had not been squeezed out by life, had been there in the marigolds she had so tenderly cared for” (638). This quotation best exemplifies the main point Collier makes in the story.

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

Solidifying the theme of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the protagonist George expresses his significant loneliness despite a strong kinship with his friend Lennie, “’I ain’t got no people… I seen the guys that go around the ranches alone. That ain’t no good’” (41). Published in 1937, amidst the horrific turmoil of the Great Depression, Steinbeck’s novella struck a sensitive chord with readers. Set in the heart of California’s Central Valley, this story follows two men, George and Lennie, as they run from old shadows to a new farm for work. Clinging to the distant dream of owning their own piece of land, the men imagine life outside their present difficulties. Illustrating that life is varied by emotional complexities beyond black and white, George’s longing for companionship and family seep through in conversations with his new co-worker Slim. Despite Lennie’s sheer physical strength, his mental abilities are limited to that of a naïve, innocent, and very young boy; the result is a relationship akin to an uncle and nephew. Lennie, with primal-like behaviors and a gold-fish memory, struggles to adhere to George’s words of wisdom. In the end, tragedy strikes them both as George is forced to kill Lennie due to an accident with the son of the landowner’s wife – a woman who looks for trouble at the onset. Consequently, George’s state of loneliness is bequeathed to a new level as he begins to imagine life without Lennie in tow.

The short stories “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, and “Marigolds” by Eugenia W. Collier, are all meaningfully connected through peices and feelings that are felt while reading the stories. Each is unique, but they have the same point behind them. All three of the ‘main’ characters in these stories have all destroyed something. Rather it be important to them or someone else.

Throughout life, there are those who struggle to find out who they are and their path for life. However, this same struggle can be seen in a lot of literature. For example, two selections where this internal struggle can be seen is the short story "Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy?" and the poem "White Lies".

Closely observing a character gives the readers a chance to truly understand them , their thoughts and their points points of views. The actions that Lizabeth takes are things that need to be closely examined to comprehend the complexity of Lizabeth’s behaviors. Lizabeth, the protagonist from the short story Marigolds by Eugenia Collier portrays unique characteristics such as being resilient, addled and compassionate.

In the short story “Miss Brill” the protagonist, Miss Brill, is a lonely and isolated woman who likes to spend her Sunday afternoon’s in the park observing everyone around her and listening to their conversations without them knowing. We can infer that Miss Brill has created her own fantasy world to escape the harsh reality of her own life. At the end of the story the audience can come to the conclusion that Miss Brill experienced an epiphany that will change her life.

“Marigolds”, a short story written by Eugenia W. Collier, describes the events leading up to Lizabeth’s loss of innocence. In the beginning of the story, we are introduced to Lizabeth, a girl who is living in a poor, barren, sad, shanty town during the Great Depression. When we first meet her, she acts very childish as she and some of the other children begin to destroy Miss Lottie’s sunflowers. These sunflowers are very special to Miss Lottie, because they bring hope to the sad times and also bring positivity and color to the poor town. Further in the story, Lizabeth is very frustrated and emotional about the state her family is in. First of all, she is upset that her Mom is never home because she has to work. Next, her father is frustrated that he has no work, which also upsets Lizabeth. Finally, she is confused on whether she is a young lady or still a child. All of these lead up to her letting out her frustrations, destroying all of Miss Lottie’s marigolds. In the story, the marigolds represent different things for different people. For Miss Lottie, they are the one thing giving her joy and keeping her

Most of the time there is a moment in life where one realizes they have lost all innocence and gained some compassion.  “Marigolds” shows how one young girl transferred from a child to young adult through her life experiences.  Throughout this story another young, but at the same time old in her prime, lady’s experiences are revealed:  the author’s.  In this short story, “Marigolds,” Eugenia Collier’s subconscious is unmasked through symbolism, diction, and Lizabeth’s actions.

One’s inner metamorphosis begins with the general disillusionment with one’s surrounding environment. Such a disillusionment can come in quick succession, as with that of Esther Greenwood in The Bell Jar, or more gradually, as that of Antoine Roquentin in Nausea. The Bell Jar begins with the reader experiencing this subconscious disappointment along with Esther as she struggles along her dream internship at a fashion magazine in New York City. “I was supposed to be having the time of my life,” (Plath 2) she quips at one point. Her ideal cosmopolitan life began to reveal its rotten insides to her as she spends her summer in the fashion sphere of New York. Her disdain for this lifestyle begins as she witnesses her fellow interns’ gratuitous exploits, “When I woke up… I think I still expected to see Doreen’s body lying there in the pool of vomit like an ugly, concrete testimony to my own dirty nature,” (24) continues with her sexual experiences that fall far short of her expectations, “…he just stood there in front of me and I kept on staring at

Almost everyone has had a tantrum before, so it should come as no surprise when it is presented 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 such as 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 onto these flowers by trampling on them. On the contrary, the roles are flipped when the elderly woman in To Kill a Mockingbird, Mrs. Dubose, is the one pestering Jem, Atticus Finch’s thirteen year old son. She is not pleased by the fact that Atticus defended a black man accused of rape; thus, Mrs. Dubose verbally attacks Jem by comparing his father to African-Americans. Such statement is considered an insult in 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 destruction of the flowers are similar,