Alice Walker's The Flowers

Short Story Assignment

Walker’s “The Flowers” illustrates Myop’s innocence and optimism though the application of flowers, and precise order in which important information is revealed. Even at the climax of the story flowers are described in detail, despite there being more climactic aspects within the same sequence. The narrator describes the area surrounding the dead man with little detail; describing only the man himself, a noose, and single pink rose : “Myop gazed around the spot with interest. Very near where she'd stepped into the head was a wild pink rose. As she picked it to add to her bundle she noticed a raised mound, a ring, around the rose's root. It was the rotted remains of a noose… Myop laid down her flowers.” (Walker 1). Myop recognizes the noose after the flower, despite it being what most would consider a more . Therefore, through the her specific decision to reveal important information gradually, Walker discreetly reveals Myop’s youth and innocence.

Even after she has acknowledged both objects, she still remains captivated with the flower, rather than the horrific and life-changing display before her.. Through this interaction with the flowers we can tell that Myop is innocent, as her actions suggest she does not completely understand the world around her. Only a mere child would be impulsive and negligent enough to be concerned with picking flowers in such a shocking situation and Myop’s disregard for the dead man’s cause of death and immediate obsession with the flower shows her optimism. Even in dark and somewhat confusing situations she nearly always chooses to notice flowers first, leaving more dark and solemn objects to be recognized