In the short story The Flowers by Alice Walker, the author uses imagery in nature to convey the motif of growth and change, an element of the story which contributes to the idea that one cannot stay young and innocent forever; eventually, everyone has to grow up, no matter how unprepared they may be. Natural imagery is used with great frequency throughout the story, starting in the first sentence, but a strong example can be found regarding the spring. It is described as “where the family got drinking water”, a source of vitality and sustenance, yet “tiny white bubbles disrupt the thin black scale of soil… the water [silently rising] and [sliding] away down the stream” (Walker). This quote details the movement of the spring as well as the
Alice Walker shows Myops innocence and subsequent loss thereof through her usage of vivid imagery as well as the small setting and symbolism in “The Flowers”. Myop’s sudden exposure to the harsh reality of racism surrounding her shatters her innocence. The tone of the short story changes abruptly showcasing the main characters shift in how she sees the world. For she is suddenly and violently thrust into a world in which skin color dictates how others in society will treat her.
Symbolism is one of the major elements in "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker. The woman's search for something she has never experienced is the symbolization of the mankind's search for love and happiness. The meaning of names, occupations, power, pants, cloth, words, eyes, frogs, starts, shell, stamps are only few examples of the symbols used by the author and are very important in understanding not only the characters of the story, but also global values such as love, power, mutual understanding, and authority over another person's life.
“The Flowers” by Alice Walker is a very well written yet short and sweet story that paints a very vivid picture of main problem the times. It expresses the reality of the lynching of the African American community in a way that is very easy to understand. Alice Walker uses vibrant details to bring to light the severity of the problem and what people of that time period went through. The story also showcases a deeper meaning that does not necessarily revolve around lynchings but represents the loss of childhood innocence. “The Flowers” explains the reality of racism and lynchings of the time while also providing an inner lying message about one’s coming of age and loss of innocence.
Alice Walker “The Flowers” is a literary piece in which violence is not presented but suggested , and not experienced, but witnessed. Alice Walker is a contemporary African-American writer who is mainly concerned with racism. She has worked to address problems of poverty and inequality. Originally written in 1970, it is set in the south of America and is about Myop a small 10- year old African-American girl who explores the place where she lives with her black family. Alice Walker succeeded in employing symbolism to highlight childhood innocence and the loss of it.
One of the most universal symbols of beauty is the flower. Their delicate buds hold such great beauty, while being so fragile and temporary. Despite their magnificence, flowers must remain stationary. It is a prison, yet no one thinks beyond the simplicity of a pretty flower. Like women, flowers are seen at face value without any concern for the lack of freedom, opportunity, and expression they have. Women are meant to be seen just how society expects and not any other way. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, female characters face the serious consequences of societal expectations and views on sexuality. Gabriel Garcia Marquez uses the motif of flowers to symbolize women and their virginity to demonstrate the confinement of women in society.
The most symbolic element in nature that is commonly used in novels is a flower. Flowers have been used in various genres of literature and just like a specific color, authors use a specific flower to convey and to communicate different types of messages. For example, a rose can be used to represent simplicity, beauty, love or even lust, whereas a white daisy can be used to represent innocence and purity. Margaret Atwood also uses flowers repetitively in her novel, The Handmaid’s Tale. Atwood’s motif of flowers, clearly represent the love, and fertility associated with the woman in the Gilead society; Offred’s most important role of bearing children and her desires are demonstrated through the flower’s descriptions.
“The Flowers” by Alice Walker is a short story written in the 1970’s. The story focuses on Myop, a ten year old African American girl who loves to explore the land in which she lives. Carefree and naïve, Myop decides to travel further away from her ‘Sharecropper cabin’ and travels deep inside the woods to unfamiliar land where she discovers the decomposed body of an African American man. It is then Myop quickly grows up and suddenly becomes aware of the world in which she lives. The story relies on setting and symbolism to convey the theme of departing innocence.
