PCR 5
Both of the stories “Marigolds” by Eugenia W. Collier and “Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing use setting to symbolize a coming of age. Each story has text evidence to support this statement. The following paragraphs will provide evidence to support this conclusion. Marigolds is a story of an impoverished young girl at the age of fourteen becoming a woman by the name of Lizabeth. There is a setting that symbolizes that she is growing up. This place is Miss Lottie’s garden.
Miss Lottie’s garden grows marigolds, which are often mentioned in the story. In the story these marigolds are like a symbol of Lizabeths innocence. In the end of the story Lizabeth destroys the flowers, and after acts very differently. As the story describes it, “… and as I look back upon it, I know that
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Both being the beach and the wild bay/tunnel. The beach representing childhood and vice versa for the bay. The beach is representative of the main characters childhood that wishes to leave behind for the adult life of the wild bay. This is presumably stated by this quote from the text, “…And yet, as he ran, he looked back over his shoulder at the wild bay; and all morning, as he played on the safe beach, he was thinking of it. Next morning, when it was time for the routine of swimming and sunbathing, his mother said, “Are you tired of the usual beach, Jerry? Would you like to go somewhere else?” this quote shows that the main character wishes to go to the bay. When his mother finally allows him to enter the wild bay he, with the help of some local boys, finds a tunnel. He challenges himself to get through the tunnel, which in this case could be a symbol for him transitioning adult life. Through perseverance he gets through the tunnel and he metaphorically becomes a man, Shown by the quote, “…The water paled. Victory filled him. His lungs were beginning to hurt. A few more strokes and he would be
In Toni Morrison’s novel, The Song of Solomon, flowers are associated with romance and love, and so the way in which the central female characters interact with flora is indicative of the romance in their lives. Flowers, red roses in particular, are a universal symbol for love and fertility. Though Ruth Foster, Lena called Magdalene Dead, and First Corinthians Dead are associated with different types of flowers in distinctive ways, the purpose of the motif stays the same; flowers reveal one’s romantic status and are a precursor for the romance that is to come. Throughout the entire novel, the flowers share in common that they are not real. Some flowers appear printed, others as fake substitutes, and some are imaginary. This is an essential
Setting expatiates the theme of loss of innocence. For example, the four major characters in this story are sixteen and seventeen years old, which is the age when teenagers prepare to end their childhood and become adults. Also, the Devon school, where the story takes place, is a place where boys make the transition to full adulthood, and so this setting shows more clearly the boys' own growth. Finally, World War II, which in 1942 is raging in Europe, forces these teenage boys to grow up fast; during their seventeenth year they must evaluate everything that the war means to them and decide whether to take an active ...
Charlotte Brontë uses literary technique in her novel “Shirley” to characterize the phases of leaving childhood and entering adulthood. “Elf-land lies behind us, the shores of reality rises in front,” is a quote from”Shirley” that is a literary device used to show how the age of 18 is where Caroline Helstone is leaving childhood (“Elf-land”) and is about her new age. Brontë uses metaphors, personification, and imagery to foreshadow what it will be like to enter adulthood once becoming eighteen.
The pear tree for example is similar to that of the Garden of Eden. The pear tree and the horizon signify Janie’s model of a perfect life. In the bees’ interaction with the pear tree flowers, Janie witnesses a perfect moment in nature, full of energy, interaction, and harmony. She chases after this ideal life throughout the rest of the book. Janie’s romantic and idealistic view of love, seen in her reaction to the pear tree, partially explains why her earlier relationships are not successful. It is not until later in her life, when she slowly opens up to her relationship with Tea Cake on a more mature level, that Janie sees what love really is. Janie resists Tea Cake at first, remembering her early pear tree encounters, and her early sexual awakening. She becomes infatuated with Tea
In the beginning, the author explains how this young girl, Lizabeth, lived in the culturally deprived neighborhood during the depression. Lizabeth is at the age where she is just beginning to become a young woman and is almost ready to give up her childish ways. Through this time period, she was confused and could not quite understand what was happening to her. In the end, she rips Miss Lottie’s marigolds among the ugly places in which she lived. The marigolds are the only things that make the place a bit beautiful to the eye.
Flowers are incredibly important, especially in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. There are three main flowers pointed out in the course of the whole story. There are Miss Maudie’s azaleas, Mrs Dubose’s camellias, and Mayella Ewell’s geraniums. Each bloom was assigned in this way solely for the relation towards their corresponding characters. Flowers can be used to express emotion or send a message, and those associated with Maudie, Dubose, and Mayella are vital to the novel.
