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
“ She thinks of her mother, who is dead. Dead, but still her mother. Joined. This is confusing. Of her father a gray old man who sold wild mink, rabbit, fox skins to Sears, Roebuck (Walker pg.2). Roselily once again starts to think back to the days when she was a child, to the days when she had no worries. She feels her mother who is dead still stands beside her in spirt to guide her on this unknown journey she is about to embark on, and for a moment it gives her comfort. “Or forever hold,” the Preachers’ words ring in Roselily’s ear. “ She does not even know if she loves him. She loves his sobriety. His refusal to sing just because he know the tune. She loves his pride. His blackness and his gray car. She loves his understanding go her condition. She thinks she loves the effort he will make to redo her into what he truly wants (Walker pg.3). Here the author really dives in to what Roselily thinks of her new husband. She knows she doesn't love him and probably never will. However, there are aspects about him which she thinks she can love and she realizes that will have to do
In “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens”, Alice Walker looks to educate us on the hardships that almost all black women face when trying to express themselves through things such as art. She delves into many sociological and psychological concepts that have affected black women throughout human history. These concepts and ideologies created a realm for mass exclusion, discrimination, and oppression of many African American women, including Alice Walker’s Mother, who Alice utilizes as one of her particular examples. The writing thematically aims to show how these concepts of sexism, racism, and even classism have contributed to black women’s lack of individuality, optimism, and fulfillment for generations. The author does a tremendous job of defending and expanding upon her arguments. She has a credible background, being a black woman that produces the art of literature herself. As well as being raised by one, Walker’s first-hand experience warrants high regard. Therefore, her use of abstract and introspective language is presented clearly and convincingly. Also, her use of evidence and support from sources like Jean Toomer, Virginia Woolf, and Phillis Wheatley, all produce more validity for her stance through poems, quotes, and even experiences. All these individuals have their own accounts pertaining to the oppression of black women and their individuality. Successfully arguing that the artistry plights of black women described in “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens” are
In Alice Walker’s Roselily, our main character (Roselily) is a mother of three residing in Mississippi. She questions her actions to marry a man of a different religion, but knows that the marriage will give her a (limited) sense of freedom, and will give her children an opportunity to lead better lives. The story’s central idea reveals that sometimes the love and concern for others can lead to the sacrifice of one’s own happiness.
Alice Walker, the author of the short story “The Flowers”, uses direct characterization to imply major details about the man by the describing his condition. Myop had found a man who appeared to have been lynched. She studied the man and took into account everything she saw, “He had been a tall man… He’d had large white teeth” (Walker 7).
In ‘I kneel to pick frail melancholy flowers among ashes and loam’ a tone of loneliness and sadness is established as the persona enters. Harwood describes the violets as ‘frail’ and ‘melancholy’, terms that arn’t usually associated with flowers. This is also explored in the juxtaposition of ‘ashes’ and ‘loam’. Ash is symbolic of death and decay which contradicts the ‘loam’, symbolic of life and birth. The persona’s dark and unpleasant perceptions reveal their uncertainty and state of mind. The present tense indicates the persona’s adulthood and their sense of longing and unsatisfaction conveyed through the nostalgic delivery of
“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.
A coming-of-age story often is the transformation of one or more characters allowing the reader to see the transformation from youth to maturity. “The Flower,” is a short story by Alice Walker. Walker utilizes the plot, characters, and setting to show innocent 10-year-old girl, Myop maturing. Myop wanders into the woods alone, far beyond where her mother would take her, and what began as just an adventure turned into something unusual.
One of the most important techniques employed by walker to reflect childhood innocence and the loss of it is symbolism. Walker has enriched her piece with symbolism to highlight the innocent days then the sudden maturation of the protagonist. Even the title of the story is symbolic “The Flowers” stands for the childhood purity and its loss. Throughout the story, Walker uses flowers to depict both innocence and the loss of it. Moreover, she specifically has named the little girl Myop – short for Myopia. That is because Myopia stands for the inability to see things deeply so it shows her childhood innocence. The story beings showing the setting of it which is the harvesting of corn, cotton, peanuts and squash; therefore, it illustrates that she is on a farm. It is also post-civil war days because “sheer cropper cabin” are a new development during this time-her family are sheer croppers.
Although Roselily’s life in Mississippi before marriage may not have been the greatest but, she is comfortable with it, and is scared of the change that is about to occur. As the preacher is finishing the ceremony she thinks” She wants to live for free for once. But she doesn’t know quite what that means.” She knows that once she gets married, between being a housewife and his restrictive religion she will
“The Violets” by Gwen Harwood is a lyrical poem that deals with a woman who is going through a dark period in her life and she looks to her childhood memories, in particular, her parents for sustenance and support. The poem consists of many themes one of which include memory of childhood, the persona of the poem is going through a rough patch in her life and uses her childhood memories The persona concludes, in the present, that neither time nor death can take away our precious memories or those people or places that belong in those memories. Throughout the poem, the tense shifts between past and present as the speaker reaches back in time to a childhood memory, in order to make sense of the present. Another theme that was highlighted was the importance of memories, this is an important theme because due to the retained power of rejuvenation and reflection that memories hold. The violets is a lyrical poem and it
“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.
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.
"Red Rose" is a poem written by Anne Sexton. It is a story about a child abuse by his mother. Through the poem, the poet has revealed a strong relationship that exists between the mother and son regardless of the pain and abuses that the boy receives from his mother.” Red Roses” is told through the third person the narrator himself where he has revealed the pain gain by the Tommy the child character of the poem. This situation reflects or addressed the social issue.