Walker continues to use negative imagery and ideas to reveal her hesitation towards the arrangement. The author uses these literary devices because she wants to illustrate Roselily’s reasons for marrying the man. Roselily does this because it is what's best for her and her children. In a way, Roselily is being forced because she does not have a better alternative to her current life. By marrying the man, Roselily will have a renewed lifestyle and reputation. Roselily imagines the flowers in her hand as kids. When she does this, her head fills with murderous thoughts. “A squeeze around the flowers in her hands chokes off three and four and five years of breath” (Walker 4). As guilty as Roselily feels, this shows how Roselily wishes she never had given birth to any of her kids. When she tightens her grip on the bouquet of flowers, she thinks of her children. Roselily dreams she did not give birth to these kids. Roselily’s ideas of murder could possibly be associated with her obsession with the idea of her personal spirit being robbed from her. Weddings usually give off positive connotations, however in Roselily’s mind she disturbs the happy wedding with dark thoughts such as the idea of murder. Deviating from the topic of “personal spirit”, Brent studies the ferocious thoughts swarming Roselily’s mind. “Roselily’s rebellious thoughts during the wedding ceremony go so far as to enter the realms of murder and blasphemy. She expresses a wish that she could be free of her three
The setting of Alice Walkers short story” The Flowers” is important for us, the readers to obtain a perspective of how life was like growing up for a 10 year old African American girl by the name of Myop. The title of the story is “The Flowers.” When you think about flowers, you instantly compare them to being beautiful, pure, and innocent. The title of the “The Flowers” is a symbolism that correlates to Myop who is the protagonist of the story. Myop is just like a flower in the beginning of the story. She’s a pure and innocent child but that pure innocence changes when she discovers something that’ll change her life forever.
The Flowers By Alice Walker Written in the 1970's The Flowers is set in the deep south of America and is about Myop, a small 10-year old African American girl who explores the grounds in which she lives. Walker explores how Myop reacts in different situations. She writes from a third person perspective of Myop's exploration. In the first two paragraph Walker clearly emphasises Myop's purity and young innocence.
How do we lose our childish way of seeing the world? How can we suddenly they see the world as it is, in all its evil? ‘The Flowers’ is a story about a young girl who goes through an experience that forces her into changing her way of seeing life, and it presents themes like growing up and loss of innocence.
On the village’s land, there are more beautiful flowers than before. Before there are flowers on the land, there are no flowers at all. The village is a dull land and the villagers “were going to break their backs digging for springs among the stones and plant flowers” (3). The beautiful flowers and its fragrance will allure nearby sailors. The flowers are planted to represent the splendor
In Alice Walker “Everyday Use,” “Backpack Literature” (Kennedy and Gioia, pp. 77-84) Walker uses descriptive imagery to show us the different levels of self-esteem issues whether it is the physical appearance of the characters, or how others may view the characters or how the character sees itself, nevertheless, confidence or the lack of confidence can affect one’s behavior. Walker introduces us to three main characters: the persona of the story, is the unnamed mother, who has two daughters. Dee is the oldest, who name is changed to Wangero and Maggie, is the youngest. The significant of location helps to set the tone of the story. We can visualize the setting by the descriptive elements of imagery in which Walker uses, for we know the
Alice Walker in an American novelist, short-story writer, and poet known for her famous novel The Color Purple. She has won both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award. Her writings focus on multi-generational periods and inter-connecting black women in the North and the South. Although she is widely known for his novels, her short stories are equally spectacular. Walker is known for incorporating symbolism, imagery, and tone in her writing.
The story “The Flowers” by Alice Walker was the best example of description. The author gives really good detail and makes it easy to picture the story in your head. An example of a point where she used good detail is in the first paragraph when she said, “... made each day a golden surprise that caused excited little tremors to run up her jaws.” the author could have just said that harvesting made her excited but she made us feel how excited she was. Another point where she used good detail was in the third paragraph when she described when she saw the water rising up and going down stream as “... tiny white bubbles disrupt the thin black scale of soil…”. Also another point that caught my attention where she used great description was when