ipl-logo

Lisa Wingate Tending Roses Quotes

463 Words2 Pages

“Be where you are; otherwise you will miss your life,” Siddhārtha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism. This quote symbolizes the idea that people worry so much about the future that they completely overlook the present and let time slip by them. In the book, “Tending Roses” by Lisa Wingate, reading her Grandma’s journal reminds Katie to live in the moment because her Grandma was so focused on upcoming tasks that all the plants grew tall, and the fireflies disappeared.
Her Grandma’s diary inspires Katie to live in the present because while her Grandma was so absorbed in undone chores, the plants grew up and matured. In paragraph 6 Katie’s Grandma reflects on her life, saying, “When my bones were not too weary from work done, and my thoughts not too frazzled from chores left to do,” and “ I looked upon those waving trees, or knobby-legged yearlings in the pasture, or the flowers by the road, and wondered how they grew so tall while my back was to them.” She acknowledges that her work consumed so much of her mind that she missed everything that happened around her. If she just took a step back and looked around her, then she would’ve seen the plants growing and budding into wonderful creations. …show more content…

In paragraph 9 she thinks back to when her children caught fireflies in a jar with her, but one day she forgot about them, “ I suppose they flew away one night as I lingered over mending, or soiled tableware, or a child’s lessons.” While she was busy with the housework the fireflies had already left. She was once like her children, mourning for the passing of the fireflies, but as time went by she had other things on her mind; thoughts of future endeavors like mending, teaching her children, or washing dishes dominated her mind, as she stopped saying goodbye to her old

Show More
Related
482 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout the play Mama has a small potted plant that she cares deeply about. Not only does this small plant represent her family’s delayed dreams for a better future, but it also represents Mama’s constant care for her family. “Growing doggedly in a small pot by the apartment’s kitchen window, Mama’s plant has “spirit” despite the fact that this little old plant...ain’t never had enough sunshine or nothin.” This plant connects to the family by sharing the need of desires. For example, the plant needs sunshine to thrive and grow big and strong.

Read More
286 Words | 2 Pages

She used this metaphor to show her sense of awe and further immerse the reader in how she had felt, so maybe they could feel the same existential dread that she had started to feel. In addition,

Read More
570 Words | 3 Pages

The plant has so much meaning to the grandmother in the story because she always wanted to have a garden when she owned a house. Everyone doesn’t know why she liked the plant so much and gave it so much care. In reality the plant held a lot of importance due to the fact that it was the closest thing to her dream. The plant was something that wasn’t huge or brought anyones attention , meaning it was a dream and remembrance of that dream. Something that doesn’t look like anything till you give it attention and it can have a lot of meaning.

Read More
800 Words | 4 Pages

Nothing feels as liberating as lifting the heavy binders that tie your spirit down- or keep your highly treasured hair in place. At least this is how it felt for the protagonist, Janie, as she embarked on a long journey toward self fulfillment. In “Their Eyes Were Watching God’, by Zora Neale Hurston, the author uses symbols such as flowers and a head rag to contribute to the meaning of the work that in order to live a fulfilling life, one must cease to live in accordance with other people’s ideals and instead pursue freedom and happiness for oneself. In the novel, flowers are used to symbolize maturity and becoming a woman.

Read More
810 Words | 4 Pages

In a simile, she compares gardening to “boxing… The wins versus the losses” (Hudes 16). Through this comparison, Hudes conveys Ginny’s deep desire for a sense of control and success in her life. This desire is fed by the memory of her father, who was only bearable when he was gardening. Specifically, the assertion of this desire for control is evident as she recalls that her father “was a mean bastard…” but “became a saint if you put a flower in his hand” (Hudes 15). From those experiences of dealing with her father, a psychological analogy between nature and peace was instilled in Ginny’s mind at a young age, and is what she relies on as an adult to handle her emotional trauma.

Read More
665 Words | 3 Pages

As the family travels on the road where the grim events unfold, the grandma recollects that, “All at once they would be on a hill, looking down over the blue tops of trees for miles around, then the next minute, they would be in a red depression with the dust-coated trees looking down on them” (O’Connor 475). The “red depression” predicts the impending bloodshed that the Misfit causes and the “dust-coated trees” refer to the dark forest stained with blood. This use of foreshadowing builds suspense and contributes to the portrayal of the grandmother’s strange ways of describing the scenery. Consequently, the landscape establishes the character of the grandmother through her depictions of the surroundings, and creates a suspenseful mood for the remainder of the

Read More
891 Words | 4 Pages

She thinks about many different things, from wondering if the firemen read the books they burn (5) to noticing that everything is abstract and shallow (28). She would much rather sit and think (20) over watching the parlor walls (7). She probably prefers to think because it keeps her mind busy in a good and useful way, wondering why things are the way they are, learning the little things about society most do not notice, and asking the questions she needs to draw conclusions. When watching the parlor, I imagine she feels hollow inside, as if something is missing. I mean, sure, it keeps her mind busy, but it is not at all practical or in her best interest, just something to not even pass the time, but waste it.

Read More
989 Words | 4 Pages

Don’t Die Doubled With Regret: Listen to The Lesson by a Grandmother In Diana Xin’s creative writing “At 86, my grandmother regrets two things,” Diana Xin informs her audience of the life and events that took place in her grandmother’s life. She interprets the two regrets that her grandmother developed, and how she accumulates only those two. Diana Xin, a creative writer, publishes the writing in Diagram 21.1. Xin utilizes the information directly from her grandmother and the events that she remembers growing up. Diana Xin writes a strong piece about the life of her grandmother and the lessons people manage to learn from it.

Read More
605 Words | 3 Pages

She begins with an overwhelming list of things a former friend had to keep herself occupied with. Notice how she says “former friend and soon to be acquaintance” (Ehrenreich par. 1), a degradation of friendship. Tragic. However, she puts

Read More
831 Words | 4 Pages

She laments that she “remember[s] everything that happened that day [the day she lost herself] because it has happened many times in [her] life. The same innocence, trust, and restlessness, the wonder, fear, and loneliness” (Tan 83). Her belief in fate and individual destiny caused her to

Read More
818 Words | 4 Pages

Another quote that represents this motif is when the grandchild reflects on what her grandmother has taught her through her life by saying “You taught me … time heals, things change and hurt and pain will always pass.” It tells the reader the grandma’s view that bad things can happen, but there is always hope for a better

Read More
524 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
712 Words | 3 Pages

It is saying, that our lives and our bodies are gardens. We decide what to plant, nettles or lettuce, things that sting or things that nurture. We can plant few or many things in our gardens, but in the end, it’s us that plants them and us that has to deal with the

Read More
749 Words | 3 Pages

  The garden had an impact on the psyche of Colin and Mary, leading “[...] new and beautiful thoughts [to begin] to push

Read More
1290 Words | 6 Pages

The cherry orchard itself is a symbol of the past that holds an important, though different, place the hearts of each of the characters. Some characters like Madame Ranevskaya and her eighty-seven-year-old servant Firs prefer to stay in the past and choose to ignore their present or adjust to it. Other characters, like Lopakhin and Trofimov, however, believe in the present and look forward to the future, disregarding what is gone. In The Cherry Orchard, memory is seen as something that relates to personal identities and a liability that hampers the search of happiness.

Read More

More about Lisa Wingate Tending Roses Quotes

Related Topics

Open Document