The Flowers By Alice Walker Literary Devices

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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. The joyful diction then continues into the second paragraph where the author makes it seem as if Myop is in her own little world …show more content…

On of the greatest examples of imagery that Alice Walker uses is the one that compares light and darkness. At the beguining of the story the author mentions delicate and calm setting of a farm. In creating this imagery the reader is able to understand that all the positive and upbeat words are associated with the farm setting. Myop’s light-hearted innocence is also shown when “watching the tiny white bubbles disrupt the thin black scale”. The effective description provides credibility to the environment, and makes the later events all the more shocking, However Once the story started to display a darker and more secret tone a new setting was introduced. The forest brings about feelings of danger and darkness, all the while Myop is “making her own path”. The solitude of her journey shows the possibility of trouble, creates suspense and prepares the reader for a dark surprise ending. When the darkness that was foreshadowed is finally introduced, Myop show a innocent curiosity as she is “unafraid, to free herself. Also ironic Myop