The Loss Of Innocence In 'Marigolds' By Eugenia Collier

This shows how Lizabeth’s past was during a depressing time, and she never realized that anything could provide happiness during that time. In addition, the theme of “Marigolds” shows how a little girl transitions from childhood into womanhood after a major event in her

In the short story “Marigolds” by Eugenia W. Collier, dramatic characterization used to deepen the meaning of the theme by making them analyze the story and the characters more critically. Reading the story in third person, the readers get a good idea of Lizabeth’s personality. Early in the story, Lizabeth is shown to be on the verge of childhood and adulthood, when she has to carefully decide whether she should throw the stones at the flowers or not. Using dramatic characterization, Lizabeth’s personality alters, letting readers get to know the reasons behind her actions. Lizabeth undergoes some emotional changes throughout the story, and the readers get to see her cope with these feelings. When Lizabeth witnesses her father crying, she doesn’t

A rite of passage is defined as a ceremony marking a significant transition or an important event or achievement, both regarded as having great meaning in lives of individuals. In Sharon Olds' moving poem "Rite of Passage", these definitions are illustrated in the lives of a mother and her seven-year-old son. The seriousness and significance of these events are represented in the author's tone, which undergoes many of its own changes as the poem progresses.

Through her use of diction, imagery, and syntax in her story, "Marigolds" Eugenia Collier captures the voice of an adult looking back on a significant event from her childhood. When the narrator thinks about her past she remembers, "I opened my swollen eyes and saw in front of me a pair of large, calloused feet; My gaze lifted to the swollen legs, then the shadowed Indian face surrounded by stubby white hair" (Collier 22). These words are examples of imagery because it captures the narrator's voice as a sacred child looking up at the old woman. Another example of diction is when Eugenia Collier writes 'I leaped furiously into the mounds of marigold and pulled madly, trampling and pulling and destroying perfect yellow blooms" (Collier 21). This

When I think of the marigold I think of the time when I was a child and I loved to see marigolds. They remind me of grandma’s house and the beauty of the garden. When I looked it up I found that the marigold is the flower that is most associated with the desire for riches (Month 2). By the end of the book Missy is still interested in riches, but it’s different than we would expect. Missy is interested in the riches of knowing and raising a child who she loves and cares for. This adds depth to the story because there is a drastic difference between the beginning riches and the riches at the end of this

“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

Ain't no man ought to eat his women's food year in and year out, and see his children running wild. Ain't nothing right about that.” Maybelle responds, “Honey, you took good care of us when you had it. Ain't nobody got nothing nowadays.” This conversation between the mother and father contrasts the differences between the parents personalities and displays, just like the differences between childhood Lizabeth and women Lizabeth. Similarly to how Lizabeth's mother finds happiness in her family, Lizabeth found happiness in destroying other people's happiness. This consequently led to her loss of innocence by destroying Miss Lottie's yard, but because of this she gained compassion in others and through poverty. Marigolds represent happiness that sometimes have to be destroyed in order to lose innocence and gain compassion, but also the small feeling of hope and joy when the whole world around you is dark and sinister. The author uses the technique of symbolism of the marigolds to display how when people are so deep in depression and poverty, they look for something hopeful and happy to put or “plant” in their

“Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier is a personal narrative of the challenges that adolescents face with coming of age. The author is able to accurately capture the voice of her younger self-using literary devices such as imagery, juxtaposition, and diction. The author uses these literary devices to give the reader a precise representation of the struggles she surpassed, which pushed her towards adulthood.

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton is a book that gave the word “love” many other meanings, such as impossible, meaningless and incomplete. There were many unbearable obstacles that Countess Ellen Olenska, one of the main characters, had to face because of love. She was treated badly by many people and always longed for love but never obtained it. With everyone cursing her, betraying her and hurting her, there was one person who was always there for her. Newland Archer wasn’t only sympathetic towards her; he also began to fall in love with her. The love she always wanted. He was the man who truly cared for her and always helped her make decisions. Out of all the selfish people in New York who

The theme of “Marigolds” demonstrates Lizabeth’s change in attitude throughout the story just as maturation affects every modern teen. The short story “Marigolds” is about when the main character, Lizabeth, slashes up the marigolds in Ms. Lottie’s garden. When she realized what she was doing, she saw the time at the end of her childhood and the start of her adulthood. This theme can be seen throughout many teens’ lives. She and teens today experiencing this can be blind to happiness because of the setting they’ve grown in, influenced by rebellion, but can also find happiness as they grow older and realize the settings around them.

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.

In A Separate Peace, John Knowles carries the theme of the inevitable loss of innocence throughout the entire novel. Several characters in the novel sustain both positive and negative changes, resulting from the change of the peaceful summer sessions at Devon to the reality of World War II. While some characters embrace their development through their loss of innocence, others are at war with themselves trying to preserve that innocence.

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. In a coming of age short story, “Marigolds,” Eugenia Collier writes about a series of events where a young girl, named Lizabeth, develops into a compassionate person. Lizabeth narrates these events in a flashback that involve the marigolds of her neighbor, Miss Lottie. Miss Lottie's marigolds were the essence of hope in the midst of the town filled with dust and dirt. The effect of economic struggles that the townspeople go through causes Lizabeth to destroy Miss Lottie's marigolds. Throughout the short story, “Marigolds,” the characterization

Young adults are losing their childhood innocence; replacing it with the world of adulthood. The most reoccurring theme throughout the book, Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill is the loss of innocence. The protagonist named Baby, lives with her father, Jules who is a heroin addict. Jules and Baby are constantly moving to different apartments in Montreal, where Baby is exposed to drugs, juvenile detention and forced into prostitution by her pimp. Baby experiences many obstacles in her life at the age of thirteen because she doesn’t have a father that loves her enough to guide her into the right path of life. Therefore it did not take long for Baby to lose her innocence.

She can’t fully comprehend why she detests these flowers, and so all she knows is that they “did not make sense to her.” The child in her only has insight into her own world, and not into the worlds of others around her. Despite the marigolds being too troublesome for her to understand, she remains ignorant and does not try to seek any further meaning behind them. With Lizabeth in this naïve state, she has not yet felt the conflict between the child and the woman in her; she’s too ignorant at this point to attempt to develop an understanding for Miss Lottie and her flowers. After Lizabeth and the other kids launch the first attack on the marigolds, invoking great rage in Miss Lottie, Lizabeth feels a sudden urge to antagonize the old woman even further. Chanting vicious phrases at her, Lizabeth feels that she, “lost [her] head entirely, mad with the power of inciting such rage [in Miss Lottie].” Lizabeth has been taken over by a childish sense of pride after provoking Miss Lottie, showing her selfishness and lack of compassion. Being the child that she is, Lizabeth decides to further irritate Miss Lottie, only thinking about herself and how to ease her boredom. She is only concerned about her own little world. This sudden act of cruelty to Miss Lottie reveals