In the poem “On turning Ten '' by Billy Collins and in the short story “ Marigolds” written by Eugenia W. Collier, both authors talk about how life has changed and the end of their childhood based on situations of their past life. In the poem and the short story, both authors explore the impact of losing innocence by describing their memory and discovering the truth. Both authors show how emotional it was to face the truth and reality based on his and her memories. In “Marigolds”, she starts losing her innocence when she “Never heard a man cry before” (Collier 42) and how she discovered Miss Lottie wasn’t frustrated with the situation at the end but was upset. In “On Turning Ten” he realizes “I skin my knees.
“The Monkey Garden” is a short story by Sandra Cisneros about a young girl named Esperanza who lives near a fantastic garden. The diction and personification in the story affects how Esperanza breaks free from her childhood and loses her innocence. Esperanza enjoys playing in the garden, but her friend Sally tells her she is too old to play where the children play. Esperanza realizes that “the garden that had been such a good place to play didn’t seem mine either” (Cisneros 2) after her friend Sally plays an unorthodox kissing game with boys at the garden. As a result, Esperanza loses her innocence when they laugh at her for trying to “save” Sally.
Anyone who has ever worked hard has heard the saying, “It builds character.” For example, say someone went to college. They worked hard to graduate with a degree, and finally got their dream job. Two months in they get laid off. Their first job is gone, but still must move on.
The formulistic construction and simplistic language echo a child’s understanding of the world, enhanced by the synecdoche “beak and claw”. Harwood’s repeated references to literal and figurative blindness through “daylight riddled eyes”, are metaphoric of the child’s ignorance. The child belief of “death clean and final not this obscene” is left reeling, highlighted through alliteration and grotesque imagery “stuff that dropped and dribbled through loose straw tangling in bowels”.
Visual imagery aids the reader in understanding the loss of innocence of a boy amid such despair and the transformation that follows. Through these literary features, the author
In the short fiction story “The Monkey Garden” by Sandra Cisneros, the author uses deep, rich figurative language to effect the exotic setting. “There were sunflowers, big as flowers on Mars and thick cockscombs bleeding the deep red fringe of theater curtain” (Cisneros 1). A simile is used to create a scene of being on another planet, a place where the monkeys once lived. The usage of descriptive words such as, “ bleeding the deep fringe” (1), and “ thick cockscomb” (1), to give the reader a sense of being in a jungle filled with tropical life and pleasure. The author uses words that are exotic in nature to emanate the jungle scenery.
For the first ‘bare’ part of her life, Janie is a mule not to a man but to her own grandmother. In her youth, Janie yearns for relationships and objects that to her symbolize freedom. She is drawn to a blossoming pear tree because of how its “barren brown stems [turn] to glistening leaf-buds; from the leaf-buds from snowy virginity” (10), Here, Janie is awed by something changed from ‘barren’ to beautiful as she struggles with the suppression of her grandmother, who goes on to bash Janie for kissing a boy through a gatepost. It is clear Janie associates the pear tree with freedom, as she was avoiding her chores to sit under it. Thus, the beauty she finds in the turn from stem to blossom is directly correlated with the joy she finds in the escape from her grandmother and discovery of freedom.
Actions provoked by fear and desperation nurture perturbed emotions, particularly in adolescence. The impenetrable will of hopelessness is dissected and empathized in Eugenia Collier’s short fiction story, Marigolds. The study sync excerpt revolves around a young impoverished teen, Lizabeth, who seeks hope in a bundle of rage, sorrow, and uncertainty. She, a person of color during The Great Depression, sought entertainment/joy by meddling with an elderly woman in her neighborhood, Miss Lottie. However, the supposed “meddling” would lead Lizabeth into a (dire or empathetic) reality which The Great Depression proposed for all.
Eden Robinson’s Monkey beach is set in the small, coastal village of Kitamaat in western B.C., home to the province’s Haisla community. Robinson’s characterization of a Haisla family living in present day Kitamaat exposes the challenges that are faced by the Aboriginal people conserving their traditions, values and social mores under the dominating influence of Canada’s West Cost society. She frames these concerns by following the struggles of Lisamarie (Lisa) Hill as she reconciles the ideologies of her modern Canadian upbringing with the often-discordant beliefs of her First Nation heritage, which becomes more complicated by the experience of the supernatural appearances that only Lisa can see. Lisa’s relationship with the spirit world allows her to transgress the history of abuse and reconnect with her heritage, however, she must struggle with North American ideologies which consider the supernatural as flawed. With the help of Ma-ma-oo (Lisa’s grandmother) she begins to gain control within the spirt world, thus re-connecting with her heritage.
The Monkey Garden" is a poignant reminder of the fleeting nature of childhood and the bittersweet process of growing up. In "The Monkey Garden," Esperanza's neighborhood garden becomes a symbol of the loss of childhood innocence.
In some works of literature, childhood and adolescence are portrayed as times graced by innocence and a sense of wonder; in other works, they are depicted as times of tribulation and terror. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding the author portrays that children are not completely innocent. Golding’s representation of childhood and adolescence also shows us the attitudes children have towards participating in work. In Lord of the Flies Golding portrays that children are not completely innocent.
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. At the beguining of the story the author makes use of proper and necessary diction to create a euphoric and blissful aura. The character Myop “skipped lightly” while walker describes the harvests and how is causes “excited little tremors to run up her jaws.”. This is an introduction of the childlike innocence present in the main character.
Alice Walker uses imagery and diction throughout her short story to tell the reader the meaning of “The Flowers”. The meaning of innocence lost and people growing up being changed by the harshness of reality. The author is able to use the imagery to show the difference between innocence and the loss of it. The setting is also used to show this as well.
Have you ever watched a suspenseful movie about magic? Have you ever wished you had your own genie that would grant you three wishes? However, the three wishes aren 't exactly what you wished for? Well in the story the Monkey’s Paw that pattern seems to be happening a lot.
There’s a quote by E.E. Cummings which states “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” This quote is about people maturing and coming to terms with growing up. Everyone grows throughout their lives but it’s not always easy. The struggles of growing older and the importance of growing up is shown in the short stories, “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier and “When the Corridors Echo” by Sabrina Mahfouz. “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier is a short story which explores the struggles of growing up through a character called “Lizabeth.” In the story, the main character Lizabeth reminisces about a specific memory from her childhood.
