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Critical essay on the flowers by alice walker
Literary analysis essay for the flowers by alice walker
Analysis The Flowers Alice Walker
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In “The Flowers,” by Alice Walker, the flowers are used throughout the story to symbolize the beauty and naivety of childhood. In the beginning of the story the author shows the main character Myop walking down a path along the fence of her farm. Myop sees “an armful of strange blue flowers with velvety ridges…” The flowers are bright and colorful, reminding the reader of an innocent type of beauty often associated with them. This suggests the flowers were inserted in the story by Walker to reveal how young and innocent Myop appears to be. Later in the story, after Myop had discovered the dead body of a man who seemed to have been hung “Myop laid down her flowers,”. As Myop put down the flowers she was also putting down the last of her innocence.
The flowers remain to symbolize whatever innocence there was in Myop’s childhood is left on the ground with them.
In her story “Currents” Hannah Vosckuil uses symbolism, and a reverse narrative structure to show the story of how unnamed sympathetic and antagonistic characters react differently to a traumatic event. Symbolism can be found in this story in the way that Gary does not mind sitting in the dark alone at the end of the day as well as how both of his girls are affected by the symbolism of hands. One holding a boy’s hand for the first time and the other becoming sick after seeing the dead boy’s hand fall off the stretcher. The sympathetic and antagonistic manner of these characters is shown when both girls are told by their grandmother that they must return to the water to swim the next day. The grandmother sees this simply as a way of encouraging them and keeping them from becoming afraid of the water. However, the girls see this as a scary proposition because of what had happened, showing the grandmother as an antagonist character to the little girls.
According to Hawthorne, Alice had an uncanny resemblance to the flowers of the Pyncheon garden represented by her beauty and presence. Just as flowers hold a purity and freedom in their appearance, Alice was described as a "lady that was born and set apart from the world's vulgar mass by a certain gentle and cold stateliness" (178). Her strong appearance, as Hawthorne states, was "combined of beauty, high, unsullied purity, and the preservative force of womanhood" (180). Hawthorne shows that Alice represents the beauty of a flower as well as its scent when he says "the fragrance of her rich and delightful character still lingered . . . as a dried rosebud scents the drawer where it has withered and perished" (79). Even after her death, the "scent" of Alice's character still haunts the House of the Seven Gables with its beauty and tenderness like that of the flo...
In "The Chrysanthemums" John Steinbeck develops a theme of limitations. The story is essentially a man in the mirror story where the rigid Elisa sees herself for the first time as trapped. Although Elisa has recognized her life as limited and confining, she sadly accepts her life as is and does nothing to rectify her situation. In John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" symbolism of the fence, the garden, and the chrysanthemums help illustrate the story by striking an emotional chord with the audience.
Because of flowers’ popularity in Victorian England, Wilde’s use of floral imagery was purposeful and had some effect on the audience as a whole. Even stylistically, the language of the novel is flowery and dream-like. The question is why did Oscar Wilde use floral imagery in The Pic...
Flowers are a consistent symbol in To Kill a Mockingbird. It is used to let readers interpret what they believe is happening but is not being said. Ms.Dubose, Mayella, And Miss Maudie are just a few people who display how there is more occurring behind the scenes.
The flowers in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, each represent a different personality for the women and girls that take care of them. Each person’s flower gives an insight into their lives and behaviors. May they represent love, kindness, or stupidity, they all help us understand the person’s life and decisions. As said by Scout Finch, ”Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between.”, in To Kill A Mockingbird on page 327. But why were these flowers so important to the book? What do all the flowers represent and why are they associated with certain characters?
Alice Walkers short story, Everyday Use, is about the conflicts and struggles that are present in African-American culture. The story is about the Johnson family and the oldest daughter, Dee, who comes to visit her mother and younger sister Maggie. Dee arrives with a male companion named Asalamalakim. Walker uses a large amount of characterization and symbolism when describing the differences between mama and Maggie’s way of living and Dee’s way. By using all of the characterization and symbolism, Walker is able to show that culture and heritage are both major parts of daily life. Walker takes her time to characterize mama at the very beginning of the story. Walker describes Mrs. Johnson as “a large, big-boned woman with rough man-working hands. In the winter I wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day, I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man.” (Walker 1531) Walker also points out that even though mama is known for her unconditional love, she resents all of the education, sophistication, and the sense of superiority that Dee has gained throughout the years. Mama and Dee seem to be very different characters and it does seem as though that Walker does, in fact, want readers to view Dee as the antagonist of the story.
