Innocence In 'Marigolds And The Flowers'

Change is a good thing, and everyone does it. It could be the way you dress, the way you act, or the things you do. In this case, it was the things and ways the characters acted. And, in both short stories their change was from a child to an adult, from immature to mature, and during this change, each protagonist lost their innocence. In “Marigolds” and “The Flowers”, loss of an innocence can be caused by when Myop stepped on the African American man, when Lizabeth destroyed the Marigolds, and the way Lizabeth’s opinion of Miss. Lottie changed.

In “The Flowers”, by Alice Walker, Myop steps on a dead, hung African American, which changes the way she looks at life. Myop then “stepped smack into his eyes…It was only when she saw his naked grin

Lottie’s Marigolds, her innocence was lost. Her way of of letting her emotions run wild and bursting out of her was when “[she] leaped furiously into the mounds of marigolds and pulled madly, trampling and pulling and destroying the perfect yellow blooms” (Collier 7). This shows that she grew from being an innocent girl, to a more outrageous woman. As Collier writes, “I just stood there peering through the bushes, torn between wanting to join the fun and feeling that it was all a bit silly” (Collier 4). But, then she does so, without any pressure or convincing. The way Collier uses imagery in the first quote shows that Lizabeth was angry and emotional at the time because she writes furiously, pulled madly, and trampling and pulling and destroying. Lizabeth feels that “this was the beginning of compassion, and one cannot have both compassion and innocence” (Collier 7). This quote that Collier adds to the short story adds more detail to it because it sums up what Lizabeth believed and experienced. “The Marigolds” shows that you can lose your innocence after one event, with out

Lottie changes. When her and the other children began to throw stones at Miss. Lottie and her marigolds it was because “the children hated those marigolds” (Collier 4). They had no respect to her, they “thought Miss. Lottie was a witch” (Collier 3). These quotes show that the children had nothing to give, no kindness, and no respect to Miss. Lottie because they would call her a witch, and they hated the marigolds, even though she or the marigolds did nothing to them. The way they treat her is very disrespectful; throwing stones at her, and screaming old lady witch. But once, Lizabeth attacks the marigolds, and her innocence was lost, she changes her opinion towards Miss. Lottie by having the feeling that “one does not have to be ignorant and poor to find that his life is a barren as the dusty yards of the town. And [she] too [had] planted marigolds” (Collier 7). At the beginning of the short story Lizabeth says that Miss. Lottie was evil and her marigolds were stupid, but then after she had lost her innocence, Lizabeth did exactly what Miss. Lottie did. The way Collier changes Lizabeth’s view on Miss. Lottie changes the story and creates a changing mood which adds dimension and change to the short story. In “The Marigolds”, Collier shows that a character change can also change the way the character views people and things