The Allegory Of Innocence In The Flowers By Alice Walker

The theme of Alice Walker’s “Roselily” is letting go of your past life to start a new one. Letting go of what came before is something that many deal with, and this is a struggle that the main character of the story faces and ponders as she takes her first steps on a new journey. The story “Roselily” is about a middle-aged african american woman who will be taking on a brand new life in marriage. However, she does not know what this future will bring her and she contemplates if her new life will truly be happier than the one she is leaving behind (encyclopedia.com).

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

Robin Jenkins effectively conveys loss of innocence and ant war through sophisticated symbolism in the short story “Flowers”. It tells the story of a young girl, Margaret, who was evacuated from the city of Glasgow to the highlands of Scotland in an attempt to avoid the inhumanity of war, but it is in the highlands where she truly witnessed the brutality of war.

As the literal meaning of the story, “The Flowers” is about the lynching of African Americans at that time. Even though this story is fiction, it definitely represents what could have happened in that day in age. It is historically accurate in that it very well could have happened and most probably did happen based on the time period it was written. The lynching of African Americans was a huge problem at that time in the south. Black men were being blamed for crimes they did not commit and were hanged for it without proof. Racism and segregation were ramped in the United States. Thus, inducing the civil rights movement that would fight for the end of segregation and racism. In the story itself, there were signs of how common it was for a black man to be lynched at the time. When Myop stumbles across the body of a recently lynched black man, she immediately realizes what had happened to him and does not really freak out. As expressed in the book, the moment she realized what she had stepped on she let out a little yelp of surprise but then took interest in her discovery. This reaction insinuates that it was almost normal to see such a thing. In the end, she laid down her flowers next to the man and continued on her way home. On the other hand, this story can be taken for more than its literal meaning.

Like the vasculature of plants shrouded by bark, innocence is shrouded and further internalized as social influence compiles. Thus, Morrison effectively illustrates both the presence of innocence and its inherent definition via careful diction in this scene.

Myop is shown as an innocent young girl as the story begins to unfold. “She was ten, and nothing existed for her but her song, the stick clutched in her dark brown hand, and the tat-de-ta-ta-ta of accompaniment.” (498). This passage allows the reader to see Myop as a young innocent girl, playing outside her

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.

Alice Walkers "Roselily" is a short story about a woman who is about to be married, but is having second thoughts about the marriage. She is also looking into the past and the future trying to make sense of what is happening. Roselily is being torn between choosing between her current or possible future Economic status, Societies view of her, her religion and her freedom. All these thoughts go through her mind as the wedding ceremony takes place, and she begins to wonder if she has made the right choice is marrying this man.

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.

Added to this, the writer’s use of symbolism strengthens this idea of attractiveness and inexperience, Myop’s name being the main symbol. Myop is short for Myopia. The name given to short-sightedness. This is used as a metaphor as Myop’s naivety, then as the story goes on Myop opens her eyes to see what the real world is like and the author mentions her name less. Another symbol used in paragraph 2 is the “warm sun”. This symbolises the light and life of the world. It is a time when people are supposed to be awake and no body should be sleeping but this is later contrasted further on in the story. All the setting and scenery described gives an image of the Garden of Eden- paradise – a place everyone wants to be, where nothing bad can happen up until one critical moment when Eve eats the apple and everything forever changes. This gives the reader an insight in to the rest of the story but still leaves them wondering what could happen next.

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

As Myop continues her journey she began to feel uneasy of the unknown land so she starts to head back home where she feels safe which, is an automatic trait that we, as humans carry; go back to a place where you feel protected. As Myop is on her way back home, she “stepped smack onto his eyes” (Walker, 76.) Myop stumbled upon a dead man’s body but she isn’t afraid of the body, she’s more startled and confused at the sighting. She still hasn’t yet quite understood what she was actually seeing because she decides to get closer to pick up a wild pink rose that was near the head of the corpse. Myop deciding to pick up the wild pink rose despite her seeing the man’s body still shows that she still has her innocence and how she doesn’t quite fully understand what was going on. That quickly changes when she sees “the rotted remains of a noose” (Walker 77.) When Myop discovered the noose, she realized what had happened. Myop realized that this man was lynched. It all made sense now. From Myop seeing the man’s broken and cracked teeth indicated that this man was attacked by a group of people before he was lynched by

"She skipped lightly from hen house to pigpen". This shows how happy Myop is in this setting, we know she feels safe here, "She felt light and good in the warm sun" Her innocence produces an excitement to the reader as it gives the character and the text somewhere to go. We learn that

I believe that both the new blue flowers Myop finds and the fact that she is wandering off on her own, which is unusual, are symbols of her leaving the security of the childhood behind and going off into the unknown. The symbols are characterized by all relating to the themes growing up and loss on innocence.

This discovery is the end of Myop’s carefree existence; therefore, her innocence dies. Myop lays down her flowers, not only at the gravesite of the man but also at the gravesite of her childhood and her former self. The most obvious way that death is present as a theme is through the fact that Myop discovers an actual dead body in the forest. She comes to realize that all people die; some have harsh and cruel deaths. The details of the decomposing body: the eyes, teeth, and rotting clothes strengthen the theme. In the beginning from the description of Emily’s death-haunted life to the description of Emily herself, it is clear that death runs rampant for Emily. Emily is a fixture in her community, as a symbol of the south’s old dying ways. She tries to deny the fact of death at all. Her necrophilia first comes to light once her father dies. She is unable to admit that he has passed away and clings to his controlling love- the only love she knows. Reluctantly, she gives up his body. When Homer dies, she again refuses to accept it, even though she is the cause of his demise. In murdering Homer, she was able to ensure that he would never leave her. Homer and Emily’s repulsive marriage reveals Emily’s attempt to fuse life and death as one. Death ultimately conquers all.