Marigolds By Eugenia Collier Summary

The story "Marigolds" by Eugenia W. Collier is a short story that goes through the journey of Lizabeth. Lizabeth is a young girl that goes through an event that transitions her from a child to a woman. She shows many different sides to herself. She is wild, immature, and conflictual. Throughout the story, she comes to show that with maturity comes compassion. It is a coming of age story that shows how Lizabeth evolves as a person and as a character.

Like any other child, Lizabeth has a definite wild side. In the story, she and her friends circle around Miss Lottie, chanting taunts at her. Lizabeth tells the reader "Then I lost my head entirely, mad with the power of inciting such rage, and ran out of the bushes in the storm of pebbles, straight toward Miss Lottie, chanting madly, "Old witch fell in a ditch, picked up a penny and though she was rich," (3). Lizabeth proves herself to be very out-there. Furthermore, Lizabeth refers to herself indirectly as "the zoo-bred

For example, Lizabeth percieves taunting Miss Lottie as fun."The idea caught on at once, for annoying Miss Lottie was always fun." (2) Also in the story, she tends to follow what the other kids are doing. That behavior is something usually children do to be liked by others even if it means being unkind to another person. And in this case, she doesn't think for herself, she follows the group. Lizabeth's immaturity takes a toll on her character.

Lizabeth has many different sides to herself. She is immature, wild, and conflictual at times. In the short story "Marigolds" she uses those traits in transitioning from child to woman. In the end, she gains maturity. She uses her newfound maturity to generate compassion to Miss Lottie, who she had wronged in the past. Lizabeth transforms from a carefree and wild girl to a mature woman who comes to feel remorse for the pain she brought Miss Lottie by destroying her