Mrs. Flowers Test
What effect does Mrs. Flowers' reading aloud have on Marguerite?
For the first time Marguerite understands the beauty and power of the spoken word. ("Her voice slid and curved down through and over the words. She was nearly singing.") She saw the difference that verbalizing the words in different ways can impact the meaning and how the words are received.
On page ___, Mrs. Flowers began Marguerite's "Lessons in Living". What lessons did these include and what is Angelou's message here?
Intellect is not just about book learning. It can take many forms. Common sense has just as much value as book learning. Mrs. Flowers "said that I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy." "I must always listen carefully to what country people called mother wit. That in those homely sayings was couched the collective wisdom of generations."
A dictionary definition of sop is: 1. To dip, soak, or drench in a liquid; saturate. 2. To take up by absorption: sop up water with a paper towel On page ___, Marguerite states, "I sopped around the house, the Store, the school, and the church, like an old biscuit, dirty and inedible." How does the use of the word "sopped" impact the meaning of this sentence and what does it help the reader infer about Marguerite?
It impacts the meaning by describing Marguerite's mental and physical state of being. She is weighted down by something and this impacts every aspect of her daily life. She is merely existing and not living. She is saturated or filled to capacity to the point where she is listless and lifeless until Mrs. Flowers threw Marguerite her first lifeline.
On page ___, how does the author describe Mrs. Flowers? What does her description tell you about Marguerite's feelings towards her?
Mrs. Flowers is someone of high standing in the community and she has taken the time to pay attention to Marguerite. She makes Marguerite feel special and worthy. In the text, it stated, "When she chose to smile on me, I always wanted to thank her." Marguerite is thankful and appreciative of the attention and the lessons learned.
On page ___, Marguerite states of Mrs. Flowers, "She was one of the few gentlewomen I have ever known, and has remained throughout my life the measure of what a human being can be." What does Mrs. Flowers reveal about what a human being can be? How does she convey this?
She reveals that a Black person can be a beacon to the Black community. Black people could be aristocratic despite oppressive conditions. She stated in the text on page ___, "She was our side's answer to the richest white woman in town." She conveys this through her attire (white gloves and voile dress); her mannerisms (her smile, "grace of control");her language ("I'd prefer Marguerite, though." "My name was beautiful when she said it.").
On page ___, Mrs. Flowers is described as the "aristocrat of Black Stamps". Throughout the rest of the text selection, how does the author convey the characteristics of an aristocrat in the description of Mrs. Flowers?
The author characterizes Mrs. Flowers as an aristocrat by the way she describes her. She is described as someone who is in control of situations and circumstances. The author states that Mrs. Flowers "had the grace of control" to appear unaffected by extreme weather to the point where the weather seems to respond and be controlled by her instead. "She appears warm in the coldest weather and on the Arkansas summer days it seemed she had a private breeze which swirled around, cooling her." The author describes Mrs. Flower's attire in contrast to that of farmers and notes that Mrs. Flowers is not pretentious, but comfortable in this attire. The author states "her printed voile dresses and flowered hats were as right for her as denim overalls for a farmer." The author also portrays Mrs. Flowers as someone who others respected and kept a distance from or maybe feared. She stated, "Her skin was a rich black that would have peeled like a plum if snagged, but then no one would have thought of getting close enough to Mrs. Flowers to ruffle her dress, let alone snag her skin."
Re-read the passage on page ___, paragraphs 1 and 2. What central idea is the author conveying in the portion of the text? What words serve as clues to the reader?
The author includes the following words related to communication: talk, language, communicating, read, words, paper, voice, and meaning. The central idea of this portion of the text is that it takes the spoken word to truly convey what words mean. Spoken language is what makes us human and different from other animals
Throughout the text, Marguerite describes Mrs. Flowers and on page ___ she states, "Then I met, or rather got to know, the lady who threw me my first lifeline." Why is this phrase significant in the story? Why does she describe her in this way? Support your answer with evidence from the text.
This line is significant because it illustrates the degree of the impact Mrs. Flowers had on her life. It was not a brief encounter, but one that had an impression on her that lasted a lifetime. Additionally, the word lifeline has the connotation that she was a savior/role model for Marguerite. Mrs. Flowers takes the time to notice Marguerite's existence and to form a relationship with her. On page 133, Marguerite says, "I was liked, and what a difference it made." "I was respected...for just being Marguerite Johnson." Another quote that shows the significance of their relationship is "All I cared about was that she had made tea cookies for me and read to me." She takes Marguerite to her home even though she is viewed as someone who maintains her distance from the rest of the community: "...no one would have thought of getting close enough to Mrs. Flowers...She didn't encourage familiarity." Mrs. Flowers reveals to Marguerite the power of language in books and in the spoken word: "Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with the shades of deeper meaning." Mrs. Flowers opens Marguerite's mind to life's possibilities that Marguerite had not considered.
