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The reflective writing process
The reflective writing process
Self reflection in writing
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In “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier, Lizabeth lost her innocence when she was almost 15. Not knowing how much her family was struggling was part of her innocence. She didn’t understand the beauty of Ms. Lottie’s marigolds. Actions she took helped her learn compassion and changed her a lot. Her first hint at deep understanding occurred late one night.
In the story "Marigolds" by Eugenia Collier, the main character Lizabeth reveals the lesson of the story is that she learns from her mistakes when she decided to destroy Mrs. Lottie's flowers, this has changed her life because she now has respect for people and their property. The theme of this is that the marigolds represent that she has hope, happiness, and beauty and that these aspects could come back to the world. We know that she has learned from her mistakes because she stated that this act of violence would be her last act of violence. She later plants her own geraniums once she is older to symbolize the same thing as the marigolds ment to Mrs. Lottie had and that was that there is hope, happiness, and beauty in the world. The mistakes
”(222). This quote is an example of how Lizabeth was “neither child nor woman”. Because she had gone crazy, she had begun a journey that will make a mark in her life for eternity. Times like these can lead to learning vital messages that will affect how you do things, think, and
losing hope, and eventually losing all hope. Losing hope in life is also well portrayed through the main character Lizabeth in the short story “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier. Lizabeth wakes up in the middle of the night and hears her father “sobbing, loudly and painfully, and crying helplessly and hopelessly” (Collier 43). Lizabeth felt “great bewilderment and fear” (Collier 44) after she had heard what had just happened as her father “was the rock on which the family had been built” (Collier 44) This reason alone led to Lizabeth losing all
There is beauty in life for those who choose to see it. The Marigold is a story that is about the time of the Great Depression and how people were growing up in poverty with no shoes, little to no clothing, and barely a roof over their heads literally. The theme is see the good in little things for those that do see it. The marigolds were a symbol of beauty in all of the ugliness that was around them but at the time Elizabeth could not see it until it was too late. The title of the book is Marigolds short story by Eugenia Collier and is historical fiction.
After witnessing her father break down because of his inability to provide for his family, Lizabeth, in a mess of emotions, destroys the marigolds, marking the
Jordan Matthews is contrasted with the character of the flower seller who is free-spirited, ephemeral, and associated with the natural world. The flower seller’s sense of freedom brings an almost unrealistic aspect to her character. The
Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!” (2). Mrs. Mallard’s relationship with her husband seems to not be happy and upon his death, she has a shift of mentality and starts to experience joy and hope instead of grief.
However, when Lizabeth demolished the flowers, she simultaneously destroyed a symbol of hope in Miss Lottie’s life. At the end of the story, Lizabeth releases the symbol of hope and determination the flowers portrayed. She now understands and relates to Miss Lottie at a deeper level. “Now at the end of her life she had nothing except a falling down hut, a wrecked body, and John Burke, the mindless son of her passion” (Collier 5).
In addition, the search for self-identity is viewed as important in today’s society. Thus, these confliction attributes lead the reader to identify Edna as morally ambiguous. Categorizing complex characters as purely good or purely evil is not one of the easiest of tasks. As a result, it is best to characterize them as morally ambiguous. In Edna’s case, she is morally ambiguous due to her romantic affiliations and role-defying actions, but both are immensely vital to Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening” as a complete whole.
I woke to the sound of Joey screaming “Lizabeth stop, please stop”. And when I came outside to see what all the commotion was about, it was too late Lizabeth already destroyed my marigolds. These marigolds that were orange and yellow and the only thing that made me run down house look beautiful. They meant so much to me because I got those from my husband Craig Lottie. Craig had a disability that leads to him passing away a couple of years after he bought me the marigolds and that is all I have to remember him.
So this was a marriage!” (Hurston 10). Hurston describes the ‘ecstatic shiver’ and ‘sanctum of a bloom’ to exhibit Janie’s development and her increasing independence as she becomes a woman. Janie sees the beauty in development as nature speaks it into her. She is unique in her perspective and that too sets her apart.
Katherine Mansfield wrote about an aged woman, Miss Brill who is isolated from the real world. Miss Brill attempts to build a fantasy life to protect herself from the harsh facts of her existence. The short story “Miss Brill” is very descriptive and has decent examples of imagery to help readers better understand and see what is happening. Robert Peltier mentioned that “Miss Brill” has a rise and fall in each paragraph, so in his overview of “Miss Brill”, he also “chose the rise and fall of every paragraph to fit her, and fit her on that day at that moment” (Peltier), to help readers picture what is happening. The character Miss Brill does not look past what is present, which causes her to be narrow minded and not understand why things happen
In “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier the coming of age short story where a now grown up Lizabeth reminisce her childhood especially going into Ms.Lottie’s garden. Ms. Lottie, who did not like children but treated her precious marigolds gets them destroyed by Lizabeth. After destroying them, Lizabeth realizes her errors believing she became a women in that moment. This short story has several literary device that are used in it to help deepen the meaning. The use of imagery, symbolism and metaphors in “Marigolds” helps the reader that it is important to not lose
In her short story “Marigolds”, Eugenia Collier, tells the story of a young woman named Lizabeth growing up in rural Maryland during the Depression. Lizabeth is on the verge of becoming an adult, but one moment suddenly makes her feel more woman than child and has an impact on the rest of her life. Through her use of diction, point of view, and symbolism, Eugenia Collier develops the theme that people can create beauty in their lives even in the poorest of situations. Through her use of the stylistic device diction, Eugenia Collier is able to describe to the reader the beauty of the marigolds compared to the drab and dusty town the story is set in.