Imagery And Diction In Alice Walker's 'The Flowers'

Imagery plays an important role in relaying the message of the poem. The poem opens with describing the “warping night air.” While in “her darkened room,” the girl hears the owl. These images create an eerie feeling and help the reader relate to the fear of the child. The girl’s parents then calm their daughter using soothing words. Afterwards, the girl is then able to go back to sleep without

The multifaceted nature of the human condition encompasses all aspects of human life at both an individual and collective level and delves into the notion of humanity and the values it comprises. Gwen Harwood’s poems’ “Father and Child” and “Mother who gave me life,” and Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery” (1998), explore the dynamic and often contradictory nature of the human condition. Harwood portrays the transience of time and inescapable truth of mortality, illustrating the ever changing complexion of the human experience. Whereas, Jackson examines the capability of all humans to be violent and cruel while questioning whether such tendencies can be masked by a constrictive society’s heartless ideals.

Marigolds by Eugenia Collier is about a woman named Lizabeth looking back on her past, specifically the moment and things leading up to when she became an adult. “Chaotic emotions of youth” as she calls it are what really lead to the main event and are caused from confusion. In the story she as well as other children don’t understand how something like their neighbor, Miss.Lottie’s, marigolds could be so beautiful amid such a poverty-stricken, dilapidated town. She also does not understand where she belongs in her family after witnessing a huge role change between both her mother and father. These along with peer pressure are what made Lizabeth embrace those chaotic emotions and childishly act out in a violent way mutilating and destroying

The two poems, “The Barred Owl” and “The History Teacher”, display different ways of soothing child fears and attempting to protect the children's innocence with their tone, rhyme scheme, and humor. Wilbur specifically uses personification with a different point of view than Collins. Collins comes from a more ironic tone in his poem and portrays the history teacher as a protector of the children’s innocence, when in reality, they have already lost it.

Walker’s essay shows the dehumanization and abuse that black women have endured for years. She talks about how their creativity was stifled due to slavery. She also tells how black women were treated more like objects than human beings. They entered loveless marriages and became prostitutes because of the injustice upon them. Walker uses her mother’s garden to express freedom, not only for her but for all the black women who had been wronged. Walker described her mother as radiant when she was planting, her work outshining the wrongdoings done to her and the people before her. The garden was where her mother could make truly make “art.” The garden was also a representation of the creativity of the women who hold a talent close to their heart

Our initial thought upon reading the title was that the poem would explore a child who suffers from a mental illness; hence they felt out of touch with reality and walking backwards portrayed their state of mind. An alternate theory was that the poem told a coming of age story that highlighted the child’s reluctance to grow up and embrace the harsh realities of life.

In “Marigolds” the author uses diction, symbolism and point of view, to develop the theme that people can create beauty even in the poorest of situations. Through diction, Collier is able to show the reader the contrast between the beauty of the marigolds compared to the run-down town the story is set in. Through her use of symbolism the author shows how much the marigolds mean to Miss Lottie. Through her use of point of view readers have a clear view of the look and atmosphere of the old town and the how the marigolds were the only beautiful thing

Layers of illusions are burned away and all Paul has left is reality. In Willa Cather’s tragic short story “Paul’s Case: A Study in Temperament,” the flowers capture the reality world Paul departs from. For instance, critic Sherry Crabtree asserts that the red carnation symbolizes Paul’s alienation from the world of Cordelia Street (Crabtree 206). Crabtree observes the patterns of how the flowers reveal Paul’s negative outlook of life. On the other hand, some critics claim that the flowers capture the fantasy world Paul envisions. For example, author of short stories Edward Pitcher claims that the flower in Paul’s lapel portrays his world of illusions with his “own sense of color and need for embellishment” (Pitcher 547). What Pitcher fails to notice is that the flowers

Lizbeth in her distress at overhearing her parents conversation directs her anger and fear at Miss. Lottie’s marigolds . The marigolds a symbolize beauty that only Ms. Lottie, a scary old lady , possesses. “For some perverse reason, we children hated those marigolds. They interfered with the perfect ugliness of the place.”(5). The beauty of the flowers against the extreme background of poverty makes the children's realize the lack of beauty and hope in their future. The children do not know whey they are angry by the flowers but the flowers represents the only hope, beauty and life amongst their life in the dust. When Lizbeth hears her father sobbing over his inability to find a job, she loses hope because her father had represented strength

Transitional states of maturity can be challenged or championed by unexpected discoveries which can be confronting or provocative. This is explored through Alice Walker’s 1973 prose fiction, “The Flowers”, as the protagonist’s view on the world is transformed due to the personal zemblanic discovery made. The short story explores the themes of loss of innocence and death in order to address cultural indifference and the prejudice experienced by certain groups within society, which in turn causes individuals to be effected negatively. Walker hopes to evoke sense of political and social reflection in her audience, hoping that intimate discoveries of past inequity by her readers will ensure cultural equity maintains future momentum.

In the short story “The Flowers”, Alice Walker sufficiently prepares the reader for the texts surprise ending while also displaying the gradual loss of Myop’s innocence. The author uses literary devices like imagery, setting, and diction to convey her overall theme of coming of age because of the awareness of society's behavior.

​The words immortalized in Alice Walker’s short story “The Flowers” resonated with me in a profound manner. Myop’s adventure from the property that her family shares to the woods is one that she has embarked upon many times before. This time even though she doesn’t realize it, everything will be different. Walker’s character may not understand the consequences that come with the encounter with the lynched black man, the thought that crosses my mind while reading this is that although she has no idea of what awaits her in the future, of the cruelty and injustice that unfortunately runs rampant in today’s society, she can still find a place to be proud and hopeful of who she is.

Alice Walker’s story “Roselily” is about hardships and doing what is best for the ones you love. The story elegantly shows Roselily’s emotions and thoughts about her marriage through diction and symbolism. These literary devices portray an unsure mother about her decision to marry a religious man for the sake of her children and her future.

“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker is a short story containing a first-person point of view, narrated by the mother in the story. “The mother” is not named in the story, yet holds an important role in being the protagonist while also incorporating vital details of the characters’ emotions, views, and ideas of each other. The narrator tells the audience everything she knows about the other two main characters, giving the audience insight on how to view these characters in the story. Walker does a great job using two specific literary elements in “Everyday Use” to pinpoint the story’s theme. In “Everyday Use”, Walker develops the theme of the importance of Christ-like behavior by unifying these literary elements: point of view and characterization.

While living in San Francisco with her mother, Walker had a situation in elementary school where she was attacked by two boys in her grade. “Dakeba comes charging out of the building. He shouts to Robert, Get her! And then Robert stands in front of me and won’t let em by and starts pushing me with big, rough ashy hands. Dakeba gets behind me and when Robert pushes me my back slams into his chest. When Dakeba pushes me back, my chest shoves into Robert’s”(Walker 108). Walker uses various verbs and adjectives to make the reader feel like they are a witness to the scene. This moment is a turning point for Walker because it was her first experience being attacked and called out for her skin color after leaving the safety of her two parent home. After her parents divorce Walker was left in a vulnerable place and began to hang with the wrong company. The internal pain that she bottled up allowed her to make some decisions that she would regret years later. While living with her father in the Bronx, she hung out with a group of teens who did drugs. “I let my head fall all the way back until my eyes smack the blue sky. The clouds are start going fast. Soon it feels like I’m not on the car anymore and I am falling in circles into the sky”( Walker 196-197). This moment Walker applies a realistic feature to her words that allows her audience the ability to picture the scene. The author’s use of imagery presented her memories in a way that her audience could either relate or feel empathy towards