Marigolds
What conclusions can you draw about the narrator's present life from the last paragraph in the story? Drawing on your understanding of the story's symbolism, paraphrase the last line.
The reader can conclude that the author knows now, as a full-fledged adult, that what she did was childish and irrational. The memory of what she did to Miss Lottie's marigolds will forever be etched into her brain as a most painful memory. Her current life is still missing something, it's still barren. She planted marigolds to try to have something beautiful in the midst of not finding what she wants.
What part do the "chaotic emotions of adolescence" (lines 17-18) play in motivating Lizabeth to taunt Miss Lottie?
Lizabeth's chaotic emotions of adolescence were what fueled her taunting of Miss Lottie. Lizabeth says, "Joy and rage and wild animal gladness and shame become tangled together in the multicolored skein of 14-going-on-15 as I recall that devastating moment when I was suddenly more woman than child." This transition she was making from child to woman was a very confusing time for her. It sent her emotions all out of whack. Being in the financial/social status that she was, her coping mechanism was antagonizing the only thing important to Miss Lottie. Lizabeth also says, "Poverty was the cage in which we were trapped, and our hatred of it was still the, vague, and undirected restlessness of the zoo-bred flamingo who knows that nature created him to fly free." This statement from Lizabeth shows that these poverty-stricken kids had no outlets for the feelings they were having about their situations, so they only had Miss Lottie to bother.
How does the narrator's understanding of miss Lottie at the end of the story compare to her feelings about the woman at the beginning of the story?
On Pg. 218 Lizabeth says, "When we were tiny children, we thought Miss Lottie was a witch and we made up tales, that we half believed ourselves, about her exploits." However, on Pg. 223 she says, "For as I gazed at the immobile face with the sad, weary eyes, I gazed upon a kind of reality that is hidden to childhood. The witch was no longer a witch but only a broken old woman who had dared to create beauty in the midst of ugliness and sterility." In the beginning, Lizabeth saw Miss Lottie through an obnoxious child's eyes. She saw only a big, grouchy, old woman who hated kids, but towards the ending she saw who Miss Lottie truly was. A tired, broken, old woman, who lived in squalor her entire life and tried to create and savor whatever beauty was left in their town.
Reread lines 162-185. What might explain the children's reactions to the marigolds
The kids felt that her flowers were too perfect for their neighborhood, let alone Miss Lottie's shanty old shack of a house. They thought that those marigolds were too beautiful. They couldn't help but destroy what made them feel confused and was so out of place in their dusty barren neighborhood. They loved the challenge that came with taunting Miss Lottie. They were bored children trying to fill their empty midday hours.
What do the marigolds symbolize in this story? Explain how they contribute to the development of the story theme.
The marigolds symbolize hope, joy, and happiness. In the beginning of the story Lizabeth talks about how the children (including herself) thought the marigolds were out of place in Miss Lottie's barren rickety old shack of a house, and they were too beautiful to exist here in their dusty town. The destruction of the marigolds brought Lizabeth to the realization of her transition from child to woman, demonstrating the theme of Growing Up. It used to bring her joy and laughter to antagonize the flowers of Miss Lottie, but as she grew older she began to lose those feelings and they were replaced with shame.
In lines 8-9, Collier writes that an abstract painting "does not present things as they are, but rather as they feel." What can you infer about the narrator's childhood experiences based on her description of her home town?
The reader can infer that she had a tough impoverished life. Not only was she living during the Great Depression, but she was an African-American teenager. She probably experienced never having enough money, bad education, and a deprived lifestyle. Lizabeth says, "Memory is an abstract painting-- it does not present things as they are, but rather as they feel," showing that although there might have been some good areas of her neighborhood, the way she felt during that time made it all seem like dust. A dusty barren neighborhood with dirt roads and grassless yards.
What is the story's theme? Note at least three clues that help you recognize the message the author is sharing.
The stories theme is Loss of Innocence, or more specifically transitioning from child to woman. Clue #1: Pg. 223: "I scrambled to my feet and just stood there and stared at her, and that was the moment when childhood faded and womanhood began." Clue #2: Pg. 220: "The child in me sulked and said it was all in fun, but the woman in me flinched at the though of the malicious attack that I had led." Clue #3: Pg. 214: "Joy and rage and wild animal gladness and shame become tangled together in the multicolored skein of 14-going-on-15 as I recall that devastating moment when I was suddenly more woman than child."
Review lines 257-293. How does the conversation between Lizabeth's parents motivate Lizabeth's later actions?
Yes, the conversation between her parents did motivate her actions toward Miss Lottie, but it wasn't just that. Lizabeth says, "The great need for my mother who was never there, the hopelessness of our poverty and degradation, the bewilderness of being neither child nor woman and yet both at once, the fear unleashed by my father's tears." All these things and all Lizabeth's feelings were building up within her. After overhearing their conversation all she could feel was bewilderment and fear. This along with her shame caused by her previous malicious actions towards Miss Lottie, had sent her over the edge.