In her hands, she held seven different varieties of flowers: fennel, rosemary, pansies, rue, daises, violets, and columbines. Through the gifting the flowers to each main character, it gives a brief overview of the traits of the dramatis personae and notable events that have taken place within the play. Because Ophelia withheld certain names of who she gifted the flowers to, the meanings of the flowers give hints to who she would have gifted them to. However, some flowers hold a higher significance than others. For this reason, only fennel, rosemary, and daises absorb the true nature and purpose of the
Within The Chrysanthemums, Elisa is frustrated with her life on the ranch and secretly fantasizes about running away with the stranger and living on the road instead. The Chrysanthemums themselves are used as a symbols of Elisa's life, Elisa cannot accept this disappointment, and therefore fails at changing. In The Chrysanthemums, "Elisa took off her gloves and stuffed them in the apron pocket with the scissors. She touched the under edge of her man's hat, searching for fugitive hairs. 'That sounds like a nice kind of way to live,' she said," so in this quote Elisa comments on the way the stranger lives his life. This could then hint to that she is unhappy with her life. Another quote to show Elisa’s unhappy, is when "Elisa's voice grew husky.
In the short story, “Everyday Use”, Alice Walker uses three different symbols, that both Mama and Dee view differently, to strengthen the central theme of perception. The three symbols, in my opinion, that she uses are Maggie’s character, Dee’s name, and the family quilts. Walker’s story begins with Mama and Maggie waiting on Dee to arrive for a visit. Mama describes her two daughters very differently. Before the visit, Mama’s view of Maggie is that of pity and empathy, but for Dee, she sees strength and success. Following the visit, Mama has a revelation concerning Maggie; see begins to see that Maggie is wise and far more in touch with their heritage than Dee. Dee, however, states, “you ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie…”
To begin, I will be characterizing most of the characters and showing the symbol of the roses in this novel. Many of the characters in the book were kind. First off there was Martha who was kind to Mary in many ways. One of the ways was said “If you don’t trouble ‘em, most of ‘em’ll work away underground for a lifetime an’ spread out an’ have little ‘uns,” (Burnett 82). This context shows that Martha gives Mary information to help her succeed instead of helping her fail. Another time Martha is kind is stated “’ Martha’s mother sent me a skipping rope,’” (Burnett 117). Knowing this can show that Martha could have not given the skipping rope to Mary but she did which shows she is kind and caring to Mary. Secondly there is Dickon who is very kind
Through the ages, flowers have been given during times of illness for healing, for love, for friendship, for respect. Flowers inspire society to forgive and have hope. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses flowers as symbols of positivity. The novel revolves around two Depression-era children that are exposed to the prejudices of the society through a trial involving the rape of a young girl. Flowers like camellias, azaleas, and geraniums symbolize being free, finding joy, and growth as time passes on. Lee teach readers about being happy through flowers.
While I personally see it as a destruction of childhood innocence, I do recognize that the standards of beauty was the main issue given Pecola’s obsession for blue eyes and how she was regarded as ugly even in the eyes of other wealthier black people. Morrison did right to use the flower as a symbolism for not only beauty, but life as well. The catch is that flowers need nurturing like a child, but Pecola never received this from her parents. In a sense, Pecola is a flower who wilted as the result of negligence and mistreatment. Thus, it felt appropriate for the novel to begin with this sentence—“Quiet as it’s kept, there were no marigolds in the fall of 1941”
Alice Walker was born in Eatonton on February 9, 1944. She is an African American novelist, short story writer, poet, essayist, and activist. Walker has taught African American women's studies to college students at wellesley, the university of Massachusetts at Boston". She writes through various personal experiences, she described herself as "womanist" which means a woman who loves other woman and appreciate them. Walker writes through her feelings and the morals she has grown with. She writes about the black woman's struggle for spiritual wholeness and sexual, and political issues especially with black women's struggle for survival.
As one season slowly bleeds into the next, the world keeps on revolving. Change is always happening; it’s not something one can escape. In “The Flowers,” Alice Walker displays how the growing up of a child correlates with summer transitioning to fall. She portrays it through the events of the story and the last line, “And the summer was over.” (9).