Understanding “Marigolds”

Understanding“Marigolds”

Who is the author? • Eugenia Collier (b. 1928) is an award-winning writer and critic best known for her 1969 short story "Marigolds," which won the Gwendolyn Brooks Prize for Fiction award.

Setting/Geography • What is the setting of the story? • a poor section of rural Maryland • What is the social setting/time period of the story? • the United States in the midst of the Depression • More? • Dust everywhere, dirt roads, shanty/ramshackle homes colored dull gray, yards and roads colored brown • Describe the weather/season. • Late summer • Consider the hour • it’s just after 4 A.M. • What are some characteristics of time just before dawn? • Four o’clock in the morning is a time when few people are awake and it is still mostly dark. It is a time when a person who is awake can easily feel “alone in the world.” The early hour tends to isolate Lizabeth and makes the reader wonder what she plans to do. • How does all of this affect our character(s)? • “smoldering emotions of that summer swelled” (8; parag. 58).

Setting/Geography Continued… • Describe Miss Lottie’s house? • the most wretched, and her “queer headed” son on the porch adds to the impression of lowliness • What does this tell us about her character? • house is a reflection of her social standing, which is probably lower than Lizabeth’s • How does all of this affect plot? • The setting acts as an intrinsic part of the characters motivations for behaving in the manner in which they do.

Conflicts characters encounter • Person vs. person • Boxers, a debate • Person vs. self • Liar, Liar with Jim Carey • Person vs. nature • Castaway, Survivor Man • Person vs. society • Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. • Person vs. machine or technology • Matrix • Person vs. the supernatural • Haunted Mansion

Conflicts… • In most stories one of the opposing sides is human. • Almost always the central character engaged in the conflict is the one with whom readers identify, for they want to see how and why the tension is resolved. • This character, whether hero or villain, is called the protagonist. • The force opposing the protagonist is called the antagonist.

Word origins • Pro--for, in front of • Anti--against • Agonistes--actor • Agonia--contest

Character • Who is our PROTAGONIST? • Is she a ROUND or a FLAT character? • How does she illustrate the complexities found in real people? • She is confused, she acts before thinking • How old is Lizabeth? Why is her age significant in the story? • 14-going-on-15 • How old is Lizabeth as she narrates her story? • How does this affect the point-of-view, tone and mood of the story?

Character continued… • Who is the ANTAGONIST? • Who is Miss Lottie? • She is a big frame woman; she has smooth, reddish-brown skin. She has Indian-like features. She is very unemotional in her facial expression. She didn’t like intruders and she never left her yard nor did she have any visitors. • What conclusions can you draw from her description about the likelihood that Miss Lottie will punish the children for their actions? • She won’t punish them because she is very old and she moves slowly. • Why do you think the children “pick on” Miss Lottie? • They know that she is powerless and that she won’t be able to do anything to them because she can’t catch them.

Character continued… • Describe Miss Lottie’s son, John Burke. • “ageless…in a mindless stupor…but he would become enraged” (5, parag. 20). • Is he ROUND or FLAT? • How is he important to the story? • He adds to the setting of decay and limits Miss Lottie’s freedom to break away and find a better life.

Central Conflict • Identify the conflict Lizabeth struggles with following the attack on Miss Lottie. • She is torn between feeling sorry for attacking Miss Lottie and feeling that she somehow had a right to attack her. • What feelings are at the root of her conflict? • Deep down, Lizabeth knows she behaved childishly and she is angry at herself for doing so. • Summarize the conversation that Lizabeth overhears. • She overhears her father crying and her perception of her father changes drastically. • How does the sound of her father’s crying affect her? • It makes her feel confused, helpless, and angry. Internal Conflict/Person vs. Self

Climax Falling Action Rising Action Exposition Resolution/ Denouement Plot Development • Exposition: • … • … • …

Plot Development Climax Falling Action Rising Action Exposition Resolution/ Denouement • Rising Action: • … • … • …

Plot Development Climax Falling Action Rising Action Exposition Resolution/ Denouement Climax: • The climax occurs when Lizabeth returns to Miss Lottie’s garden and destroys it. (p.84) Here is where Lizabeth loses control and strike out as a result of the conflicts she has been struggling with. • How does Lizabeth change in the moment she comes face to face with Miss Lottie? What does she recognize in Miss Lottie’s face? • Lizabeth realizes that as hard as her life is, Miss Lottie’s life is much more difficult and without hope – she is able to feel compassion for Miss Lottie.

Climax Falling Action Rising Action Exposition Resolution/ Denouement Plot Development • Falling Action: • … • … • …

Climax Falling Action Rising Action Exposition Resolution/ Denouement Plot Development • Resolution Denouement: • … • … • …

Symbol • Interpret what marigolds symbolized to Miss Lottie? • For Miss Lottie, the marigolds were a symbol of beauty and hope in an otherwise hopeless environment. • What do they symbolize for Lizabeth as a child? • They symbolize the beginning of her life as an adult. • Why are the marigolds important to the adult narrator, Lisabeth? • They may serve as a reminder of her past and her lack of humility as well as the beginning of her adult life.

Critical Thinking • Why does Lizabeth destroy the flowers? • She is disturbed by her father’s frustration and by her own changing emotion • Why does Miss Lottie never plant marigolds again, despite Lizabeth’s “wild contrition” – her sincere remorse? • Lizabeth’s destruction of the marigolds also destroyed Miss Lottie’s last hope and desire to create beauty. Lizabeth “defeated” Miss Lottie. • What do you think the narrator means at the end of the story when she says that she too has planted marigolds? • She has also tried to create beauty amid ugly circumstances. She has tried not to get depressed even in hopeless situations. • What does the narrator mean when she says “old fears have a way of clinging like cobwebs”? • People keep irrational childhood fears even after they’re old enough to know that the fears foolish. • What type of literary device is this? • simile • What were your reactions when you finished reading the story?

Understanding “Marigolds”