It states that Lizabeth changed from a child to an adult in one instant, as she gazed on the sad, weary eyes of Miss. Lottie. Collier’s message is conveyed through the journey of Lizabeth. If Lizabeth undergoes the difficult journey to reach womanhood, Collier is trying to tell the reader that this is imperative for us to do so as well. One can only escape the blindness of ignorance that is accompanied by childhood best described as a “reality hidden to childhood.” on line 356, by undergoing the same journey that Lizabeth went through. Collier’s theme in “Marigolds” is that growing up is the only way in which to be able to comprehend someone other than yourself and feel compassion. Even though our situations are different the situation Lizabeth was placed in, we can still use what Lizabeth learned to help and improve our own lives.
As Janie realized her desires for love, she became engaged in several relationships in an attempt to fulfill her ideals of marriage as expressed by the pear tree. Near the beginning of the novel, Janie is a young girl, but on the verge of becoming a woman. One spring day, when she was outstretched under a pear tree, “[s]he saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom,” leading her to exclaim, “[s]o this is marriage!” (Hurston 11). It is at this point that Janie discovers her first sexual awakening, evident through the suggestive symbolism of the statement. The “bloom” of the pear tree represents herself, while the “dust-bearing bee” represents her love interest. The symbiotic relationship between the bee and flower indicates her ideals of marriage, where
Eugenia Collier’s “Marigolds” is a memoir of a colored girl living in the Great Depression. The story does not focus on the troubles society presents to the narrator (Elizabeth), but rather is focused on the conflict within her. Collier uses marigolds to show that the changes from childhood to adulthood cause fear in Elizabeth, which is the enemy of compassion and hope.
Setting is place and time, and often provides more than a mere backdrop for the action of a story. William Faulkner uses this device in his complex short story "A Rose for Emily" to give insight into the lonely world of Miss Emily Grierson.
After reading and annotating Marigolds by Eugenia W. Collier, I learned that there are some things we don’t know or realize when we are a child. When we become a woman, we have a different perspective on things. That is what Eugenia learned by the end of the story. Once she ruined all of Miss Lottie’s marigolds, she immediately felt guilty. Miss Lottie stood there with no anger on her face, just disappointment. Eugenia said that was when she saw her childhood fade and womanhood start to begin. Once she began womanhood, she learned that those flowers were precious to Miss Lottie and she was tying to make some beauty out of her shanty house. She viewed Miss Lottie as “… only a broken old woman who had dared to create beauty in the midst of ugliness
The story takes place during an annual family vacation to an unspecified country. Jerry looks up to some older boys he sees dive and swim through an underwater tunnel, and he longs to be accepted by them. He sees them as being matured and adult: “They were big boys-men to Jerry” (Lessing 3). In order to become a man of the same stature as the boys, Jerry becomes determined to find his way through the tunnel. The tunnel is used throughout the story as a metaphor for the challenges that shape one into a matured young adult. By striving to meet the challenge of making it through the tunnel, Jerry learns the importance of focus and patience. “A curious, most unchildlike persistence, a controlled impatience, made him wait” (Lessing 7). As he embarks through the tunnel he finds that it’s much more difficult than he expected. He is scarred by the jagged top of the tunnel which he is continually propelled toward by upward currents. When he finally meets the challenge he finds he no longer feels the need to be accepted and validated by the older boys, seen here “He could see the local boys diving and playing half a mile away. He did not want them. He wanted only to go home to his mother” (Lessing 9). This shows that Jerry’s hunger for independence and adulthood had been
Towards the middle of the story, Lizabeth, her brother and the other neighborhood children rush over to Miss Lottie’s to throw pebbles at her flowers that she so deeply cared for. The children flung stones at the blossoms and Lizabeth with her “expertly aimed stone cut the head off of one of the blossoms” (Collier 146). This sent the other children into a stone flinging frenzy and ended up destroying all of the blossoms. Miss Lottie became enraged and began to cry over her ruined flowers. Lizabeth never thought of the repercussion this would have on Miss Lottie and the love she had for her flowers. She did this for her own entertainment without thinking about who she could hurt. After the stone throwing incident, Lizabeth continued to stay with Mrs. Lottie and yell insults at her, because she was “mad with the power of inciting such rage” (Collier 146). For the second time Lizabeth was not concerned with Miss Lottie’s feelings in the slightest and only taunted her and called her cruel names to entertain herself. Lizabeth’s actions and words presented to readers just how selfish she was in her
The Beach represents a place of balance and democracy. From Lord of the Flies, the quote “‘Let’s vote –’ This toy of voting was almost as pleasing as the conch” (22) shows how gratifying the boys find it to be creating a democracy on the peaceful beach. And while the beach is also where Jack declares his independence from the group and splits off, he does so in a nonviolent way, without threatening physical harm. Even when harsh words are exchanged, the reader sees these events as non-aggressive, civilized events that accentuate the peacefulness of the beach. The open setting of the beach, with its “shimmering waters” (10) and “miles of length” (18) is reinforcing the characters to get along and to act more civilized.
The flower is said to be the best friend of the little prince. This flower represented a true friend that you can really trust.